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THE    LIFE    OF 


DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 


T.IK  DUKE  OK  WELLINGTON  WHEN  LIEUT.  GEN.  SIR  ARTIIUU  WELLESLET,  K.  B. 


THE   LTFE   OF 


FIELD  MAES  HAL 


THE 

DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


(OONVUNTIOli  OF  OINTUA.) 

By  J.  H.  STOCQUELER,  Esq., 

Author  of  "The  British  Officer,"  "The  Handbook  of  British  India,"  "The  Military 

Encyclopaedia,"  "  Travels  in  Persia,  Turkey,  Russia,  Germany,  &c.," 

and  other  works. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES,  WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVING-Sf. 

VOL.  L 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED   BY   JAS.    B.    SMITH  &   CO., 

NO.  146  CHESTNUT  STREET. 
1855. 


Btack 
nex 


V27 


PREFACE. 


The  "  Memoirs"  and  "  Lives"  of  the  great  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton already  before  tlie  public  are  so  numerous  and  so  varied 
in  character,  that  some  explanation  may  appear  to  be  necessary 
why  another  candidate  for  public  favour  should  appear  in  the 
field,  and  presume  to  hope  for  patronage. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  respectfiilly  submitted  that  a  complete 
"  Life"  of  the  immortal  Duke  does  not  exist.  Closing  with  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo,  the  works  of  Maxwell,  Moyle  Sherer,  and 
of  Jackson  and  Scott,  embrace  merely  the  military  view  of  his 
Grace's  career,  and  offer  but  few  elucidations  of  the  adminis- 
trative character  of  the  mighty  soldier. 

In  the  second  place,  the  greater  portion  of  the  abridgments 
tell  but  very  imperfectly  the  story  of  the  eventful  life  here 
minutely  pourtrayed,  while  the  larger  works,  deriving  illustra- 
tion from  mihtary  despatches,  are  too  much  fraught  with  tech- 
nicahty  to  be  intelligible  to  the  general  reader. 

In  the  third  place,  no  work  hitherto  extant  contains 
pictorial  embellishments  of  a  truthful  character.  The  imagin- 
ation of  the  artists,  uncontrolled  by  experience,  has  been 
suffered  to  revel  in  absurdity,  and  nothing  has  come  of  the  exu- 
berance of  fancy  but  anachronism,  falsehood,  and  incongruity. 

In  the  fourth  place,  so  entirely  are  the  authors  of  contempo- 
rary works  absorbed  in  the  subject  of  their  biography,  that  the 
multitudinous  accessories  important  in  the  history  of  a  man, 
whose  history  is  that  of  Europe,  for  the  time,  and  of  war  in  aU 
its  phases,  are  lost  sight  of. 

These  four  objections  point  directly  to  the  pecuhar  features 
of  the  work  now  offered  to  the  public.  With  the  second  vol- 
ume, the  Life  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  will  be  brought  down 
to  the  hour  when  his  remains  were  conveyed  to  the  tomb, 


vi  PREFACK 

amidst  the  lamentations  of  a  grateful  and  sorrowing  people. 
The  Work  will  thus  offer,  for  the  first  time,  a  complete  history 
of  the  marvellous  career  of  the  unapproachable  soldier  and  the 
sagacious  statesman.  The  numerous  illustrations,  some  of 
which  (as  Badajoz,  Ciudad  Eodrigo,  Salamanca,  &c.,)  are  con- 
tributed by  the  graceful  pencil  of  Colonel  John  Luard,  author 
of  a  "  History  of  the  Dress  of  the  British  Soldier,"  an  actor  in 
the  scenes  delineated,  and  the  remainder  by  Messrs  G.  and  R. 
Thomas,  the  eminent  artists  and  engravers,  have  the  unusual 
advantage  of  truthfulness  in  the  matter  of  scenery,  costume, 
and  portraiture.  The  stories  of  battle  are  told  with  the  shghtest 
possible  reference  to  official  detail,  that  they  may  be  rendered 
famihar  to  unprofessional  readers,  and  copious  anecdotes  of 
military  existence  in  the  camp  and  the  bivouac  are  supplied, 
that  just  ideas  may  be  formed  of  the  quality  of  the  "  service" 
to  which  a  soldier  is  exposed.  Finally,  every  hne  which  the 
Duke  wrote  and  published,  every  word  which  he  pubUcly  ut- 
tered, illustrative  of  his  character  and  his  principles,  has  been 
cited,  referred  to,  or  reproduced,  that  general  inferences  may 
the  more  readily  be  drawn  of  the  springs  and  motives  of  action 
by  which  his  public  life  was  influenced,  and  that  he  may  in  a 
great  measure  be  made  the  interpreter,  exponent,  and  apologist 
of  his  own  miraculous  deeds. 

It  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  the  writer  to  find  that,  in  all  these 
respects,  he  has  contributed  to  supply  a  desideratum,  and  not 
produced  a  work  altogether  unworthy  of  the  exalted  theme. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 

TAOE 

Birth,  Parentage,  and  Education,  of  Arthur  Wellesley — Enters  the  Army — 
Serves  in  Holland  with  the  33rd  Regiment — Proceeds  to  India — Capture 
of  Seringapatam — Becomes  Governor  of  the  place — Attacks  Dhoondia 
Waugh,  the  freebooter — Promoted  to  Major-General — Conducts  the  Cam- 
paign against  the  Mahratta  Chieftains — Gains  the  Victories  of  Assaye  and 
Argaum — Takes  the  Fortresses  of  Ahmednuggur,  Asseerghur,  and  Gawil- 
ghur — Created  a  Knight  of  the  Bath — Receives  Addresses  and  Rewards — 
Returns  Home 1 


CHAPTER  II. 

Appointed  to  the  StaflF  as  Commander  of  a  Brigade — Becomes  Secretary  for 
Ireland — Joins  the  Expedition  to  Denmark — Distinguishes  himself  at 
Kioge — Proceeds  to  Portugal — Gains  the  Victories  of  Rori^a  and  Vimiero 
— The  Convention  of  Cintra — Returns  to  England.  .         .         .        .     27 


CHAPTER  III. 

French  Invasion  of  Portugal — Occupation  of  Spain — Sir  Arthur  proceeds  to 
Portugal — Battles  of  Rori^a  and  Vimiero — Convention  of  Cintra — Sir 
Arthur  returns  Home  35 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Sir  John  Moore  in  Spain,  and  Sir  John  Cradock  in  Portugal — Memorandum 
on  the  Defence  of  Portugal — Departure  for  Portugal — Reception  at  Lis- 
bon— Advance  upon  Oporto — Passage  of  the  Douro — Battle  of  Talavera — 
The  British  wounded — Lines  of  Torres  Vedras — Massena's  Advance — 
Guerrillas — Battle  of  Busaco       .  .        .  .        ,  41 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAOB 

Massena  before  the  Lines — ^His  Retreat — Pursuit  by  the  Allies — Af&iirs  at 
Redinha,  Pombal,  Foz  d'Aronce,  aud  Casul  Nova — WelliDgton's  Corre- 
fipoudeace «  .73 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Affairs  ia  the  South  of  Spain — Siege  of  Cadiz — Battle  .of  Barossa — Retreat 
of  Massena — Attempt  on  Almeida — Battle  of  Fuentes  d'Ofioro — The 
Wounded  at  Fuentes  d'Ofioro 94 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Escape  of  the  Garrison  of  Almeida — Contrast  between  "Wellington  and 
Napoleon — Caution  to  Officers  to  repress  injudicious  zeal — Marshal  Beres- 
f  >rd — Investment  of  Badajoz — Battle  of  Albuera — Abandonment  of  the 
Siege  of  Badajoz — The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  allies         .        .        .        .111 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Position  at  Guinaldo — Affair  of  El  Bodon — Siege  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo — Sur- 
prise of  the  French  at  Arroyo  del  Moliuos — Character  of  Sir  R.  Hill — 
Advice  to  Lord  W.  Bentinck — Winter  Costumes — Defence  of  Tarif;i  .  122 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Capture  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo — Plunder  and  Conflagration — Death  and  Burial 
of  General  Craufurd — General  Mackinnon — The  Napiera     ....  137 


CHAPTER  X. 

Honours  and  Rewards — Capture  of  Badajoz — Sir  R.  Hill  at  Almarez — Capture 
of  Almarez ....  152 


CHAPTER  XL 

Resolution  to  advance  into  Spain — March  towards  Salamanca — Reception  at 
Salamanca — Capture  of  the  Fortresses — Battle  of  Salamanca  Character 
of  Marshal  M.irmont — Retreat  of  the  French  166 


CONTENTS.  I  ix 

CHAPTEK  XII. 

PAQB 

Advance  upon  Madrid — Reception  at  Madrid — The  French  in  the  East,  the 
South,  and  the  North  of  Spain — Departure  for  Burgos — Proclamation  to 
the  Spaniards — Attack  upon,  and  Retreat  from  Burgos — Hill  and  Soult  at 
Alba  de  Tormes — Circular  on  the  subject  of  Discipline — Feeling  excited  by 
the  Circular 179 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Feeling  in  England  regarding  Salamanca  and  Burgos — Meeting  of  Parhament 
— Speeches — Lord  Wellington  becomes  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Spanish 
Armies — Goes  to  Cadiz  to  meet  the  Cortes — Obtains  the  Colonelcy  of  the 
Royal  Horse  Guards — Goes  to  Lisbon 199 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Glance  at  Napoleon's  Russian  Campaign,  and  the  State  of  Affairs  in  the 
East  of  Spain 211 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Old  Soldiers — Second  in  Command — Preparations  for  the  ensuing  Campaign 
— Remonstrances  addressed  to  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Governments 
— Advance  into  Spain — Battle  of  Vittoria 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Reception  of  the  News  of  the  Battle  of  Vittoria  in  England — Failure  of  Sir 
John  Murray  at  Tarragona — Advance  into  the  PjTenees — Reappearance 
of  Marshal  Soult — His  Proclamation 246 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

San  Sebastian  taken — Pampeluna  capitulates .  272 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Battle  of  the  Nivelle — Proclamation  of  Louis  XVIH. — Lord  "Wellington's 
view  of  the  French  feeling  in  respect  to  a  Successor  to  Napoleon — The 
War  in  Germany — The  Battle  of  Leipsic — Advance  of  the  Northern  Allies 
to  Frankfort — Declaration  of  the  AlUes .296 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  FeeliDg  in  England — Canning's  Speech — Passage  of  O'.e  NIve — ^"■«n^  't 
of  Barrouilhet,  Arcangues,  and  St.  Pierre — Battle  of  Orthea  — Dor^lara'^ia 
for  the  Bourbons — Remonstrances  with  the  Due  D'Angoclcme  .         .        .30 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Dissolution  of  the  Congress  at  Chatillon — Napoleon  resist:  'he  Alhes  at 
Craone,  Laon,  and  Soissous — Revolution  in  Holland — Faif"""  of  Graham 
at  Bergen-op-Zoom — The  Affair  at  Aire — The  Battle  of  Toulou«,  and  In- 
vestment of  Bayonne 32.^ 


CHAPTER/  XXI. 

Lord  Wellington  created  a 'Duke — Honours  to  his  Generals,  LorJs  Comber- 
mere  and  Hill — The  Duke  visits  Paris  and  Madrid — Fresh  P-uliamentary 
Grants — The  Allied  Sovereigns  and  their  Generals  visit  Englanc' — The  Duke 
of  Wellington  also  returns  to  England  835 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Discussions  on  Shivery — The  Duke  moves  Louis  XVUI.  to  procure  its  aboli- 
tion— The  Congress  at  Vienna — Lord  Castlereagh 356 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  news  of  Napoleon's  Arrival  in  France  received  by  the  Congress  at 
Vienna — Project  for  meeting  the  new  invasion — The  Duke's  plan  of  fortify- 
ing the  Netherlands ...  368 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

rAOB 
THE     DUKE    OF    "WELLINGTON,    "WHEN     LIEUT.-GENERAL     SIR    ARTHUR 

WELLESLET Frontispiece. 

CONVENTION  OF  CINTRA VigneUe. 

MAHRATTA  SOLDIERS     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .11 

MARCH  OF  A  BRITISH  ARMY  IN  INDIA.      THE  DROOG,  1803    .  .       .       15 

ADVANCE    OF    THE    BRITISH    LINE    AT    ASSAYE.       "WELLESLEy's  HORSE 

SHOT,  SEPTEMBER,  1803  .  .  .  .  .  .  .18 

A  VIEW  OF  COPENHAGEN 33 

MAP  OF  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL         .......       35 

RIFLEMAN  AT  RORI9A         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       .       41 

THE  CONVENTION  .........       46 

PASSAGE  OF  THE  DOURO  .  .  .  .  .  .  .      .       53 

MARSHAL  VICTOR  .........       58 

GENERAL  CUESTA  INSPECTING  THE  SPANISH  ADVANCED  POSTS,   1809        59 
MARSHAL  MOKTIER         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .67 

BRITISH  HEAVY  DRAGOONS 70 

GUERRILLAS  CAPTURING  A  FRENCH  PRISONER  .  .  .  .72 

MARSHAL  MASSENA  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .       .       75 

BATTLE  OF  BUSACO.      "  CHARGE  !"    CRIED  CRAUFURD.      SEPT.,   1810     .       76 

LINES  OF  TORRES  VEDRAS 78 

REINFORCEMENTS  .........       79 

ATTACK  ON  MASSENA's  REAR     .  .  .  .  .  .       .    100 

NORMAN  RAMSAY  AT  FUENTES  d'oNORO  .....    105 

LORD  WELLINGTON  IN  THE  TRENCHES  BEFORE  BADAJOZ          .             .       .    119 
GENERAL  HILL 131 


xu.  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FAOB 

CIUDAD  RODRIGO  AFTER  THE  SIEGE,  JANUARY,  1812    .            .            .      .  140 

BADAJOZ  AFTER  THE  ijIEGE,   1812               ......  IGl 

SALAMANCA,  1812 1C9 

TKIUMPHAL  ENTRY  INTO  MADRID,   1812 179 

SPANISH  LADIES 180 

RETREAT  FROM  BURGOS           ..,.,...  193 

PONTOON  BRIDGE     ..........  236 

PLUNDERING  BAGGAGE VITTORIA 243 

MARSHAL  JOURDAN VITTORIA 244 

BOULT PYRENEES 253 

PYRENEES 263 

DESCENT  FROM  THE  PYRENEES,  NEAR  THE  BIDASSOA,  1813         .            .  287 

FRENCH  SOLDIERS 298 

LORD  COMBERMERE 337 

MARSHAL  PRINCE  BLUCHER          ....                        ...  344 


LIFE    OF 


THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth,  parentage,  and  education,  of  Arthur  Wellesley — Enters  the  Army — Serves  in  HoUantl 
with  the  33rd  Regimentr— Proceeds  to  India— Capture  of  Seringapatam— Becomes  Gov- 
ernor of  the  place— Attacks  Dhoondia  Waugh,  the  freebooter— Promoted  to  Major-General — 
Conducts  the  campaign  against  the  Mahratta  chieftains — Gains  the  victories  of  Assaye  and 
Argaun— Takes  the  fortresses  of  Ahmednuggur,  Asseerghur  and  Gawilghur— Created  a 
Knight  of  the  Bath— Receives  addresses  and  rewards— Returns  home. 

T  generally  falls  to  tlie  lot  of  a  bio- 
grapher to  start  with  his  subject  from 
an  obscure  point,  and  to  enjoy  the 
satisfaction  of  travelling  with  him  to 
the  eminence  which  has  given  his 
early  history  a  claim  upon  public  re- 
spect and  curiosity.  Nothing  is  more 
agreeable  than  to  track  an  adventurous 
spirit  through  all  the  difficulties  and 
obstructions  which  beset  the  path  of 
the  friendless,  and  to  share,  in  imagi- 
nation, in  its  honourable  struggles,  to 
glide  over  its  smoother  passages,  to 
depict  its  patience  and  fortitude,  and, 
finally,  to  participate  in  its  noble 
triumphs. 

The  writer  who  should  undertake 
to  narrate  the  history  of  Wellington  is  deprived  of  a  portion  of  this 
satisfaction,  because  the  career  of  the  great  warrior  and  statesman 
commenced    under    circumstances    of    peculiar    advantage.      Nobly 

VOL.  I.  1 


2  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1769. 

born,  carefully  educated,  and  connected  with  people  enjoying  consid- 
erable political  influence,  he  was  subjected  to  no  early  wrestlings 
with  fate.  lie  was  launched  upon  the  stream  of  life  under  the 
most  favourable  auspices,  tasting  neither  the  bitterness  of  poverty 
nor  the  humiliation  of  obscurity.  His  public  life,  from  first  to  last, 
was  one  uninterrupted  chain  of  glory,  each  link  more  brilliant  than 
its  predecessor,  and  unlike  other  great  adventurers,  whose  course 
from  insignificance  to  splendour  was  broken,  through  a  series  of 
mischances  or  their  own  unsteadiness  of  character,  his  progress 
knew  no  culminating  point — his  fame  no  tarnish — his  fortunes  no 
reverse. 

But  the  even  tenor  of  his  career  is  no  disparagement  of  the  vast 
merit  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  If  his  antecedents  were  less 
humble  than  the  public  beginnings  of  other  men,  let  it  be  remembered 
that  he  reached  a  higher  eminence  than  any  personage  of  whom  the 
annals  of  England  possess  a  record — always  excepting  John,  Duke 
of  Marlborough,  his  prototype  in  all  things  but  political  virtue.  Nor 
has  his  upward  path  been  free  from  a  thousand  obstructions,  which 
none  but  a  gigantic  mind  and  a  firm  heart  could  surmount.  His  diffi 
culties  begin  with  his  direct  responsibility.  His  triumphs  followed  a; 
the  results  of  his  indomitable  perseverance,  his  unflinching  courage 
and  his  amazing  constancy. 

Irrational  and  exacting  must  be  the  biographer  who  is  not  conten 
with  such  materials  for  his  story  ! 

It  was  in  March,  1769,  that  Arthur  Wellesley  first  saw  the  light. 
Biographers  difl'er  as  to  the  date  and  the  locality  ;  but  it  appears 
by  the  evidence  taken  before  a  Parliamentary  Committee  in  1791.  to 
inquire  into  a  petition  against  his  return  for  the  borough  of  Trim,  on 
the  ground  of  his  being  a  minor,  that  he  was  really  born  at  Dangan 
Castle,  in  the  county  of  Meath,  Ireland,  at  the  time  alleged  above.  His 
father  was  the  second  Earl  of  Mornington,  who  enjoyed  much  celebrity 
for  his  nice  musical  taste  ;  his  mother,  Anne,  the  eldest  daughter  of 
Viscount  Duugannon.  Early  in  life  Arthur  Wellesley  was  sent  to  Eton 
College  for  his  education,  in  conjunction  with  his  afterwards  distin- 
guished brother  llichard.  Richard,  at  Eton,  displayed  an  aptitude 
for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  was  gifted  with  good  taste  and 
poetic  fancy.  There  are  extant  several  of  his  juvenile  compositions, 
and  even  to  a  late  period  of  his  life  he  did  homage  to  the  Muses  in 
the  hours  of  leisure  and  retirement.  The  obvious  bent  of  his  genius 
and  inclinations  led  to  his  removal  to  Oxford. 

Arthur,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  no  promise  of  excellence,  and  was 
therefore  deemed  fit  for  the  army.     In  those  days,  younger  brothers, 


1191.]  PROMOTION  AND  PARLIAMENTARY  DEBUT.  3 

whose  talent  was  slow  in  developing  itself,  were  considered  by 
sagacious  friends  only  adapted  to  professions  in  which,  it  was  most 
erroneously  supposed,  there  was  neither  scope  .nor  necessity  for 
intellectual  activity.  They  were  sent  into  the  army  to  acquire  rank 
and  position  without  effort.  But  it  was  considered,  in  the  case  of 
Arthur  Wellesley,  that  he  ought  at  least  to  have  the  advantages  of 
some  military  preparation,  and  he  was  therefore  sent  to  the  College 
of  Anglers,  directed  by  Pignard,  a  celebrated  French  engineer, — for 
England  at  that  time  did  not  possess  such  an  institution  as  the  Col- 
lege at  Sandhurst. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen,  after  he  had  gone  through  a  course  of 
French  military  instruction,  Arthur  Wellesley  was  gazetted  to  an 
ensigncy  in  the  73d  Regiment.  This  was  in  March,  1787.  Nine 
months  later  he  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  76th.  Sub- 
sequent exchanges  carried  him  into  the  41st  Foot,  and  the  1 2th  Light 
Dragoons. 

In  1791  (30th  of  June),  being  then  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he 
procured  a  company  in  the  58th  Foot,  whence,  four  months  later,  he 
exchanged  to  a  troop  in  the  18th  Light  Dragoons.  Under  the  system 
in  force  in  the  British  army,  officers,  avid  of  rapid  promotion,  must 
seek  it  in  other  regiments  than  their  own,  if  their  immediate  seniors 
are  prepared  to  purchase  advancement.  As  Arthur  Wellesley  had 
had  no  opportunities  of  displaying  zeal  and  gallantry  in  the  field 
during  these  four  years  of  service,  his  quick  progress  may  be  fairly  set 
down  to  the  combined  action  of  ministerial  favor,  and  a  sufficiency 
of  pecuniary  means.  Neither  at  school,  nor  college,  nor  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  easy  regimental  duty  peculiar  to  a  time  of  peace,  and 
incidental  to  five  exchanges,  did  he  display  any  of  those  qualities  which 
developed  themselves  in  so  remarkable  a  manner  a  few  years  later. 

Previous  to  obtaining  his  company.  Lieutenant  Wellesley  was  re- 
turned a  member  of  the  Irish  parliament.  He  sat  for  three  years, 
during  a  portion  of  which  time  he  was  an  aide-de-camp  to  the  Earl  of 
Westmoreland,  then  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland. 

The  young  member  occasionally  spoke,  always  in  opposition  to 
liberal  measures  ;  and  his  oratory  was  characterized  more  by  a  curt 
and  decided  form  of  expression  than  by  the  efflorescence  then  popular 
among  the  Grattans,  Cuffs,  Parnells,  and  other  members  of  the 
legislature.  His  opinions  were  of  the  Tory  cast ;  and,  even  at  that 
early  period,  he  opposed  himself  to  any  consideration  of  the  Catholic 
claims,  and  to  schemes  of  Parliamentary  Reform.  As  an  aide-de-camp, 
and  a  member  of  a  Protestant  family,  his  sentiments  were,  of  course, 
colored  by  the  opinions  of  the  noblemen  and  statesmen  with  whom 


4  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1793 

he  continually  associated ;  but  there  can  be  little  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  was  altogether  under  the  dominion  of  partisanship.  Freedom 
of  thought  was  an  early  habit  with  Arthur  Wellesley.  and  he  sought 
CD  all  occasions  the  independence  of  action  which  was  its  proper  ac- 
companiment. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1793,  Captain  Wellesley  was  gazetted  Major 
of  the  33rd  Foot.  On  the  30th  of  September,  of  the  same  year,  he 
succeeded  to  the  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  of  the  corps. 

It  was  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  33rd  that  the  military  career 
of  Arthur  Wellesley  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  commenced. 

In  1794,  the  French  Republic  was  in  arms  to  propagate  the 
opinions  upon  which  its  existence  was  based,  and  to  meet  the  forces 
of  Austria  and  Prussia  who  had  assembled  to  fight  the  battle  of  order 
and  legitimacy.  Some  parties  in  Holland,  who  had  imbibed  the 
modern  French  doctrines,  sought  the  aid  of  the  Republicans  in  the 
establishment  of  a  system  of  government  and  institutions  akin  to 
their  own ;  and  the  Directory,  recognising  the  appeal,  menaced  the 
Stadtholder  with  the  invasion  of  his  provinces.  Alarmed  for  the 
integrity  of  Holland,  the  Stadtholder  sought  the  assistance  of 
England.  Pitt,  the  British  Minister,  caught  at  the  opportunity  of 
assisting  to  check  the  dissemination  of  principles  which  threatened 
th^  social  disturbance  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  an  army  was  at  once 
equipped  and  dispatched  to  Holland  under  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  second  son  of  King  George  III. 

While  this  army  was  operating  in  the  Netherlands,  a  separate 
expedition,  under  the  Earl  of  Moira  (afterwards  Marquis  of  Hastings, 
and  Governor-General  of  India),  was  directed  to  make  a  descent 
upon  the  coast  of  France.  Of  this  expedition,  the  33rd  Regiment 
formed  a  part,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Arthur  Wellesley  commanding.  The 
troops  had  embarked  on  board  the  transports,  and  awaited  a  wind, 
but  the  arrival  of  the  intelligence  of  the  failure  of  the  Duke  of  York, 
the  surrender  of  Tournay,  and  the  repulse  before  Oudenarde,  induced 
the  Government  to  change  the  destination  of  the  expedition,  and  to 
direct  Lord  Moira  to  proceed  to  Ostend. 

Lord  Moira's  aid  encouraged  the  Duke  of  York  to  persevere  in  his 
operations,  but  it  did  not  in  any  way  promote  their  success. 
Wherever  the  French  Republican  troops  encountered  the  British,  the 
latter,  after  a  vain  contest,  were  compelled  to  give  way.  At  Mechlin, 
the  Duke  was  forced  to  retreat;  first  upon  Antwerp,  then  upon 
Breda  and  Bois  le  Due.  Occasionally  a  stand  was  made,  and  the 
French  were  attacked  in  their  turn,  but  the  result  of  the  struggle  was 
invariably  unfavorable  to  the  British. 


1795.]  SERVICE  IN  HOLLAND.  5 

These  episodical  affairs,  however,  gave  scope  for  the  display  of  good 
soldiership  on  the  part  of  Lieutenanfr-Colonel  Wellesley.  At  Schyndel, 
Lieutenant-Generai  (afterwards  Sir  Ralph)  Abercrombie  was  engaged 
with  a  large  body  of  the  Republicans,  who  had  contrived  to  mask  them- 
selves, until  the  British,  consisting  of  the  two  regiments  of  Guards,  the 
i?3rd  and  44th  Regiments  of  the  line,  and  some  squadrons  of 
Dragoons,  were  brought  within  the  range  of  a  deadly  fire  of  artillery, 
under  cover  of  which  the  French  Hussars  prepared  to  make  a  despe- 
rate charge.  In  the  retrograde  movement  rendered  necessary  by  the 
cannonade,  the  British  fell  into  some  confusion,  the  Dragoons 
mingling  with  the  Guards.  At  this  juncture,  with  the  promptitude 
which  ever  afterwards  marked  his  movements,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Wellesley  deployed  the  33rd  into  line  in  rear  of  the  household 
troops,  in  order  to  occupy  the  road,  and  hold  the  French  in  check. 

The  Hussars  continued  to  advance,  with  their  usual  impetuosity, 
and  when  within  a  suitable  distance  furiously  charged.  The  33rd 
reserved  their  fire  until  the  cavalry  came  within  one  hundred  yards; 
then,  delivering  a  murderous  volley,  they  threw  back  the  assailants, 
and  followed  them,  as  they  in  turn  retreated,  with  a  succession  of 
destructive  fusillades.  Upon  a  subsequent  occasion  at  Meteren, — 
Walmoden  having  intermediately  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
allied  Hanoverian  and  British  forces, — Lieutenant-Colonel  Wellesley 
did  good  service  in  forcing  a  confident  body  of  Republican  troops  to 
abandon  an  attack  upon  the  position  of  Generals  Dundas  and  DalwicL 

Occupying  Meteren  with  a  wing  of  the  o3rd,  two  field-pices,  and 
a  squadron  of  Hussars,  Colonel  Wellesley  was  obliged  fey  superior 
numbers  to  fall  back  upon  the  British  lines,  losing  his  cannon  in  the 
Tetrogression.  Reinforced  by  the  other  wing  of  his  regiment,  he,  in 
turn,  beeamfi  the  assailant,  regained  the  guns,  and  repulsed  the 
enemy ;  then,  falling  back  upon  the  post  of  Geldermalsen,  he  main- 
tained himself  with  the  42nd  and  78th  Highlanders,  and  the  33rd, 
until  the  French  retired  after  repeated  efforts  to  dislodge  him. 

Returning  to  lEngland  at  the  close  of  the  disastrous  campaign  in 
Holland,  the  S3rd  Regiment  commenced  recruiting,  for  what  betweem 
sickness,  and  the  ordinary  contingencies  cf  war,  the  corps  had  been 
reduced  to  a  skeleton.  It  had  scarcely  been  reported  effective,  ere,  in 
the  autumn  of  1795,  it  was  ordered  to  the  West  Indies  as  part  of  an 
expedition,  and  'had  actually  embarked.  Stress  of  weather,  however, 
prevented  the  departure  of  the  expedition,  and  the  33rd  re-landed 
under  instructions  to  prepare  for  service  in  the  East. 

If  the  optimist  wished  for  an  elucidation  of  his  doctrine  that  tout 
<e&t  pom-  le  omeux  dans  ce  mcillcur  des  t7iondes,  he  mi^ht  triumphantly 


0  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON  [1793, 

point  to  the  "  ill-winds"  which  diverted  the  West  Indian  expedition 
from  its  destined  course.  But  for  the  happy  accident  of  the  return 
of  the  33rd  to  port,  Wellesky  would  have  lost  the  admirable  oppor- 
tunity for  the  display  of  his  talents  which  India  was  shortly  to  open 
to  him. 

In  the  month  of  April,  179G,  the  33rd  sailed  for  India,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel remaining  for  the  moment  in  England,  in  ill  health. 
The  regiment  put  into  the  Cape  for  provisions,  and  here  it  was  joined 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wellesley,  who  proceeded  with  it  to  Calcutta. 

In  those  days,  voyages  to  the  East  Indies  were  tedious  operations, 
and  they  were  not  expedited  by  a  stoppage  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  It  was  February,  1797,  before  the  33rd  Eegiment  disembarked 
at  Calcutta. 

For  nearly  two  years  subsequent  to  his  anrival  in  India,  the  time 
of  Colonel  Wellesley  was  passed  in  the  performance  of  garrison  and 
district  duty,  if  we  except  the  preparation  for  an  expedition  to 
Manilla,  which  was  abandoned  before  it  was  carried  into  execution. 
At  the  close  of  1798,  however,  Lord  Mornington  (Colonel  Wellesley's 
brother),  who  had  become  Governor-General  of  India,  having  acquired 
information  that  Tippoo,  the  Sultan  of  Mysore,  was  negotiating  with 
the  French  Republicans  at  Mauritius  (then  called  the  Isle  of  France) 
for  the  establishment  of  an  offensive  and  defensive-  alliance  having  for 
its  object  the  expulsion  of  the  English  from  India,  his  lordship  deter- 
mined on  assembling  a  large  body  of  troops  in  the  vicinity  of  Tippoo's 
territories. 

Colonel  Wellesley  was,  on  this  occasion,  appointed  to  a  responsible- 
command  ;  and  in  November,  1798,  we  find  him  at  the  head  of  all 
the  disposable  troops  assembled  and  encamped  at  Wallajabad.  This 
responsible  duty  he  fulfilled  until  February,  1799,  when  General 
Harris,  who  had  been  nominated  to  the  chief  direction  of  the  opera- 
tions which  Tippoo's  contumacy  and  treachery  seemed  to  render  ad- 
visable, joined  the  army,  and  took  the  command.  He  immediately 
addressed  himself  to  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  campaign. 
Prom  no  individual  in  the  army  did  he  derive  greater  aid  than  from 
Colonel  Wellesley,  as  his  first  report  of  that  officer's  masterly  arrange- 
ments to  the  Governor-General  expressed  in  the  following  letter  : 


"Camp,  near  Vellok-b,  Shd  Fibruary,  1799. 

'•  My  Lord, 

"  Having   had    leisure  since  my  arrival  here  to  inspect   the 
division  of  the  army  which  has  been  aince  its  formation  under  the 


1799.]  seringapatam:  7 

orders  of  the  Honorable  Colonel  Wellesley,  I  have  much  satisfaction 
in  acquainting  your  lordship  that  the  very  handsome  appearance  and 
perfect  discipline  of  the  troops  do  honor  to  themselves  and  to  him  ; 
while  the  judicious  and  masterly  arrangements  in  respect  to  supplies, 
which  opened  an  abundant  free  market,  and  inspired  confidence  into 
dealers  of  every  description,  were  no  less  creditable  to  Colonel 
Wellesley  than  advantageous  to  the  public  service,  and  deservedly 
entitle  him  to  my  thanks  and  approbation. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  &c., 

"G-.  Harris." 


Soon  after  General  Harris  had  joined,  the  army,  consisting  of 
upwards  of  50,000  fighting  men,  formed  into  three  large  divisions, 
one  of  which  was  placed  under  Colonel  Wellesley,  moved  towards 
Seringapatam.*  Tippoo,  confident  in  his  own  resources,  and  the 
bravery  of  his  troops,  advanced  to  meet  them.  He  had  no  alternative, 
he  considered,  but  to  attack  himself,  or  to  remain  in  his  capital  to  be 
assailed.  He  adopted  the  former.  At  Sedaseer  (6th  March,  1799), 
he  encountered  the  Western  or  Cannanore  army,  under  General 
Stuart.  Falling  furiously  upon  a  brigade  of  Sepoys,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Montresor,  he  hoped  to  annihilate  it  by  the  superiority  of 
his  numbers.  But  Stuart  coming  to  his  aid,  Tippoo's  troops,  after 
a  five  hours'  attack,  gave  way  with  great  loss.  Three  weeks  sub- 
sequently, Tippoo  afi'ronted  the  allied  army  under  General  Harris 
at  Mullavelly.  The  brunt  of  the  battle  was  borne  by  the  infantry  of 
the  Nizam  under  Colonel  Wellesley,  supported  by  the  cavalry  under 
General  Floyd.  The  conflict  lasted  for  some  hours.  At  length  the 
elite  of  Tippoo's  divisions  came  in  contact  with  the  33rd,  and  halting, 
coolly  delivered  its  fire.  The  33rd,  Colonel  Wellesley's  regiment, 
returned  the  volley,  and  charged  with  the  bayonet.  The  enemy 
wavered,  broke,  and  fled ;  General  Floyd's  cavalry  pursued  and 
destroyed  them. 

Tippoo  now  retired  to  Seringapatam,  whither  he  was  followed  by 
the  allied  army.  General  Harris  was  not  long  in  investing  the  c^ty, 
and  making  arrangements  for  a  siege.  These  siege  operations  com- 
menced upon  the  junction  of  the  Bombay  army  with  that  of  the 
Madras  force  on  the  14th  of  April,  1799,  and  continued  unceasingly 
until  the  4th  of  May,  when  breaches  having  been  efiected,  the  general 
assault  was  made,  under  the  personal  command  of  Sir  David  Baird. 
Intermediately  some   minor  operations  had  taken  place,  connected 

>  A  fortified  town  in  Mysore,  then  the  capital. 


8  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1799. 

■with  the  occupation  of  villages,  the  attack  upon  the  citadel,  and  the 
repulse  of  sorties,  and  in  all  of  these  Colonel  Wellesley  displayed 
great  judgment,  coolness,  and  gallantry. 

In  an  attack  upon  a  tope  or  grove,  occupied  by  the  enemy,  Colone* 
Wellesley  was  struck  on  the  knee  by  a  spent  ball,  and  narrowly 
escaped  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Sultan's  troops.  On  the  day 
appointed  for  the  attack  on  Seringapatam  a  circumstance  occurred 
■which  illustrated  the  habit  so  long  conspicuous  in  Wellesley  in  after 
life,  of  adhering  rigidly  to  the  orders  of  his  superiors  ;  a  principle  of 
action  he  was  sedulous  to  inculcate  when  he  came  to  exercise  superior 
command.  When  all  was  ready  for  the  assault.  Colonel  Wellesley 
was  not  present,  and  as  General  Harris  had  ordered  that  he  should 
command,  he  could  not  comprehend  why  the  Colonel  was  absent, 
especially  when  so  much  time  had  elapsed  whilst  the  additional  forces 
were  marching  down  to  their  allotted  stations.  After  waiting  a  little 
longer,  and  inquiring  from  his  staff  what  could  be  the  reason  of 
Colonel  Wellesley's  absence.  General  Harris  became  uneasy  and 
apprehensive  that  the  favorable  moment  for  the  attack  would  be 
lost ;  and  he  directed  General  Baird,  who  was  on  the  spot,  to  take 
the  command,  and  proceed  to  the  attack.  General  Eaird  immediately 
drew  his  sword,  and,  turning  his  horse,  rode  towards  the  column  for 
this  purpose.  He  had  not  moved  many  paces  when  General  Harris 
called  him  back,  and  said,  "  On  further  consideration  I  think  that  we 
must  wait  a  little  longer  for  Colonel  Wellesley,"  in  which  General 
Baird  expressed  his  hearty  concurrence.  Colonel  Wellesley  appeared 
in  a  few  moments  afterwards,  having,  by  an  omission  in  the  Adjutant- 
General's  Office,  been  only  just  then  warned  for  the  duty.  He 
instantly  took  the  command  of  the  troops,  and  proceeded  to  the 
attack. 

Seringapatam  fell  after  a  short  but  murderous  conflict. 

After  the  capture  of  Seringapatam,  Colonel  Wellesley  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  fortress.  In  this  responsible  position  it  became 
his  duty  to  see  to  the  interment  of  the  dead,  the  stoppage  of  the 
plunder  of  houses  and  the  molestation  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the 
re-establisliment  of  bazaars  throughout  the  city. 

The  inclination  of  the  soldiery  to  indulge  in  every  kind  of 
debauchery  and  violence  compelled  the  Colonel  to  resort  to  measures 
of  severity,  and  it  was  not  until  several  men  had  been  executed 
for  marauding,  that  the  plunder  ceased.  Colonel  Wellesley  then 
applied  himself  to  the  task  of  conciliating  the  adherents  of  the 
Sultan,  and  of  restoring  the  general  confidence  of  the  Mussulman 
population,  a  duty  which  he  discharged  with  consummate  sagacity. 


1799.]  THE  COMMAND  OF  SERINGAPATAiL  9 

A  commission  having  been  appointed  to  partition  the  conquered 
territories  among  the  allies,  in  conformity  to  preliminary  treaties, 
Colonel  Wellesley  was  named  one  of  the  commissioners. 

As  soon  as  the  Hindoo  family  which  had  been  displaced  by  the 
Mussulmans  was  restored  to  the  Musnud,  or  throne  of  Mysore,  the 
grand  army  was  broken  up,  General  Harris  returned  to  Madras, 
his  head  quarters,  as  Commander-in-Chief,  and  Colonel  Wellesley 
was  left  in  command  of  the  troops  serving  above  the  Grhauts,  a 
command  with  which  were  associated  certain  civil  duties  of  an 
important  character. 

The  manner  in  which  these  military  and  civil  functions  were  dis- 
charged elicited  the  highest  approbation.  The  "  active  superintend- 
ence, discernment,  impartiality,  and  decision,"  of  the  Colonel  called 
repeatedly  for  the  especial  commendation  of  the  Government.  There 
were,  however,  not  a  few  persons  who  objected  that  the  selection  of 
Colonel  Wellesley  for  the  command  was  made  at  the  instance  of  his 
brother,  the  Earl.  This  led  to  some  correspondence  between  General 
Harris  and  the  Governor-General,  in  the  course  of  which  the  following 
passages  occurred.  Lord  Mornington,  in  writing  to  General  Harris, 
said — 

"  July  nth,  1799. 

"  With  respect  to  the  language  which  you  say  people  have  held  of 
my  brother's  appointment  to  command  in  Seringapatam,  you  know 
that  I  never  recommended  my  brother  to  you,  and  of  course  never 
even  suggested  how,  or  where,  he  should  be  employed ;  and  I  believe 
you  know  also,  that  you  would  not  have  pleased  me  by  placing  him  in 
any  situation  in  which  his  appointment  would  be  injurious  to  the 
public  service.  My  opinion,  or  rather  knowledge  and  experience,  of 
his  discretion,  judgment,  temper,  and  integrity,  are  such,  that  if  you 
had  not  placed  him  in  Seringapatam,  I  would  have  done  so  of  my 
own  authority,  because  I  think  him  in  every  point  of  view  the  most 
proper  for  that  service. 

"  MORNINGTON." 


No  man  who  knows  what  was  the  nature  of  the  service  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  permanent  Commandant  of  Seringapatam  at  that 
moment,  will  wonder  that  the  Governor-General  should  have 
declared  thus  distinctly  to  General  Harris,  "  if  you  had  not  placed 
Colonel  Wellesley  ,in  command,  I  would."  But  General  Harris 
had     been    deeply    sensible    of   the   weighty    responsibility   which 


10  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   "WELLINGTON.  j^lYog 

attached  to  him  on  the  death  of  Tippoo,  when  the  destinies  of 
an  empire  hung  in  the  balance,  and  when  he  was  the  sole 
guardian  of  the  high  interests  involved  in  this  momentous  charge 
until  Lord  Mornington  should  decide  upon  the  future  policy  to 
be  pursued.  With  a  full  sense  of  the  imperative  necessity  of 
selecting  as  a  commandant  for  Seringapatam  one  in  whose  talents, 
integrity,  and  discretion,  unbounded  confidence  could  be  placed, 
he  appointed  Colonel  Wellesley,  and  was,  says  his  biographer, 
proud  of  his  choice  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life. 

An  early  proof  of  the  devotion  of  Wellesley  to  the  interests  of  the 
service — his  complete  abnegation  of  self,  when  the  public  welfare 
demanded  the  sacrifice — is  presented  to  us  about  this  time.  The 
Dutch,  subdued  by  the  French,  had  united  with  the  Republic  in  its 
aggressive  measures  against  England  and  other  states.  It  became, 
therefore,  a  measure  of  policy  to  attack  her  principal  possession  in 
India,  Batavia,  the  capital  of  Java.  Lord  Mornington,  accordingly, 
prepared  an  armament  for  the  reduction  of  the  place,  and  in  a  just 
confidence  in  the  military  merit  of  Colonel  Wellesley,  offered  the 
appointment  to  his  brother.  The  probable  advantages  and  credit  to 
be  gained  by  it  were  great ;  but  Wellesley  "  left  all  that  entirely  out 
of  the  question."  He  felt  that  the  tranquillity  of  the  country,  then 
under  his  military  government,  was  a  subject  of  primary  importance ; 
and,  believing  his  continued  presence  calculated  to  insure  it,  he  declined 
the  proffered  command,  with  the  qualification  that  if  Lord  Clive 
the  then  Governor  of  Madras,  chose  to  accept  it  for  him,  he  would 
not  hesitate  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue,  especially  if  the  sailing 
of  the  expedition  could  be  delayed.  Before  the  appeal  to  Lord  Clive 
could  reach  him,  a  letter  from  his  lordship  to  Colonel  Wellesley 
crossed  it.  This  letter  directed  the  advance  of  tlie  troops  under 
Wellesley  into  the  Mahratta  territory.  The  Colonel  elected  to  refuse 
the  Bataviau  command  definitively. 

Amongst  the  captives  liberated  from  the  dungeons  of  Seringapatam 
after  Tippoo's  death,  was  one  Dhoondia  Waugh,  a  Mahratta  trooper, 
who  had  deserted  from  Ilyder  Ali,  and  at  the  head  of  an  armed 
banditti  committed  depredations  in  Mysore.  Tippoo  seduced  him  to 
his  court,  and  then  seizing  an  early  pretest  for  quarrelling  with  him, 
converted  Dhoondia  into  a  Mussulman,  and  plunged  him  into  a 
prison.  Once  more  enlarged  through  the  generosity  of  the  British,  the 
ungrateful  ruffian  collected  a  body  of  miscreants,  the  greater  part  of 
whom  had  been  in  the  military  service  of  Tippoo,  and  who  were  now, 
by  his  destruction,  cast  upon  the  world.  At  the  head  of  this  band 
of  desperadoes   Dhoondia  ravaged  the  country  of  Bednore.      His 


1800.] 


DHOONDIA  THE  FREEBOOTER, 


11 


power  increased  each  day.  Thousands  flocked  to  his  standard. 
Many  of  the  Killadars  (governors  of  fortresses)  either  surrendered 
to  him,  or  freely  joined  his  plundering  enterprise.  At  length  he 
became  so  formidable,  that  it  was  found  necessary,  for  the  sake  of 
the  peace  of  the  country,  to  send  out  troops  to  check  his  wild 
career.  The  expedition  was  successful.  Dhoondia,  who  called  himself, 
in  the  hyperbolie  phraseology  peculiar  to  the  potentates  of  the 
East,  the  "  King  of  the  Two  Worlds,"  was  driven  from  place  to  place 
by  the  British  force  under  Colonels  Dalrymple  and  Stevenson, 
and  his  camp  ultimately  dispersed.  Dhoondia  took  refuge  in  the 
Mahratta  country. 

In  the  year  1800,  Dhoondia  reappeared  in  the  field,  at  the  head 
of  a  considerable  army,  and  at  this  time  also  the  Polygars,  Nairs, 
and  other  warlike  people  ia  the  south  of  India,  began  to  threaten 


MAHRATTA    SOLDIERS. 


the  tranquillity  and  integrity  of  Mysore.  It  now  became  necessary 
for  Colonel  Wellesley  to  assume  the  offensive  in  person,  and  to  the 
end  that  he  might  completely  crush  the  daring  marauder  Dhoondia, 
be  declined  the  proffered  command   of  an   expedition   to   Batavia, 


12  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  (1800. 

which  George  III.  was  anxious  should  be  undertaken.'  Joined  by 
the  cavalry  of  Goklah,  a  Mahratta  chieftain  in  the  interest  and 
service  of  the  Peishwa  of  Poonah,  Colonel  Wellesley  set  forth  with 
the  19th  and  25th  Dragoons,  and  a  body  of  native  cavalry  and 
infantry. 

Dhoondia  moved  away  on  his  approach,  and  for  three  months  the 
pursuit  continued  over  a  hilly  country,  dotted  with  hill-fortresses, 
or  droogs,  and  intersected  by  rivers.  At  length  after  several 
successful  assaults  upon  the  hill -forts  occupied  by  his  partisans,  and 
the  destruction  af  most  of  his  baggage  and  equipage,  Dhoondia 
Waugh  was  overtaken  at  Conaligull  with  a  body  of  5000  horse.  Here 
Colonel  Wellesley  gave  him  battle,  defeated  and  dispersed  his  force, 
and  obtained  possession  of  his  standing  camp.  In  this  encounter 
Dhoondia  was  killed.  The  warfare  was  thus  terminated ;  happily 
for  Mysore,  which  would  probably  have  been  over-run  by  the  free- 
booter and  his  hordes  had  Colonel  Wellesley  permitted  him  to  cross 
the  Toombuddra  with  the  Pathan  chiefs. 

The  expedition  against  Dhoondia  Waugh  was  not  merely  creditable 
to  Colonel  Wellesley's  sagacity  and  soldiership ;  it  was  honourable 
also  to  his  humanity.  When  the  baggage  of  the  brigand  was  over- 
taken, his  son,  a  child  of  four  years  of  age,  was  found.  He  ran  up 
to  the  palanquin  of  the  Colonel,  and  sought  his  compassion.  The 
appeal  was  not  made  in  vain.  Colonel  Wellesley  adopted  him,  and 
supplied  the  means  of  his  subsistence  and  education  for  some  years." 

The  warfare  against  Dhoondia  at  an  end,  Colonel  Wellesley 
returned  to  his  command  at  Seringapatam.  He  had  in  the  recent 
contest  achieved  more  than  the  simple  subjugation  of  a  powerful 
robber,  and  the  annihilation  of  an  extensive  system  of  brigandage. 
He  had  raised  his  reputation  among  the  Mahrattas  to  a  lofty  pitch, 
and,  with  the  moral  force  thus  created,  was  enabled  to  check  any 
intrigues  in  which  the  remaining  discontented  might  indulge.  At 
this  moment,  however,  the  Mahrattas  were  too  much  engaged  in 
encroachments  upon  one  another,  to  trouble  themselves  much  about 
the  British. 

The  operations  of  the  French  did  not  cease  to  be  a  subject  of 
much  solicitude  with  the  Anglo-Indian  authorities.  Tippoo  had 
been  destroyed,  but  Mauritius  (then  called  the  Isle  of  France)  still 

1  It  was  WeUeeley's  principle  that  an  officer  should  always  forego  prirate  consideratioDs  when 
public  duty  was  in  question.  In  thia  instance  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  conformity  of  his 
practice  to  his  principle. 

2  Tlie  boy  lived  until  his  twenty-sixth  year,  when  ho  died  of  cholera,  while  in  the  service  of 
\ho  Exgab  of  Mysore. 


1801.]  WELLESLEY  SUPERSEDED.  13 

furnished  a  rendezvous  for  plotters,  a  depot  for  French  troops  and 
ships,  and  a  2^oint  cVajijnd  for  hostile  movements  against  the  British 
possessions  in  India.  Moreover,  Egypt  had  now  become  the  arena 
of  European  warfare.  Napoleon  Buonaparte,  eager  to  neutralise  the 
mischievous  effects  of  the  Battle  of  the  Nile,  by  restoring  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  French  arms  in  Egypt,  was  engaged  in  reinforcing  the 
troops  in  the  latter  country.  He  had  an  ulterior  object  in  view — the 
invasion  of  India  from  Egypt — in  which  project  he  calculated  upon 
being  assisted  by  Russia.  To  counteract  this  object,  or  to  attack 
Mauritius,  was  the  motive  of  an  armament  now  ordered  by  Lord 
Mornington  to  assemble  at  Trincomalee,  a  harbor  on  the  north-eastern 
coast  of  Ceylon. 

Colonel  Wellesley  was  directed  to  assume  the  command  of  the 
force.  Early  in  1801,  we  find  him  at  Ceylon  preparing  to  act  accord- 
ing to  the  orders  he  might  receive.  He  believed  that  the  destination 
of  the  force  would  be  to  the  Bed  Sea ;  and,  under  this  persuasion,  as 
the  season  rapidly  advanced,  he  sailed  to  Bombay  en  route,  intending 
there  to  re-victual  his  troops,  and  receive  definite  instructions  from  his 
brother.  But  the  Earl  of  Mornington  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  deter- 
mined to  send  the  expedition  to  Batavia,  and  having,  for  certain  good 
reasons,  resolved  on  placing  General  Baird  at  the  head  of  the  enter- 
prise, Wellesley,  on  reaching  Bombay,  found  letters  superseding  him 
in  the  command.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  Earl  of  Mornington 
intended  by  this  measure  to  mark  his  disapprobation  of  Colonel 
Wellesley's  procedure  upon  his  own  responsibility.  The  Earl  himself 
explained  the  act  by  reference  to  the  relative  rank  of  the  officers. 
He  conceived  that  for  such  an  enterprise  a  General  Officer  should  be 
employed.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  supercession  was  a  subject  of  much 
distress  to  Wellesley,  and  he  expressed  himself  regarding  it  in  terms 
of  annoyance  most  unusual  with  him  when  his  own  personal  interests 
were  alone  concerned: — 

"  I  have  not  been  guilty  of  robbery  or  murder,  and  he  (Lord  M.) 
has  certainly  changed  his  mind ;  but  the  world,  which  is  always  good- 
natured  towards  those  whose  affairs  do  not  exactly  prosper,  will  not, 
or  rather  does  not,  fail  to  suspect  that  both,  or  worse,  have  been  the 
occasion  of  my  being  banished.  *  *  *  *  J  ^[^  not  look,  and  did 
not  wish,  for  the  appointment  which  was  given  to  me ;  and  I  say  that 
it  would  probably  have  been  more  proper  to  give  it  to  somebody  else  ; 
but  when  it  was  given  to  me,  and  a  circular  written  to  the  Govern- 
ments upon  the  subject,  it  would  have  been  fair  to  allow  me  to  hold 
it  till  I  did  something  to  deserve  to  lose  it.  I  put  private  considera- 
tions out  of  the  question,  as  they  ought  (to  have)  and  have  had  no 


14  LITE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1802 

weight  in  causing  either  my  original  appointment  or  my  supercession. 
I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  I  have  been  treated 
by  Government  upon  the  occasion.  However,  I  have  lost  neither  my 
health,  spirits,  nor  temper,  in  consequence  thereof.  But  it  is  useless 
to  write  any  more  upon  a  subject  of  which  I  wish  to  retain  no  remem- 
brance whatever." 

It  should  be  stated  that  this  little  explosion  of  wrath  and  disap- 
pointment occurs  in  a  private  letter  to  the  Hon.  Henry  Wellesley 
(afterwards  Lord  Cowley),  and  does  not  form  any  part  of  an  official 
record. 

By  way  of  balm  to  his  hurt  mind.  Lord  Mornington  appointed  his 
brother  second  in  command  under  General  Baird  ;  but  it  was  not  in 
his  destiny  to  fill  an  office  for  which,  on  subsequent  occasions,  he  de- 
clared he  never  could  perceive  the  necessity.  Fever  seized  him,  and 
he  was  incapable  of  proceeding  with  the  expedition,  which  was  now 
ordered  to  Egypt.  He  nevertheless  gave  Baird,  in  an  elaborate  and 
interesting  memorandum  on  the  operations  in  the  Red  Sea,  the  fruits 
of  his  reflections  and  examination  of  the  subject ;  establishing  in  this 
a  magnanimity  of  character,  and  a  zealous  anxiety  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  public  service,  rarely  found  in  men  smarting  under  tlie  pangs 
of  imaginary  injustice.  Nor  was  his  philosophy  less  conspicuous  than 
his  generosity.  "  I  see  clearly,''  he  says  to  Colonel  Champagne,  "  the 
evil  consequences  of  all  this  to  my  reputation  and  future  views ;  but 
it  cannot  be  helped,  and  to  things  of  that  nature  I  generally  contrive 
to  make  up  my  mind." 

In  April,  1801,  Colonel  Wellesley  resumed  his  appointment  in 
Mysore. 

A  year  elapsed,  during  which  Colonel  Wellesley  continued  to  fulfil 
his  duties  in  the  most  exemplary  manner,  acquiring  the  confidence 
of  the  people  by  his  rigid  love  of  justice,  and  his  respect  for  their  re- 
ligious prejudices  and  social  usages.  In  April,  1802,  he  was  gazetted 
a  Major-Gemcral. 

And  here  again  we  find  cause  of  thankfulness  to  the  mysterious 
fate  which  had  decreed  the  continuance  of  Wellesley  in  a  sphere 
where  he  was  to  achieve  measures  of  far  greater  importance  and 
utility  than,  as  the  result  established,  could  be  accomplished  by  the 
army  sent  into  Egypt. 

For  a  considerable  time  previous  to  the  campaigns  narrated  above, 
the  great  Mahratta  cliieftains,  Scindiah,  Holkar,  and  the  Peishwa,  had 
been  at  issue.  J^ach  had  acquired  possessions  of  immense  extent  in 
the  Deccan  (or  south),  the  country  lying  between  the  Nerbudda  and 
Kistna  rivers,  and  the  two  former  were  ambitious  of  \a  extension  of 


1802.]  THE  MAHRATTA  CHIEFTAINS.  15 

their  power.  With  this  view,  Scindiah  had  procured  the  military 
services  of  a  great  many  French  and  other  European  officers,  who 
were  employed  to  drill  and  discipline  his  troops.  Holkar,  similarly 
influenced,  employed  a  similar  agency.  The  clash  of  ambitious  pro- 
jects at  length  placed  Holkar  and  Scindiah  in  an  attitude  of  hostility 
to  each  other. 

The  latter  then  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Peishwa,  but  Holkar 
*  vigorously  prosecuting  hostilities,  defeated  the  combined  forces  in  the 
territories  of  the  Peishwa,  and  entered  the  Peishwa's  capital,  Poonah. 
At  this  juncture  the  Peishwa  sought  the  aid  of  the  British,  through 
the  Resident  at  Poonah.  The  application  was  favourably  received,  for 
the  Governor-General,  now  become  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  had  viewed 
with  alarm  the  growth  of  the  power  of  the  different  chieftains,  each 
of  whom  trenched  more  or  less  upon  the  territories  of  allies  which  were 
contiguous  to  the  British  dominions,  and  was  anxious  to  strengthen 
his  hands  by  a  connexion  which  would  interpose  a  barrier  between 
the  Mysore  country  and  the  designs  of  the  IM'ahrattas.  Accordingly 
an  agreement  was  entered  into  with  the  Peishwa  to  procure  the  resto- 
ration of  his  authority. 

Offers  were  made  to  Scindiah  to  admit  him  a  party  to  the  treaty, 
but  as  he  had  his  own  designs  against  the  British,  he  declined  to  share 
in  the  arrangement. 

The  course  now  taken  by  the  Governor-General,  in  concert  with  the 
governments  of  Madras  and  Bombay,  was  to  order  the  assembly  of  a 
corps  cVarmee  at  all  the  points  threatened  by  Holkar  in  the  conduct 
of  his  operations  against  the  Peishwa.  A  corps  of  observation  was 
placed  on  the  southern  frontier  of  the  Peishwa,  to  maintain  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  British  possessions,  and  the  territories  of  the  Nizam, 
and  the  Mysore  Rajah. 

Another  was  established  on  the  north-west  frontier  of  Mysore, 
while  the  Bombay  government  pushed  troops  to  the  eastern  and 
southern  confines  of  the  territory  which  it  controlled.  The  Nizam 
was  not  inactive.  The  subsidiary  force  at  Hyderabad  prepared  for 
service. 

To  Major-General  Wellesley  was  entrusted  the  command  of  a 
division  of  the  Madras  army.  He  had  previously  draw^n  up  a 
memorandum  for  the  guidance  of  any  officer  who  might  at  any  time 
be  called  upon  to  conduct  a  war  against  the  Mahrattas,  and  was 
therefore  deemed  peculiarly  competent  to  open  a  campaign  in  the 
Mahratta  country.  His  instructions  were  to  advance  upon  Poonah 
in  concert  with  the  subsidiary  force  of  the  Deccan,  to  drive  Holkar 
from  the  capital,  and  secure  the  return  of  the  Peishwa.     The  march 


16  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1803 

was  successfully  accomplished,  the  troops  were  received  everywhere 
with  open  arms,  and  Major-General  Wellesley  reached  Poonah  on  the 
20th  of  April,  1803. 

The  Peishwa  soon  afterwards  entered  his  capital.  But  this  did  not 
deter  Scindiah  from  the  prosecution  of  his  designs.  In  conjunction 
with  the  llajah  of  Berar  he  threatened  the  territories  of  our  ally,  the 
Nizam,  and  was  also  discovered  to  be  in  active  correspondence  with 
Holkar.  Hereupon  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley  resolved  upon  further 
measures. 

Lord  Lake  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  army  of  Hin- 
dostan,  and  high  powers  were  entrusted  to  General  Wellesley.  His 
campaign  against  Dhoondia,  and  his  march  to  Poonah,  had  familiarised 
him  with  the  topography  of  the  country ;  and  the  admirable  disci- 
pline he  had  established  inspired  him  with  perfect  confidence  in  bis 
troops.  The  74th  were  with  him,  and  the  78th  (Highlanders),  and 
bis  European  Cavalry  comprised  the  19th  and  25th  Light  Dragoons, 
ably  commanded.  The  Sepoys  bad  learned  to  respect  and  confide  in 
him  ;  and  although  they  had  not  attained  any  degree  of  efficiency  for 
which  they  are  now  remarkable,  they  knew  the  value  of  loyalty  to 
their  salt.  Every  man  prided  himself  in  being  nimmulaoallali^  of  the 
Company,  for  his  pay  was  good,  the  pension  was  certain,  and  he  had 
profound  faith  in  the  care  which  the  Government  took  of  the  families 
of  men  who  fell  in  action.  The  latter  at  once  marched  to  the  city 
of  Ahmcdnuggur,  a  fortified  town  of  great  strength,  in  the  province 
of  the  same  name.  He  found  the  Pettah,  or  citadel,  garrisoned  by 
about  3000  Mahrattas,  and  1500  Arabs.  No  time  was  lost  in  at- 
tacking it.  It  fell  to  an  assault,  in  which  the  British  sustained  im- 
portant losses,  on  the  8th  of  August.  Two  days  afterwards  an  attack 
was  directed  upon  the  fort,  but  the  cannonade  had  not  lasted  very 
long  when  the  Killadar  made  proposals  of  surrender,  and  in  effect  the 
fort  was  given  ap  on  the  12th,  and  tlienceforth  occupied  by  our  troops. 
The  conquest  of  Ahmcdnuggur  was  of  much  importance.  It  secured 
to  the  army  the  communication  with  Poonah,  and  became  a  very  use- 
ful depot. 

The  loss  of  Ahmcdnuggur,  followed,  as  it  was,  by  the  occupation  of 
Aurungabad, — for  General  Wellesley  sufi"ered  very  little  time  to  elaps? 
between  one  operation  and  another, — induced  Scindiah  and  the  Rajah 
of  Berar  to  quicken  their  movements  upon  Hyderabad.  Their  united 
forces  consisted  of  88,500  cavalry,  18.000  infantry,  some  matchlock 


1  Literally,  "saU-fellow."    To  have  eaten  the  salt  of  another,  ia,  in  the  flgurativo  language  ol 
the  E.ist,  to  have  giren  a  pledge  of  loyalty. 


1803.]  ATTACKS  SCINDIAH.  17 

men,  500  zambooruks  (camel  guns),  and  about  200  pieces  of  artillery, 
35  of  -which  were  of  a  heavy  description  of  ordnance.  French  officers 
commanded  their  troops. 

With  the  view  of  protecting  Hyderabad,  and  of  securing  certain 
convoys  on  their  route  to  join  his  army,  General  "Wellesley  arranged 
with  Colonel  Stevenson  that  they  should  divide  their  force,  consisting 
of  17,000  men,  so  as  to  reach  the  enemy  with  the  greater  rapidity  and 
ease,  the  former  proceeding  by  a  westerly,  and  the  latter  by  an  easterly, 
route  to  Bolerdun,  where  the  Mahrattas  were  encamped,  and  there 
to  co-operate  an  attack.  Information  which  was  brought  to  the 
General,  by  the  hircarrahs  (messengers),  on  his  reaching  Naulniah 
induced  him  to  believe  that  the  enemy  had  retired  with  their  cavalry, 
leaving  their  infantry  to  follow.  It  was  added  that  the  latter  were 
still  encamped  at  a  distance  of  two  leagues  from  the  division  under 
General  Wellesley.  Sending  messengers  to  expedite  the  movements 
of  Colonel  Stevenson,  Wellesley  hurried  forward,  and,  after  a  severe 
march,  found  himself  to  his  great  astonishment  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole  of  the  armies  of  the  confederate  chiefs.  They  occupied  a  space 
between  Bolerdun  and  the  village  of  Assaye,  having  the  river  Kaitna 
in  their  front,  and  the  Jouah  in  their  rear.  The  Mahratta  infantry 
occupied  the  left  and  centre  of  the  line,  while  the  cavalry  was  on  the 
right. 

Surprised  but  undismayed  by  this  formidable  array,  General 
Wellesley,  after  contemplating  the  enemy's  position  for  a  short  time, 
determined  to  attack  the  infantry.  His  force  consisted  at  this  mo- 
ment of  only  8000  men,  1600  of  whom  were  cavalry.  Of  the  en- 
tire body  of  troops  not  more  than  1500  were  British — the  19th  Light 
Dragoons,  the  74th  and  78th  Regiments  of  Foot.  The  artillery 
consisted  of  seventeen  guns.  Colonel  Stevenson's  division  had  not 
come  up. 

It  is  not  venturing  too  much  to  say  that  any  other  man  would  have 
doubted  the  propriety  of  attacking  under  such  circumstances.  He 
would  have  halted  to  give  Stevenson  time  to  come  up,  or  he  would 
have  retreated.  But  Wellesley  did  not  see  with  the  eyes  of  other 
men  ;  he  did  not  reason  with  the  faculties  of  ordinary  soldiers.  His 
eagle  glance  discerned  in  an  instant  the  point  of  vantage  whence  the 
foe  might  be  stricken.  He  had  learned  the  value  of  a  "  dash  "  at  the 
natives  when  unprepared ;  and  this  dash  he  was  determined  to 
attempt.  The  Mahrattas  were  stationed  between  two  rivers  meeting 
at  a  point.  To  gain  a  position  near  the  angle  formed  by  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  streams,  and  thus  to  offer  a  narrow  but  compact  and  well 
flanked  front  to  the  enemy — to  attack  his  infantry  on  ground  where 

VOL.  I.  2 


18  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1803 

his  Cavalry  could  not  manoeuvre — were  the  objects  to  which  General 
Wellesley  at  once  directed  his  attention.  And  with  him  to  conceive 
was  to  execute.  He  instantly  passed  the  river  Kaitna,  at  a  ford  be- 
yond the  enemy's  left  flank,  and,  under  cover  of  the  Mysore  Cavalry, 
took  up  the  coveted  position.  "  My  doing  this"  we  have  heard  the 
lamented  Duke  say,  "  has  been  called  a  stroke  of  genius.  I  call  it 
common  sensed 

Scindiah's  army  immediately  changed  its  position,  and  occupying 
the  whole  space  between  the  Kaitna  and  Assaye,  with  a  great  number 
of  guns  in  front,  commenced  a  murderous  cannonade.  The  small 
number  of  British  guns  was  quite  incapable  of  coping  with  this  vast 
battery.  General  Wellesley,  therefore,  directed  his  infantry  to  advance 
with  the  bayonet. 

With  the  determined  courage  which  had  given  them  victory  at 
Seringapatam,  in  the  actions  with  Dhoondia  Waugh,  and  on  the  walls 
of  Ahmednuggur,  the  line  dashed  forward,  carried  the  guns  on  the 
right,  and  approached  Assaye.  At  this  moment  a  cloud  of  Mahratta 
horse,  which  had  stolen  round  the  village,  fell  upom  them — sabre  to 
bayonet — with  characteristic  fury.  The  74th  wavered — the  charge 
was  too  much  for  them,  cut  up  as  they  had  previously  been  by  the 
grape  shot  from  the  guns. 

Colonel  Maxwell,  of  the  19th  Light  Dragoons,  saw  that  the  critical 
moment  had  arrived.  Forward  !  was  the  word.  Falling  upon  the 
Mahratta  cavalry,  the  Dragoons  gave  the  British  infantry  time  to  rally, 
cut  up  the  Mahratta  horsemen,  pushed  through  the  Scindiah's  left,  and 
threw  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  Mahratta  army  into  confusion. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  enemy's  centre,  which  had  remained  un- 
touched, closed  in  upon  the  ground  before  occupied  by  their  left  wing, 
and,  uniting  with  such  of  their  artillery  and  infantry  as  had  been 
passed  over  unhurt  by  the  British  cavalry,  formed  itself  into  a  kind  of 
crescent,  with  its  right  horn  resting  on  the  river  Jouah,  and  its  left 
on  the  village  of  Assaye  ;  thus  presenting  themselves  in  a  fresh 
position  on  the  flank  of  our  infantry,  on  which,  having  collected  a 
considerable  number  of  their  guns,  they  re-commenced  a  heavy  fire. 
The  battle  was  now  to  be  fought  over  again,  with  this  difierence,  that 
the  contending  forces  had  exchanged  sides ;  and,  had  tlie  enemy's 
horse  behaved  with  the  least  spirit,  while  our  cavalry  was  absent  in 
pursuit  of  their  broken  battalions,  there  is  no  guessing  what  the  con- 
sequence might  have  been  ;  but,  happily  for  General  Wellesley,  they 
kept  aloof  To  oppose  the  enemy  in  their  new  position,  the  Sepoy 
battalion  on  the  right  was  immediately  advanced  agalast  them,  but 
without  effect,  being  compelled   to  retire.      Another    wa.    Hrought 


n 


i!    !' 


1803.]  BATTLE   OF  ASSATE.  jg 

forward,  and  equally  repulsed.  The  cavalry,  having  by  this  time 
returned  from  the  pursuit,  and  formed  on  the  left,  and  the  enemy's 
horse  having  disappeared  before  them,  the  Greneral  ordered  the  78th 
Kegiment  and  7th  Cavalry  up  to  head  a  fresh  attack  against  the 
enemy's  infantry  and  guns,  which  still  defended  their  position  with 
obstinacy.  No  sooner,  however,  had  he  formed  the  78th  Regiment  in 
line,  in  directing  which  his  horse's  leg  was  carried  off  by  a  cannon 
shot,  than  the  enemy,  without  waiting  the  attack,  commenced  their 
retreat  across  the  Jouah,  which  they  passed  in  tolerable  order  before 
our  troops  could  come  up  with  them.  Previously  to  this  last  attack, 
Colonel  Maxwell  had  requested  and  obtained  permission  to  charge  a 
considerable  body  of  infantry  and  guns,  which,  having  formed  part  of 
the  reserve,  were  seen  retiring  in  good  order  along  the  right  bank  of 
the  Jouah. 

The  19th  Dragoons  were  not  long  in  coming  up  with  the  enemy, 
who,  having  formed  with  their  left  to  the  Jouah,  steadily  awaited 
their  approach.  The  charge  was  sounded:  the  Dragoons  advanced 
with  rapidity,  amidst  a  shower  of  musketry  and  grape,  and  had  alrea'dy 
got  almost  within  reach  of  the  bayonets  of  the  enemy,  who  still 
gallantly  stood  their  ground.  "  At  this  moment,"  writes  an  officer 
engaged  in  the  charge,  "  instead  of  dashing  among  their  ranks,  I 
suddenly  found  my  horse  swept  round  as  it  were  by  an  eddy  torrent. 
Away  we  galloped,  right  shoulders  forward,  along  the  whole  of  the 
enemy's  line,  receiving  their  fire  as  we  passed,  till  having  turned  our 
backs  upon  them,  we  took  to  our  heels  manfully,  every  one  calling 
out, '  Halt  !  Halt  ! '  while  nobody  would  set  the  example ;  till  at  last, 
a  trumpet  having  sounded,  we  pulled  up,  but  in  complete  disorder, 
dragoons  and  native  cavalry,  pell-mell.  On  this  occasion.  Colonel 
Maxwell  fell,  pierced  by  a  grape-shot.  He  was  gallantly  leading  the 
charge,  when  he  received  his  death-blow.  Having  involuntarily 
checked  his  horse,  and  thrown  his  arm  back,  when  he  received  his 
wound,  the  soldiers  immediately  behind  him,  not  knowing  the  cause, 
mistook  the  gesture  for  a  signal  to  retire,  and  did  so  accordingly.  At 
least,  this  was  the  reason  afterwards  assigned  for  the  failure  ;  and,  if 
true,  it  shows  how  the  fate  of  armies,  and  even  of  nations,  may  depend 
upon  the  direction  of  a  single  shot."  Recovering  from  their  disorder, 
the  Dragoons  renewed  the  charge  with  terrible  effect,  and  the  enemy 
gave  way  in  every  direction. 

Thus  closed  this  memorable  battle,  one  of  the  most  bloody  on 
record  to  the  victors.  Out  of  about  4500  men  in  action;  upwards  of 
2000  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  the  former  amounting  to  more 
than  a  third  of  the  whole  number. 


20  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1803 

Nothing  could  be  more  complete  than  the  diroute  of  Scindiah's 
force.  In  broad  mid-day  he  was  the  occupant  of  the  ground  with 
50,000  men, — at  sunset  a  small  proportion  of  the  British  corps 
(Parmee  bivouacked  on  his  position. 

General  Wellesley  has  been  censured  for  fighting  Scindiah  with  so 
inferior  a  force.  He  had  scarcely  an  alternative.  He  knew  how  much 
discipline,  order,  coolness,  and  judicious  movements  might  accomplish 
against  hordes  of  irregular  or  half-disciplined  troops,  and  he  likewise 
knew  that,  if  he  did  not  attack  the  enemy,  Scindiah  would  certainly 
have  availed  himself  of  the  absence  of  Colonel  Stevenson's  division  to 
become  the  assailant,  with  all  the  advantage  of  a  good  theatre  for 
cavalry  operations.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  end  justified  the  audacity 
of  General  Wellesley's  procedure.  Never  were  skill,  moral  courage, 
and  sound  discipline  more  brilliantly  and  more  efi"ectively  displayed. 
In  testimony  of  the  high  honour  acquired  by  the  army  under  the  per- 
sonal command  of  Major-General  Wellesley  at  the  battle  of  Assaye, 
the  Governor-General  in  Council  ordered  that  honorary  colours,  with 
a  tievice  properly  suited  to  commemorate  that  signal  and  splendid 
victory,  should  be  presented  to  the  corps  of  cavalry  and  infantry  em- 
ployed on  that  glorious  occasion.  The  names  of  the  brave  officers 
and  men  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Assaye  were  commemorated,  together 
with  the  circumstances  of  the  action,  upon  the  public  monument 
erected  at  Fort  "William,  Calcutta,  to  the  memory  of  those  who  had 
fallen  in  the  public  service  during  the  campaign. 

Contemporaneously  with  General  Wellesley's  operations  in  the 
Deccan,  Lord  Lake  was  destroying  Scindiah's  power  in  the  centre  of 
Hindostan.  He  had  taken  the  fortress  of  Allighur,  and  obtained 
possession  of  Delhi,  and  defeated  the  IMahrattas  under  French  leader- 
ship at  Laswarree.  Meanwhile  Colonel  Ilarcourt  attacked  the  pos- 
sessions of  the  Bajah  of  Berar  in  the  south  of  India,  and  Colonel 
Woodington,  with  a  part  of  the  Bombay  army,  subdued  Broach,  Chum- 
paneer,  and  other  places  belonging  to  Scindiah  in  the  province  of 
Guzerat.  Colonel  Stevenson  was  dispatched  to  reduce  Burhampoor 
and  Asseerghur,  while  Major-General  Wellesley  moved  southerly  to- 
wards Aurungabad,  from  which  direction,  however,  he  diverged,  when 
within  sixteen  miles  of  the  city,  in  order  to  go  down  the  Ghauts,  and 
reinforce  Colonel  Stevenson. 

Colonel  Stevenson  succeeded  in  the  duty  intrusted  to  him.  He 
gained  possession  both  of  Burhampoor  and  Asseerghur,  with  compara 
tive  ease.'    ' 

1  Sir  Jasper  Nicolls,  aflerwarda  Commander-in-Chief  In  India  in  1840,  Ml,  '42,  and  '43 
waa  on  the  staff  of  General  Wellesley  during  the  Mahratta  campai|]^.    He  preserved  notes  o* 


1803.]  ADVICE  TO   COLONEL  STEVENSON.  21 

And  here  it  may  not  be  irrelevant  to  quote  the  instructions  which 
he  received  from  General  Wellesley,  regarding  the  best  methods  of 
proceeding  against  the  Mahrattas.  They  demonstrate  the  aptitude 
of  Wellesley's  genius  to  contend  with  the  Mahrattas,  and  the  talent 
with  which  he  could  compress  into  a  few  words  a  volume  of  advice 
upon  a  system  of  strategy  suited  to  the  exigencies  of  the  time. 

"  Supposing  that  you  determine  to  have  a  brush  with  them,  I 
recommend  what  follows  to  your  consideration.  Do  not  attack  their 
position,  because  they  always  take  up  such  as  are  confoundedly 
strong  and  difficult  of  access,  for  which  the  banks  of  the  numerous 
rivers  and  nullahs  afford  them  every  facility.  Do  not  remain  in  your 
own  position,  however  strong  it  may  be,  or  however  well  you  may 
have  entrenched  it ;  but  when  you  shall  hear  that  they  are  on  their 
march  to  attack  you,  secure  your  baggage,  and  move  out  of  your 
camp.  You  will  find  them  in  the  common  disorder  of  march ;  they 
will  not  have  time  to  form,  which,  being  but  half-disciplined  troops, 
is  necessary  for  them. 

"  At  all  events,  you  will  have  the  advantage  of  making  the  attack 
on  ground  which  they  will  not  have  chosen  for  the  battle  ;  a  part  of 
their  troops  only  will  be  engaged;  and  it  is  possible  that  you  will 
gain  an  easy  victory.  Indeed,  according  to  this  mode,  you  might 
choose  the  field  of  battle  yourself  some  days  before,  and  might  meet 
them  upon  that  very  ground." 

Scindiah  being  nearly  disposed  of.  General  Wellesley  now  bestowed 
his  attention  upon  the  Rajah  of  Berar.  Having  ascertained  that  he 
had  traversed  the  hill  country  on  the  borders  of  Candeish  on  his 
route  to  the  banks  of  the  Godavery,  the  General,  on  the  25th  of 
October,  1803,  ascended  the  Adjuntee  Ghaut. 

From  this  point  he  continued  to  press  the  Rajah  back  upon  his  own 
territories.  On  his  way,  in  an  easterly  direction,  General  Wellesley 
encountered  a  Vakeel  (Envoy)  from  Scindiah,  who  had  retired  to  his 
proper  dominions,  and  now  sought  peace. 

An  armistice  resulted,  from  which  the  Rajah  of  Berar  was  excluded. 


tho  campaign,  and   from   these   may  be   gathered  some   pleasing   evidences   of  Wellesley's 
humanity.    After  the  taking  of  Asseerghur,  late  in  October,  1803,  Sir  Jasper  writes: — 

"  Visiting  the  sick  officers  and  wounded,  we  heard  of  General  Wellesley's  liberality  to 
them.  The  evening  we  left  Asseerghur,  he  sent  in  to  every  one  a  dozen  of  Madeira  from  his 
stock,  and  that  wine  is  neither  cheap  nor  plentiful ;  to-day  he  was  in  amongst  them  before 
the  camp  was  pitched,  making  inquiries  which  are  as  honorable  to  his  feelings  as  they  are 
agreeable  and  gratifying  to  the  poor  invalids.  The  men  have  every  comfort  which  can  be 
afforded  from  the  camp,  or  procured  here,  which  I  fear  are  not  very  numerous ;  indeed,  the 
refugees  from  the  adjoining  parts,  and  Scindiah's  wounded  men,  are  dying  here  every  day  in 
want  of  the  commonest  and  coarsest  food." 


22  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1803, 

The  object  of  the  armistice  was  to  detach  one  chieftain  from  the 
other,  and  to  render  unnecessary  the  pursuit  of  his  horse  to  a  distance, 
which  would  interfere  with  other  operations  of  consequence. 

It  was  a  condition  of  the  armistice  that  Scindiah  should  retire 
within  his  own  dominions,  which  he  affected  to  do.  General 
Wellesley,  being  now  bent  on  the  reduction  of  the  fort  of  Gawilghur, 
proceeded  down  the  Ghauts  to  cover  the  investment  which  was  to  be 
undertaken  by  Colonel  Stevenson.  But  when  he  came  within  six 
miles  of  the  village  of  Argaum  (28th  November,  1803),  he  found 
Scindiah's  army  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  village  in  a  line  five  miles 
in  extent.  Forming  his  own  force  in  two  lines,  one  of  cavalry  and 
one  of  infantry  facing  the  enemy,  covered  by  the  Mogul  and  Mysore 
cavalry,  he  advanced  to  the  attack,  the  enemy  as  usual  commencing 
with  a  terrific  discharge  of  artillerj'.  It  was  late  in  the  day.  Sufficient 
light,  however,  remained  to  enable  him  to  defeat  and  scatter  the  foe, 
who  were  pursued  by  the  cavalry  by  moonlight.  From  this  defeat 
Scindiah  never  rallied. 

Continuing  the  movement  upon  Gawilghur,  a  fort  situated  in  a 
range  of  mountains  between  the  sources  of  the  rivers  Poonah  and 
Taptee,  it  was  reached  early  in  December,  and  the  place  was  at  once 
invested  by  the  combined  forces  of  Wellesley  and  Stevenson.  The 
walls  were  breached  and  rendered  practicable  by  the  14th,  and  on 
the  morning  of  tlie  15th  a  storming  party,  consisting  of  the  flank 
companies  of  the  94th  and  of  the  native  corps  in  Colonel  Stevenson's 
division,  assaulted  Gawilghur  and  carried  it  triumphantly.  The 
opposition  was  vigorous  but  brief.  The  garrison  was  extensive, 
consisting  of  the  refugee  troops  from  Argaum,  and  their  bravery 
undeniable.  Great  numbers  were  killed,  but  the  victors  did  not 
disgrace  their  achievement  by  subsequent  barbarities.  So  moderate 
was  the  conduct  of  the  soldiery  as  to  call  for  the  special  commendation 
of  General  Wellesley,  who  declared  that  he  "  never  saw  a  storm  in 
which  so  little  irregularitj^  was  committed."* 

1  A  second  rerercnce  is  made  to  the  characteristic  humanity  of  Wellesley,  in  General 
NicoU's  notes  to  the  storming  of  Gawilghur. 

"■December,  1803. 

"When  General  Wellesley  entered  the  fort,  his  first  enquiry  was  for  the  Killadar,  and  ho 
went  immediately  to  his  house  ;  his  son,  a  fine  lad  of  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  said  he  did  not 
know  where  he  was,  that  l»o  liad  gone  out  about  two  hours  before,  and  had  not  returned.  The 
poor  fellow  was  ignorant  of  his  fate,  perhaps;  but  when  order  was  sufficiently  restored  to 
admit  the  inhabitants  who  survived  to  venture  out,  a  search  was  made,  and  his  body,  with 
that  of  liery  Sing,  was  found  amidst  a  heap  of  slain,  near  the  gateway.  These  two  men,  of 
good  Il.-ij])oot  families,  had  delcrmincd  to  die  in  defence  of  their  trust;  and,  according  to  the 
custom  of  their  country,  to  save  their  wives  and  daughters  from  destruction  by  putting  them 
to  death  before  they  went  out  to  meet  their  own.    From  somo  cause  unknown  to  ua,  this  waa 


1803.]  REWARDS  AND  HONOURS.  23 

Two  short  days  only  elapsed  between  the  fall  of  Gawilghur  and  the 
ratification  of  a  treaty  of  peace  between  the  Rajah  of  Berar  and  the 
East  India  Company.  The  Rajah  ceded  extensive  territories  in 
Cuttack,  near  the  western  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  in  the 
Deccan  renounced  his  connection  with  the  Mahratta  confederates, 
and  engaged  never  again  to  retain  in  his  armies  the  natives  of  any 
European  state  who  might  be  at  war  with  England.  These  cessions 
were  followed  by  Scindiah's  formal  submission,  which  conferred  upon 
the  Company  even  still  greater  advantages  than  those  obtained  from 
the  Berar  Rajah. 

With  these  achievements  the  career  of  Major-Greneral  Wellesley 
in  India  may  be  said  to  have  closed,  although  he  continued  for  some 
little  time  to  wage  a  desultory  war  with  the  hordes,  who,  deprived  by 
peace  of  their  regular  means  of  subsistence,  levied  contributions  on 
the  country. 

The  hour  of  recompense  had  now  arrived,  and  if  it  had  had  to  be 
measured  by  the  gratitude  and  admiration  of  the  Europeans  and 
natives  of  India,  General  Wellesley  received  tributes  and  addresses 
enough  to  have  satisfied  the  most  inordinate  cravings.  A  sword  of  the 
value  of  £1000  was  voted  to  the  General  by  the  British  inhabitants 
of  Calcutta ;  the  officers  of  his  division  presented  him  with  a  service 
of  plate  ;  fetes  and  addresses  awaited  him  at  Bombay,  at  Madras, 
and  at  Seringapatam  ;  but  the  approbation — next  to  that  of  his  own 
pure  mind — which  Wellesley  coveted,  was  unaccountably  withheld. 
No  sign  or  token  of  thankfulness  came  from  the  Court  of  East  India 
Directors  nor  the  Government  of  George  III.  The  Order  of  the 
Bath  was,  indeed,  conferred  upon  the  hero  of  Assaye  and  Argaum, 
and  there  all  reward  stopped,  for  in  those  days  the  difiiculties  of 
Indian  conquests  were  unappreciated,  or  their  real  value  misunder- 
stood. The  noble  generosity  which  in  these  days  garnishes  the 
coronet  of  a  Hardinge  or  a  Gough  with  a  valuable  pension,  and 
recognises  the  deeds  of  a  Pollock  and  a  Nott  with  suitable  annuities, 
had  no  share  in  the  councils  of  Leadenhall  Street.  Founded  on  a 
trading  charter,  the  government  of  the  East  India  Company  discerned 
more  merit  in  the  voyage  of  a  single  commander  of  one  of  their 
splendid  1400  ton  vessels  than  in  the  brightest  military  achievement 
which   added   a   hundred   thousand  acres   to  their  possessions.     In 

but  imperfectly  performed ;  of  twelve  or  fourteen  women,  but  three,  I  think,  were  dead  when 
our  men  discovered  them,  and  three  or  four  more  lay  bleeding,  having  received  two  or  three 
cuts  or  stabs  with  a  knife  or  dagger;  probably  these  Rajpoots  entrusted  this  shocking  duty 
to  hands  more  humane  than  their  own.  General  Wellesley  visited  them,  and  ordered  every 
respect  and  care  to  bo  shown  to  them." 


24  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1805. 

the   fulness  of  liis   chagrin,  Wellcsley  wrote   to   his   friend,  Major 
Shawe, — 

"  I  have  served  the  country  in  important  situations  for  many  years, 
and  have  never  received  anything  but  injury  from  the  Court  of 
Directors,  although  I  am  a  singular  instance  of  an  officer  who  has 
served  under  all  the  governments,  and  in  communication  with  all  the 
residents,  and  many  civil  authorities ;  and  there  is  not  an  instance  on 
record,  or  in  any  private  correspondence,  of  disapprobation  of  any 
one  of  my  acts  or  a  single  complaint,  or  even  a  symptom  of  ill- 
temper,  from  any  one  of  the  political  or  civil  authorities  in  communi- 
cation with  whom  I  have  acted.  The  King's  ministers  have  as  little 
claims  upon  me  as  the  Court  of  Directors.  I  am  not  very  ambitious, 
and  I  acknowledge  that  I  never  have  been  very  sanguine  in  my 
expectations  that  military  services  in  India  would  be  considered  on 
the  scale  on  which  are  considered  similar  services  in  other  parts  of 
the  world.  But  I  might  have  expected  to  be  placed  on  the  Staff  of 
India,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  lamented  death  of  General 
Frazer,  General  Smith's  arrival  would  have  made  me  supernu- 
merary." 

A  similar  degree  of  indifference  to  high  claims  marked  the  conduct 
of  the  Government  towards  the  Earl  of  Mornington.  The  King  raised 
him  to  the  Marquisate  of  Wellesl-ey  ;  but  it  was  not  until  thirty  or 
forty  years  subsequently  that  the  Court  of  Directors  repaired  the 
shameful  omission  of  their  predecessors  by  soothing  his  declining 
days  with  a  valuable  gratuity. 

In  March,  1805,  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  embarked  in  the  Trident 
frigate  for  England.  He  left  behind  him  an  imperishable  reputation. 
For  long  years  afterwards  the  name  of  Wellesley  was  synonymous  in 
India  with  truth,  justice,  humanity,  and  good  faith.  The  natives  of 
Mysore  had  found  in  him  a  firm  and  honest  friend,  and  the  army 
recognised  in  AVellesley  the  general  who  was  always  sure  to  conduct 
them  to  victory.  His  unceasing  activity  in  procuring  supplies,  his 
stern  reprehension  of  infractions  of  discipline,  his  excellent  example 
of  patience  and  endurance  when  long  and  forced  marches  tried  the 
spirits  and  strength  of  his  companions,  his  assertion  of  the  interests 
and  regard  for  the  comforts  of  the  soldiery,  all  tended  to  raise  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  army,  and  render  it  an  efficient  agent 
in  the  accomplishment  of  the  important  objects  he  was  called  upon 
to  accomplish.  Although  he  had  suffered  from  severe  attacks  of 
illness  both  in  India  and  before  his  arrival  in  the  country,  and  found 
incessant  occupation  in  an  extensive  correspondence  which  regulated 
distant  affairs,  in  the  presence  of  formidable  enemies,  or  the  necessity 


iS05.]  CHARACTER  AND  HABITS.  25 

for  conciliating  and  overawing  doubtful  friends,  yet  he  never  betrayed 
anxiety  of  mind  or  exhaustion  of  body.  On  the  contrary,  writes  an 
eloquent  biographer,  "not  a  man  in  his  army  seemed  more  devoid  of 
care.  Full  of  animation  and  urbanity,  no  reproving  look  checked 
the  joke  or  suppressed  the  laugh  of  those  about  him.  '  Come  away!' 
he  would  call  out,  and  off  he  went  at  full  speed  after  his  gallant  grey- 
hounds, who  commonly  obtained  much  of  his  attention  during  a. 
march,  and  game  abounding,  the  general,  and  any  officers  not  required 
to  be  with  their  regirn'onts,  who  felt  disposed  to  enjoy  the  coursing, 
were  able  to  beguile  the  time  with  the  exhilarating  sport.  With  an 
astonishing  facility  of  getting  through  business,  aided  by  a  rapid  pen, 
he  found  leisure  for  everything,  and  the  ordinary  hours  of  employment 
past,  was  ready  to  give  his  opinion  on  the  shape  or  qualities  of  a  dog 
or  horse  with  all  the  acumen  of  a  connoisseur.  He  was  temperate  in 
his  habits,  especially  as  regarded  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and 
appeared  to  suffer  but  little  from  the  power  of  a  tropical  sun.  In 
person  he  was  a  little  above  the  medium  height,  well  limbed,  and 
muscular,  with  little  encumbrance  of  flesh  beyond  that  which  gives 
shape  and  manliness  to  the  outline  of  the  figure,  with  a  firm  tread, 
an  erect  carriage,  a  countenance  strongly  patrician  both  in  feature, 
profile,  and  expression,  and  an  appearance  remarkable  and  distinguished. 
Few  could  approach  him  on  any  duty,  or  on  any  subject  requiring  his 
serious  attention,  without  being  sensible  of  something  strange  and  pen- 
etrating in' his  clear,  light  eye." 

However  great  the  advantage  which  he  gained  from  his  subsequent 
experience  in  European  warfare,  it  must  be  obvious  to  all  who  have 
studied  the  "Despatches"  written  during  the  Indian  campaigns,  that 
very  much  of  the  renown  acquired  by  Wellesley  was  the  fruit  of  his 
natural  sagacity.  We  trace  in  these  despatches,  and  in  the  records 
of  the  time  preserved  by  others,  the  prompt  development  of  all  the 
qualities  on  which  his  subsequent  greatness  was  built — the  immediate 
sources  of  his  marvellous  success — the  key  to  the  confidence  with 
which  he  alike  inspired  those  who  employed  and  those  who  served 
under  him.  His  leading  characteristic  was  his  devotion  to  the  public 
service.  By  no  means  destitute  of  ambition,  and  having  private 
objects  to  attain,  he  invariably  treated  them  as  secondary  to  the  duty 
imposed  upon  him,  even  when  the  opportunity  was  given  him  of 
doing  just  as  he  pleased.  In  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  H.  Wellesley, 
of  March,  1801,  he  says:  "  I  have  never  had  much  value  for  the 
public  spli-it  of  any  man  who  does  not  sacrifice  his  private  views  and 
convenience  when  it  is  necessary."  And  that  this  was  an  ingrianed 
prmciple  was  apparent  in  1800,  when  he  declined  to  take  the  command 


26  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLDTGTOX.  [1805. 

of  the  troops  intended  for  Batavia,  because  it  would  remove  from 
the  Mahratta  country,  where  he  might  be  more  usefully  employed. 
'■'I  cannot  think,"  he  wrote  to  Lord  Clive,  "of  relinquishing  the 
command  with  which  your  lordship  has  entrusted  me  at  this  interesting 
period  for  any  object  of  advantage  or  credit  to  be  gained  in  another 
place." 

Of  his  quick  appreciation  of  the  military  character  of  the  Mahrattas 
and  the  organisation  of  their  forces,  no  better  proof  can  be  afforded 
than  the  battle  of  Assaye  and  his  instructions  to  Colonel  Stevenson. 
He  discovered  that  they  were  unwary — loose  in  their  discipline — and 
liable  to  be  thrown  into  confusion  by  a  sudden  attack  upon  the  march 
or  in  a  position  in  which  they  believed  themselves  to  be  secure.  The 
tactics  of  his  great  contemporary  Napoleon,  who  had  taught  the 
Austrians  to  respect  an  enemy  who  moved  with  promptitude  and 
assaulted  with  vigor,  were  practised  by  Wellesley — from  the  same 
intuitive  perception  of  their  value — in  the  Indian  campaign.  Time 
was,  in  the  opinion  of  both  commanders,  enenjthing  in  military 
operations. 

The  ju.stice  and  moderation  of  "Wellesley  were  conspicuous  in  his 
management  of  the  affairs  of  Scringapatam,  and  his  protestations 
against  appointments  of  officers  whose  merit  lay  rather  in  their 
family  connections  than  their  capacity.  He  evinced  no  irritability 
in  his  commerce  with  the  natives,  who  were  new  to  British  rule  ; 
on  the  contrary,  he  always  practised  and  recommended  patience  and 
forbearance.  Speaking  of  the  new  Hindoo  government  of  Seringa- 
patam,  he  said,  "  We  have  never  been  hitherto  accustomed  to  a  native 
government :  we  cannot  readily  bear  the  disappointments  and  delays 
which  are  usual  in  all  their  transactions ;  prejudices  are  entertained 
against  them,  and  all  their  actions  are  misconstrued,  and  we  mistrust 
them.  I  see  instances  of  this  daily  in  the  best  of  our  officers,  and  I  can- 
not but  acknowledge  that,  from  the  delays  of  the  natives,  they  have 
sometimes  reason  to  complain  ;  hut  ilteyhave  none  to  ill  use  any  manP 

The  quickness  of  General  Wellesley  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
the  topography  and  resources  of  the  country  in  which  he  was  to  carry 
on  operations  was  the  theme  of  admiration  amongst  the  officers  who 
had  spent  their  lives  in  India.  Nothing  escaped  him — nothing  was 
left  unsaid  in  his  instructions  to  his  subordinates,  or  his  applications 
to  the  local  government,  which  could  contribute  to  the  completeness 
of  his  equipments,  and  the  success  of  the  service  on  which  he  was 
engaged.  Of  his  kindness  and  humanity,  Sir  Jasper  Nicolls  has 
supplied  proofs,  which  are  already  before  the  reader. 


1806.] 


SECRETARY  FOR  IRELAND 


27 


CHAPTER  II. 

Appointed  to  the  Staff  as  Commander  of  a  Brigade— Becomes  Secretary  for  Ireland— Joins  the 
Expedition  to  Denmark— Distinguishes  himself  at  Kioge— Proceeds  to  Portugal— Gains  the 
victories  of  Rorica  and  Vimiero— The  Convention  of  Cintra— Keturus  to  England- 


OON  after  his  return  to  England,  in  March, 
1805,  Major-General  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
was  appointed  to  the  StaJf  as  Commander  of 
a  brigade  of  troops  stationed  at 
"""■     /  Hastings,  in  Sussex,  upon  their 

return  from  Hanover.  His 
descent  from  the  command  of 
an  army  to  a  comparatively  in- 
ferior trust  did  not  in  any  way 
weaken  his  zeal  or  diminish  his 
interest  in  his  professional 
duties.  The  order  and  superior 
discipline  of  the  brigade  while 
under  his  direction  were  equally 
conspicuous  with  the  fine  state  of  the  troops  he  had  elsewhere  led  to 
victory. 

The  Colonelcy  of  the  33rd  Regiment  having  fallen  vacant  through 
the  demise  of  the  Marquis  Cornwallis  in  India,  the  King  bestowed  it 
upon  Major-General  Wellesley.  Previous,  however,  to  this  occurrence 
he  married  the  Lady  Catherine  Pakenham,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of 
Longford,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  Arthur,  (born  3rd  February,  1807), 
and  Charles  (born  16th  January,  1808.) 

When  the  Duke  of  Richmond  became  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland 
in  1807,  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  accepted  the  appointment  of  chief 
secretary,  upon*  the  understanding  that  it  was  not  to  interfere  with 
his  military  promotion  or  pursuits.  In  this  new  office,  Sir  Arthur 
displayed  all  the  courage  and  perseverance  which  characterized  his 
eaxeer  in  India.     The  condition  of  Ireland  at  the  time  rendered  it 


28  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLES^GTON.  ri306. 

necessary  to  place  large  powers  ia  the  hands  of  the  secretary,  and 
these  were  exercised  with  firmness,  discrimination,  and  temper,  in 
spite  of  the  violent  opposition  which  they  experienced  from  the  liberal 
party. 

It  would  interfere  too  much  with  the  course  of  the  narrative  to 
trace  the  career  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  whose  great  jealousy  of  the 
power  of  England,  had  now  begun  to  take  a  formidable  shape.  A 
few  words  must,  however,  be  employed  to  establish  the  connection  be- 
tween the  future  military  operations  of  Sir  Arthur  and  those  of  the 
French  Emperor,  against  whose  armies  he  was  afterwards  to  be  so 
much,  and  so  successfully,  employed. 

Passing  through  the  gradations  of  power,  during  the  existence  of 
the  Republic  of  France,  until  he  had  attained  the  office  of  First  Con- 
sul in  perpetuity.  Napoleon,  in  1804,  pi-ocured  himself  to  be  elected 
Emperor  of  the  French.  Defeated  at  sea  by  Nelson,  Jervis,  Calder, 
and  Collingwood,  Napoleon,  after  the  rupture  of  a  brief  treaty  with 
England  in  1801,  directed  the  arms  of  France  upon  Austria,  Prussia, 
and  Russia ;  and  obtaining  great  successes  over  the  Prussians  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  Prussian  capital.  Here  he  gave  full  latitude 
to  his  hostility  to  England,  and  published  a  Decree  for  the  blockade 
of  the  British  Isles  !  This  proceeding. — which  was  intended  to  de- 
stroy the  commerce,  and  by  terminating  the  prosperity  eventually 
to  crush  the  power  of  England ;  but  which,  in  operation,  recoiled 
upon  Napoleon,  and  accelerated,  if  it  did  not  produce,  his  overthrow, 
— was  dated  on  the  21st  November,  180G.  After  setting  forth  that 
England  would  not  consent  to  regulate  naval  warfare  by  the  laws 
and  amenities  which  were  established  on  land,  but  had  introduced 
new  customs  into  her  maritime  code,  and  revived  those  of  a  bar- 
barous age ;  that  she  refused  to  recognise  the  distinctions  of  private 
property  and  the  rights  of  foreigners  not  serving  in  war,  but  seized 
on  merchant  vessels  and  made  their  crews  prisoners  as  if  they  had 
been  armed  and  sent  out  by  their  respective  governments  against 
an  enemy,  and  that  the  British  declaration  of  blockade  extended 
to  places  not  actually  blockaded — thus  extending  the  evils  of  war 
to  peaceful  and  unarmed  citizens, — the  British  isles  were  declared 
by  the  Decree  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade.  All  commerce  and 
correspondence  with  them  were  strictly  prohibited.  All  English 
subjects  found  in  countries  occupied  by  the  troops  of  France  were 
declared  to  be  prisoners  of  war.  All  merchandize  or  property  of 
any  kind  belonging  to  British  owners,  and  all  articles  of  British 
manufacture,  or  the  produce  of  British  colonics,  were  declared  to  be 
lawful  prize.     Half  of  the  proceeds  of  all  confiscations  were  to  be 


18(H).]  BERLIN  AND  MILAN  DECREES.  29 

applied  to  the  relief  of  those  merchants  whose  ships  had  been  cap- 
tured  by  English  cruisers.  No  vessel  from  England  or  the  English 
colonies  was  to  be  admitted  into  a  continental  port,  but  every  one 
entering  a  foreign  harbor  was  to  be  seized  and  forfeited.  Two  Prize- 
Courts  were  to  be  established ;  one  at  Paris  for  the  French  Empire, 
and  the  other  at  Milan  for  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 

The  system  thus  established  had,  there  is  no  doubt,  been  for  some 
time  in  contemplation,  but  Napoleon  had  not  deemed  the  tim^e 
favorable  for  its  promulgation  till  he  was  master  of  nearly  all  the 

line  of  coast  round  Europe The  habits  of  two  or  three 

centuries  of  unrestricted  commerce  had  placed  many  of  the  articles 
sought  to  be  prohibited,  among  the  absolute  necessaries  of  life ;  to 
dispense  with  which  would  have  occasioned  great  and  universal 
distress  and  inconvenience.  It  was,  therefore,  a  proclamation  of  war 
with  the  feelings,  tastes,  and  wishes  of  mankind — an  attempt  to  force 
civilisation  backward  for  three  centuries,  which  the  most  tyrannic 
and  absolute  power  could  not  have  succeeded  in  effecting.  One  blow 
in  one  place  was  useless ;  to  exclude  commerce  it  required  a  constant 
tension  of  watchful  energy  in  every  port  of  the  Contineni,  not  only 
at  the  known  ports  and  harbors,  but  at  every  creek,  cove  and  islet 
by  which  the  shore  of  ocean  was  indented  ;  and  while  Napoleon  was 
thus  employing  his  ascendancy,  the  British  government  was  exerting 
all  its  energies  to  defeat  the  powers  arrayed  against  its  commerce. 
It  began  by  endeavoring  to  create  a  new  species  of  commerce  where 
none  had  previously  existed,  and  where  the  simple  wants  of  the 
inhabitants  were  supplied  by  the  produce  of  the  land.  Two  -expe- 
ditions were  sent  (one  in  1806  and  another  in  1807)  against  Buenos 
AyreS;  to  compel  the  natives  to  deal  in  British  merchandise,  but  the 
sturdy  semi-barbarous  population,  not  only  resolutely  refused  to 
purchase  what  it  did  not  require  and  had  no  money  to  pay  for,  but 
took  up  arms  in  defence  of  its  national  independence,  and  speedily 
defeating  the  British  troops,  drove  them  from  the  insulted  coast. 
The  Government  of  England  next  despatched  an  armament  against 
Turkey,  to  compel  the  Sultan  to  abandon  an  alliance  he  had  formed 
with  Napoleon,  dismiss  the  French  ambassador  from  Constantinople, 
and  surrender  all  his  ships  of  war  to  the  English  until  a  general 
peace.  Sir  Thomas  Duckworth,  who  commanded  the  expedition, 
passed  the  Dardanelles  and  urged  the  demands  contained  in  his 
instructions,  but  with  so  little  effect  and  under  such  increasing  dis- 
advantages and  dangers,  that  after  negotiating  for  a  week,  the 
admiral  precipitately  retired  from  before  the  Turkish  capital.  Petty 
expeditions,  however,  constituted  at  this  period  the  British  system 


30  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1807 

of  warfare.  Accordingly,  in  March,  a  small  army  was  sent  against 
Egypt  under  General  Frazer,  which  easily  obtained  possession  of 
Alexandria,  but  being  subsequently  pressed  hard  on  all  sides  by  the 
Turks  and  Mamelukes,  was  compelled,  after  losing  more  than  a  fifth 
of  its  number,  to  capitulate  and  wholly  to  evacuate  the  Egyptian 
territories.  As  a  set-off  against  these  disasters,  the  small  Dutch 
island  of  Curasao  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — a  really  important 
acquisition,  were  conquered.  But  the  general  policy  of  the  English 
cabinet  was  too  narrow  to  accomplish  any  great  object,  or  to  operate 
with  effect  in  bringing  the  war  to  a  close.  At  length  the  people  of 
England  began  to  complain  of  the  imbecile  conduct  of  the  ministry, 
and  this,  echoed  by  the  press,  eventually  stimulated  the  Government 
to  bolder  action. 

In  the  beginning  of  August,  an  expedition  consisting  of  twenty- 
seven  sail  of  the  line  and  a  great  number  of  frigates  and  smaller 
vessels,  carrying  upwards  of  20,000  soldiers  under  the  command 
of  Lord  Cathcart,  was  despatched  to  the  Baltic,  secretly  commis- 
sioned to  demand  from  Denmark,  the  only  northern  power  which 
still  possessed  what  might  be  justly  called  a  fleet,  the  delivery 
of  its  ships  and  naval  stores  to  Great  Britain,  to  be  held  in 
trust  till  the  proclamation  of  peace.  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  accom- 
panied the  expedition  as  commander  of  a  division.  Between  the 
Danes  and  the  English  at  this  period  the  truest  friendly  relations 
were  subsisting.  Extensive  mercantile  dealings  were  mutual,  and 
ambassadors  resided  at  their  respective  courts.  No  intimation  was 
given  of  the  hostile  intentions  of  Great  Britain.  No  complaint  of 
misconduct  on  the  part  of  Denmark,  or  hint  of  apprehensions  as  to 
her  ulterior  designs,  was  suffered  to  transpire  even  after  the  expedition 
had  sailed.  Admiralty  licenses  were  granted  to  British  merchants 
trading  to  Denmark,  and  Danish  ships  were  encouraged  to  enter 
English  ports  as  those  of  friends  and  allies.  Hence  the  object  of 
the  armament  was  unsuspected,  when  Admiral  Gambler,  with  his 
armed  freight,  passed  the  Sound  and  the  Great  Belt,  and  entering 
the  Baltic,  blockaded  the  island  of  Zealand,  on  which  Copenhagen, 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  is  situated.  It  was  not  until  ninety 
pennons  were  flying  around  these  unprepared  shores  that  Mr.  Jackson, 
the  British  Minister,  thought  fit  to  communicate  to  the  Crown  Prince 
the  requisitions  of  his  government,  which  were  then  stated  to  have 
originated  in  a  fear  that  the  French  Emperor  would  not  long  permit 
Denmark  to  remain  neutral,  but  would  seize  and  employ  her  fleet  in 
his  meditated  attempt  to  subjugate  England.  The  Danish  Prince, 
with  just  indignation,  repelled   the   demand   as   an   unwarrantable 


1807.]  EXPEDITION  TO   DENMARK  31 

attempt  to  deprive  his  country  of  its  independence,  and  prepared  to 
offer  "what  resistance  he  could  to  the  unprovoked  aggression  of  his 
pretended  friends.  The  British,  however,  were  too  numerous,  and 
their  course  of  proceeding  had  been  too  well  organised  for  a  hasty  and 
ill-arranged  defence  to  be  availing.  The  troops  were  disembarked,  and 
preparations  made  for  bombarding  Copenhagen,  which,  after  a  gallant 
resistance  for  three  days,  during  which  many  public  buildings,  churches, 
libraries,  and  an  immense  number  of  private  habitations,  and  great 
part  of  the  population  were  destroyed,  was  compelled  to  surrender  its 
citadel  and  forts.  ^ 

Shortly  after  Copenhagen  had  been  invested  by  the  British  forces. 
Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was  detached  with  4000  or  5000  men  to  march 
against  the  Danish  Lieutenant-General  Castenskiold,  who  was  then 
encamped  near  Rochild,  with  an  army  composed  of  14,000  men.  As 
the  British  commander  advanced,  the  Danish  retreated,  endeavouring 
by  all  means  to  avoid  a  battle.  After  Sir  Arthur  had  passed  through 
Rochild  with  his  forces,  he  hesitated  for  some  time  which  of  the  two 
roads  he  should  take,  either  that  towards  Kioge,  or  that  towards 
Holbeck ;  he  ultimately  determined  upon  the  latter  ;  and  in  the 
evening  he  fixed  his  head-quarters  at  an  inn  not  far  distant  from 
the  mansion  of  the  Count  of  Holstein,  named  Leigre  or  Lethraborg, 
the  former  residence  of  the  ancient  kings  of  Denmark.  On  his 
march  thither  Sir  Arthur  observed  that  the  Danish  army  had  re- 
cently been  encamped  in  a  very  advantageous  situation  on  a  steep 
hill,  near  Gjeoninge :  he  expressed  his  surprise  that  the  enemy 
should  have  quitted  a  place,  where  it  would  scarcely  have  been  possi- 
ble for  him  to  have  dislodged  them  or  attacked  them  with  any  chance 
of  success.  Inquu-ing  into  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the 
Danish  army,  he  was  informed  that  the  enemy  consisted  of  about 
14,000  men;  and  so  inveterate  were  they  against  the  invaders  of 
their  country  that  they  had  unanimously  intreated  their  commander 
in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  lead  them  directly  against  the  British, 
a  request  with  which  General  Castenskiold  did  not  think  proper  to 
comply. 

Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  without  the  least  altering  his  countenance, 
and  without  changing  the  plan  he  had  already  laid  down  for  himself 
to  proceed  upon,  turned  round  to  the  officers  near  his  person,  and  in 
his  usual  laconic  way,  coolly  observed,  "  Then,  gentlemen,  I  suppose 
we  shall  have  pretty  hot  work  of  it."  The  Danish  army  debouched 
towards  Riogo :  the  British  general  had  no  sooner  intimation  of  this 
manceuvre,  than  he  crossed  the  country  and  followed  the  enemy  close 

1  Bussy's  "  Life  of  Napoleon." 


32  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [18o7. 

up.  General  Castenskiold  made  a  stand  near  Riogo.  Sir  Arthur 
immediately  attacked  the  Danish  forces,  which  he  defeated  after  a  very 
short  action,  and  dispersed  in  all  directions  over  the  country.  Sir 
Arthur  then  returned  to  his  former  head-quarters,  and  it  was  now 
that  he  exercised  that  humanity,  and  displayed  that  generosity 
towards  the  adjacent  inhabitants,  which  always  formed  such  a  con- 
spicuous feature  in  his  character.  He  preserved  the  utmost  regularity 
and  order  among  his  men ;  no  complaint  preferred,  even  by  the 
poorest  peasant,  against  any  man,  of  whatever  rank,  who  had  either 
injured  or  insulted  him,  went  unnoticed  ;  and  the  country  people, 
who  had  been  taught  to  look  upon  the  British  as  monsters  of  iniquity, 
loudly  exclaimed  that  they  were  better  treated  by  their  enemies  than 
they  had  been  by  their  own  people  :  the  former  paid  for  all  they  had 
with  the  utmost  liberality ;  the  latter  compelled  them  to  furnish 
them  with  whatever  they  required,  without  oflFering  the  least  indem- 
nification. The  men  had  been  taken  away  from  their  homes  to  fill 
up  the  ranks  in  the  militia ;  thus  labourers  were  wanted  to  gather 
in  the  harvest ;  distress  and  ruin  would  have  been  the  sure  con- 
sequences, had  not  Sir  Arthur  permitted  the  British  troops  to  assist 
the  farmers.  It  was  a  sight  not  less  curious  than  grateful  to  see 
soldiers  placed  in  almost  every  house,  to  guard  the  inhabitants  from 
the  insults  of  such  stragglers  as  might  stray  from  the  British  camp, 
from  a  desire  of  plunder  ;  nor  would  Sir  Arthur  permit  his  troops 
to  receive  any  reward  for  their  services  in  this  respect,  though  the 
gentlemen,  farmers,  and  peasants,  were  willing  to  be  liberal  towards 
men  whom  they  looked  upon  as  their  protectors  ;  in  fact,  so  attached 
had  they  become  to  our  troops,  that  they  anticipated  with  much 
uneasiness  the  day  which,  by  the  capitulation  of  Copenhagen,  was 
fixed  upon  for  the  evacuation  of  Zealand  by  the  British  forces.  Theft 
of  any  kind  was  punished  by  Sir  Arthur  with  the  utmost  severity  ; 
but  it  is  just  to  state  that  only  two  complaints  of  this  nature  were 
ever  made  against  any  British  soldier  in  Zealand,  and  then,  by  the 
exertion  of  their  officers,  the  property  was  restored  to  its  owners. 
Such  was  the  magnanimous  conduct  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
during  his  stay  with  the  army  in  Zealand. 

In  the  siege  of  Copenhagen  not  more  than  200  were  killed  and 
wounded  out  of  an  army  20,000  strong.  Late  in  September,  1807, 
the  expedition  returned  to  England,  carrying  with  it  the  Danish  fleet 
of  sixteen  sail  of  the  line,  nine  frigates^fcurteen  sloops,  and  many 
smaller  vessels. 

Some  diflference  of  opinion  prevailed  in  England  upon  the  justice 
and  necessity  of  the  expedition,  though  its  policy  obtained  almost 


1807.] 


THANKS   OF   PARLIAMENT. 


33 


universal  concurrence.  A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  forces  employed  was 
not  obtained  without  some  resistance  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
but  it  was  at  length  ultimately  carried   by  a  majority  of  eighty-ono. 


A    VIEW    OF    COPENHAGEN. 


r>e^ 


The  Speaker,  in  communicating  the  vote,  thus  expressed  himself  with 
regard  to  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  : — 

"  But  I  should  indeed  be  wanting  to  the  full  expression  of  those 
sentiments  which  animate  this  House,  and  the  whole  country,  if  I 
forbear  to  notice  that  we  are,  on  this  day,  crowning  with  our  thanks 
one  gallant  officer,  long  since  known  to  the  gratitude  of  this  House, 
who  has  long  trodden  the  paths  of  glory,  whose  genius  and  valour 
have  already  extended  our  fame  and  empire  ;  whose  sword  has  been 
the  terror  of  our  distant  enemies,  and  will  not  now  be  drawn  in  vain 
to  defend  the  seat  of  Empire  itself,  and  the  throne  of  his  King.  I  am, 
Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  charged  to  deliver  the  thanks  of  this  House 
to  you  ;  and  I  do  accordingly  thank  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Commons 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  for  your  zeal,  intrepidity,  and  exertion, 
displayed  in  the  various  operations  which  were  necessary  for  con- 
ducting the  siege,  and  effecting  the  surrender  of  the  navy  and 
arsenal  of  Copenhagen." 

Major-General  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  replied  as  follows : — 
"  Mr.  Speaker, — I  consider  myself  fortunate  that  I  was  employed 
by  his  Majesty  on  a  service  which  this  House  has  considered  of  such 
importance,  as  to  have  marked  with  its  approbation  the  conduct  of 
those  officers  and  troops  who  have  performed  it.  The  honour  which 
this  House  has  conferred  upon  my  honourable  friends  and  myself, 
is  justly  considered  by  the  officers  of  the  navy  and  army,  as  the 

VOL.  I.  D 


34  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1808. 

highest  which  this  country  can  confer ;  it  is  the  object  of  the 
ambition  of  all  who  are  employed  in  his  Majesty's  service  ;  and  to 
obtain  it  has  doubtless  been  the  motive  of  many  of  those  acts  of 
valour  and  good  conduct  which  have  tended  so  eminently  to  the 
glory,  and  have  advanced  the  prosperity  and  advantage  of  this 
country.  I  can  assure  the  House  that  I  am  most  sensible  of  the 
great  honour  which  they  have  done  me ;  and  I  beg  leave  to  take  this 
opportunity  of  returning  you,  Sir,  my  thanks  for  the  handsome  terms, 
respecting  myself,  in  which  your  kindness  to  me  has  induced  you  to 
convey  the  resolution  of  the  House." 

Early  in  the  year  1808  Sir  Arthur  resumed  his  duties  as  Irish 
Secretary,  which,  however,  he  only  continued  to  fill  for  about  five 
months.  A  new  field  was  now  opening  to  his  honourable  military 
ambition,  and  Europe  was  about  to  receive  the  benefits  of  those 
cervices  which  had  hitherto  been  rendered  to  England  alone. 


1808.") 


FRENCH  mVASIOI^'  OF  PORTUGAL. 


35 


CHAPTER  HI. 

French  inrasion  of  Portugal — Occupation  of  Spain — Sir  Arthur  proceeds  to  Portugal— Battles 
of  Roria  and  Vimiero — Convention  of  Cinira — Sir  Arthur  returns  home. 


N  the  execution  of  his  design  for  annex- 
ing Spain  to  the  dominions  of  France, 
and  punishing  Portugal  for  refusing 
to  obey  the  Berlin  decree,  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  had  covered  the  former 
countries  with  his  troops,  and  usurped 
the  government  of  the  kingdoms. 

To  counteract  his  purposes,  and  to 
expel  the  French  from  Portugal,  the 
British  Government,  in  virtue  of  the 
obligations  imposed  upon  England  by 
treaty,  resolved  to  despatch  a  large 
force  to  the  Peninsula. 

This    force,   consisting   of    eleven 
battalions  of  infantry,  the  29th  Foot, 
a  body  of  dragoons,  a  detachment  of 
the  Royal  Staff  Corps,  and  a  propor- 
tion  of    artillery,   was    confided    to   the   command   of    Sir   Arthur 
Wellesley,  who  had  now  obtained  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-General. 

A  reserve  force  of  10,000  men  was,  in  the  meantime,  held  in  hand 
in  England,  until  it  should  be  required  in  Portugal. 

Lieutenant-General  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  embarked  with  the  expe- 
dition in  July,  1808,  quitting  it,  in  pursuance  of  his  instructions,  in 
the  "  Crocodile"  frigate,  and  making  immediately  for  Corufia,  where 
he  would  obtain  the  means  of  learning  the  actual  state  of  things  in 
Spain  and  Portugal  before  the  arrival  of  the  army. 

To  understand  the  magnitude  of  the  task  which  now  devolved  upon 
Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  it  may  be  as  well   to  glance  at  the  position 


36  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  11808. 

which  Bonaparte  had  acquired  in  Europe,  and  the  events  which 
preceded  the  despatch  of  the  Expedition.  Prussia,  beaten,  humbled, 
and  dismembered,  existed  only  by  his  suflferance.  Austria,  after  three 
lamentably  misconducted  and  disastrous  struggles  with  Revolutionary 
France,  found  herself  despoiled  of  the  Netherlands,  the  Tyrol,  all  her 
Italian  territories,  and  other  possessions.  "  Denmark  was  in  alliance 
with  France  ;  the  government  rather  than  the  nation,  co-operating 
with  Bonaparte.  Sweden,  with  an  insane  king  and  a  discontented 
people,  maintained  against  him  a  war  which  was  little  more  than 
nominal.  Russia,  the  only  country  which  seemed  Secure  in  its 
distance,  its  strength,  and  the  unanimity  of  its  inhabitants, — the  only 
continental  state  to  which  the  rest  of  Europe  might  have  looked  as  to 
a  conservative  power, — Russia  appeared  to  be  dazzled  by  Bonaparte's 
glory,  duped  by  his  insidious  talents,  and  blindly  subservient  to  his 
ambition.  Spain  was  entirely  subject  to  his  control ;  its  troops  and 
its  treasures  were  more  at  the  disposal  of  the  French  government 
than  of  its  own.  Portugal  had  hitherto  been  suffered  to  remain 
neutral,  because  Bonaparte,  from  time  to  time,  extorted  large  sums 
from  the  court  as  the  price  of  its  neutrality,  and  because  the  produce 
of  the  Spanish  mines  found  their  way  safely  through  the  British 
cruisers  under  the  Portuguese  flag.  England  alone  perseveringly 
opposed  the  projects  of  the  ambitious  conqueror,  and  prevented  the 
possibility  of  his  accomplishing  that  scheme  of  universal  dominion 
which,  had  it  not  been  for  her  interference,  he  believed  to  be  within 
his  reach." ' 

Spain  having  been  duped  into  a  secret  treaty  with  France,  by  which 
Portugal  was  to  be  partitioned,  and  the  elite  of  the  Spanish  army, 
amounting  to  16,000  men,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Napoleon,  and 
drafted  to  the  north  of  Germany,  steps  were  taken  to  obtain  military 
possession  of  Portugal,  and,  if  possible,  secure  the  persons  of  the 
Braganza  family.  By  way  of  pretext  for  these  iniquitious  acts,  the 
French  and  Spanish  ambassadors  communicated  to  the  Court  of  Lisbon 
Napoleon's  demands,  to  which  Portugal  was  desired  to  submit.  Her 
ports  must  be  closed  against  England,  any  subjects  of  that  power 
resident  in  the  country  were  to  be  arrested, — all  English  property 
confiscated, — and  these  stipulations  were  to  be  acceded  to  within  three 
weeks,  or  war  with  both  powers  denounced  as  the  alternative. 

Before  the  time  allowed  to  the  Portuguese  Court  for  taking  these 
demands  into  consideration  had  elapsed,  Napoleon  commenced  his 
aggressions.  All  Portuguese  vessels  in  his  harbours  were  seized,  and 
an  army  of  25,000  infantry,  with  3000  cavalry,  was  ordered  to  march 

I  Southoy. 


1808.]  INVASION  OF  PORTUGAL.  37 

directly  on  Lisbon,  to  be  joined  on  the  frontier  by  a  Spanish  corps, 
Junot,  a  favourite  aide-de-camp  of  Napoleon,  to  whom  the  occupation 
of  the  devoted  kingdom  had  been  entrusted,  moved  immediately  from 
Salamanca.  Junot  had  risen  from  the  ranks.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
courage,  but  nosscssed  neither  judgment  nor  moral  principle. 

In  a  few  days  he  reached  Alcantara,  and  by  forced  marches  was 
witliin  ninety  miles  of  Lisbon  before  the  authorities  in  that  city  were 
apprised  that  the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Spanish  frontier. 

Spain  joined  readily  in  the  aggression,  because  she  could  not  help 
herself  Every  soldier  in  the  Spanish  army  was  put  in  requisition  to 
make  up  the  force  auxiliary  to  the  French  invading  corps. 

To  avert  the  hostility  which  suddenly  threatened  to  overwhelm  her, 
Portugal  yielded  without  a  blow  ;  and  the  British  minister  removed 
himself  on  board  a  man-of-war  forming  part  of  a  squadron  which  now 
blockaded  Lisbon,  the  more  strictly  that  a  Russian  fleet,  unable  to 
reach  the  Baltic  before  the  winter  would  set  in,  had  anchored  in  the 
Tagus. 

Junot  continued  to  advance.  With  promises  of  friendship  on  his 
lips,  and  declarations  of  peaceful  intentions  in  his  proclamations,  he 
permitted  his  army  to  practice  every  kind  of  spoliation  on  its  way. 
Houses  and  churches  were  plundered,  orchards  robbed  of  their 
produce.'  Alcantara,  Castello,  Bramo,  Santarem,  were  given  up  to 
sack  and  ruin.  None  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  insult,  even  though 
they  received  the  invaders  with  kindness.  Reaching  Lisbon,  Junot 
formally  took  possession  of  that  capital,  and  the  royal  family  at  once 
threw  itself  upon  the  protection  of  England,  and  emigrated  to  the 
Brazils. 

The  conduct  of  the  French,  when  at  Lisbon,  has  been  thus  forcibly 
described : — "  The  French  were  scarcely  rested  in  Lisbon  until  the 
true  character  of  the  invaders  displayed  itself  Nightly,  and  without 
beat  of  drum,  reinforcements  poured  in,  and  they  were  quartered  in 
such  parts  of  the  capital  as  were  best  calculated  to  overawe  the 
citizens,  and  secure  a  safe  communication  between  the  troops.  The 
great  convents  were  converted  into  barracks,  their  former  occupants 

1  When  the  British  troops  subsequently  occupied  Lisbon  after  the  expulsion  of  the  French 
(in  1808),  they  entered  their  various  hutted  camps  across  the  river,  which  were  found  arranged 
■with  comfort  and  taste.  Their  army  had  found  the  ripe  wheat  standing,  and,  regardless  of  its 
value,  had  not  only  thatched,  but  made  whole  huts,  with  the  corn  in  the  ear,  which,  hanging 
down,  shed  the  grain  on  the  ground.  They  had  built  with  boughs  of  trees  an  immense  Salle  de 
Spectacle,  and  formed,  by  putting  down  and  removing  the  largest  olive-trees,  and  sticking  their 
pointed  ends  into  the  ground,  an  avenue  leading  up  to  it,  of  some  length— an  act  more  wanton 
and  reprehensible  than  that  of  takmg  the  imthrashed  com,  as  the  fruit  of  the  olive  is  not  pro- 
duced imder  several  years'  growth. 


38  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOK  [1S08 

having  been  unceremoniously  ejected  ;  while  the  houses  of  the  noblesse, 
and  the  wealthier  of  the  merchants,  were  taken  from  their  owners  and 
occupied  by  the  general  ofl&cers  and  their  staff.  Edicts  were  issued 
for  the  confiscation  of  English  property,  the  use  of  arms  strictly  pro- 
hibited, and  the  inhabitants  were  not  only  obliged  to  afford  lodgings, 
but  subsistence,  to  the  unwelcome  inmates  forced  upon  them  by  their 
pseudo-deliverer.  Even  when  persons  abandoned  their  homes,  and  re- 
tired to  the  country,  they  were  required  to  support  the  establishment, 
and  answer  all  the  demands  the  intruders  chose  to  make. 

"  Continued  insults  and  exactions  at  last  inflamed  the  people  to 
resistance  ;  riots  ensued,  and  lives  were  lost  on  both  sides.  Junot 
easily  suppressed  the  tumult,  and  took  effectual  means  to  prevent  its 
recurrence. 

"  New  works  were  thrown  up  around  the  castle  by  which  the  city 
might  at  any  time  be  laid  in  ruins  ;  the  provincial  militia  were  dis- 
banded ;  to  prevent  alarm,  the  French  commander  ordered  that  the 
church  bells  were  never  to  be  rung  at  night,  while  the  host  itself, 
during  its  circuit,  was  to  be  restricted  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  hand- 
bell, and  that  only  was  permitted  to  be  sounded  thrice. 

"  The  effect  of  French  oppression  was  soon  apparent ;  trade  and 
industry  altogether  ceased,  and  a  kind  of  national  despondency  per- 
vaded every  class.  The  merchant  abandoned  himself  to  despair,  and 
the  peasant  refused  to  till  the  ground.  Suicide,  a  crime  unfrequent 
among  the  Portuguese,  occurred  daily  in  the  city,  while  fields  unsown, 
and  vineyards  running  wild,  told  that  the  peasant  had  become  as  reck- 
less as  the  trader. 

'•  Such  was  the  state  of  Portugal — such  the  immediate  consequences 
of  her  military  occupation  by  the  French,  assisted  by  their  faithless 
and  imbecile  confederates,  the  Spaniards.  The  latter,  indeed,  ap- 
peared to  have  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  aggression,  and  imitated 
the  example  of  the  '  emancipating'  army.  Caraffa,  who  commanded 
a  division  at  Porto,  raised  on  his  march  a  contribution  of  4000 
cruzados  at  Thomar,  and  plundered  the  depository  at  Coimbra  of 
10,000  more.  But  while  aiding  in  the  oppression  of  their  neighbours, 
and  abetting  the  robbery  of  an  ancient  ally,  the  Spaniards  little 
dreamed  that  the  chain  was  secretly  and  swiftly  winding  round  them- 
selves, and  that  the  spoilers  were  soon  to  be  within  the  gates  of  their 
own  capital." 

Napoleon  had  despatched  a  second  army  of  observation  under 
Dupont,  and  another  under  Moncey,  across  the  Pyrenees,  with  the 
ostensible  purpose  of  strengthening  the  hands  of  Junot.  This  raised 
the  French  force  in  Spain  to  50,000  men.      With  Moncey 's  corps 


1808.]  DfVASIOll  OP  SPAIN.  39 

was  Murat,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Berg,  who  crossed  the  Somosierra 
and  advanced  upon  Madrid.  In  the  meanwhile  the  feeble  old  King 
of  Spain,  alarmed  at  a  state  of  things  which  he  could  not  control, 
abdicated  the  crown  in  favor  of  his  son  Ferdinand,  who  was 
proclaimed  the  sovereign  of  the  Spanish  people  on  the  20th  of 
March,  1808;  but  Ferdinand  was  not  permitted  to  hold  the  sceptre 
many  days.  The  French  Commander  refused  to  recognise  him,  and 
Charles,  the  ex-king,  interpreting  this  into  Napoleon's  espousal  of 
his  own  cause,  revoked  his  abdication,  and  implored  the  direct 
assistance  of  the  French  Emperor.  Ferdinand  then  fled  to  France, 
appointing  a  Junta,  with  his  uncle  Don  Antonio  at  its  head,  and 
Blurat  a  member  thereof  His  example  was  followed  by  his  demented 
and  senile  father.  Soon  afterwards  I^apoleon  caused  Don  Antonio 
to  be  re-called  from  the  lieutenancy  of  the  kingdom  ;  Murat  being 
appointed  sole  Regent.  This  last  measure  roused  the  anger  of  the 
Spanish  people  to  the  highest  point  of  exasperation.  A  mob  used 
violent  means  to  prevent  the  departure  of  the  remaining  members  of 
the  royal  family  of  Spain — the  traces  of  the  carriages  were  cut,  and 
Murat's  officers  insulted.  The  Regent  wished  for  no  better  excuse 
for  placing  the  French  troops  in  an  attitude  of  hostility  to  the 
populace.  The  alarm  was  beaten,  a  bloody  conflict  ensued.  Madrid 
was  filled  with  French  guards.  The  Spanish  citizens,  aided  by  a 
large  body  of  the  peasantry,  fought  with  amazing  resolution  under  a 
hundred  disadvantages ;  but  they  were  borne  down  by  disciplined 
and  well-organised  battalions,  and  many  of  those  who  escaped 
butchery  in  the  streets  were  seized,  tried  by  a  military  commission, 
and-- were  immediately  executed,  in  groups  of  forty,  in  the  public 
squares  and  parades. 

The  news  of  the  wholesale  massacres  of  Madrid  flew  like  wildfire 
through  the  country.  Shocked  at  the  state  of  degradation  to  which 
they  had  been  reduced  by  the  imbecility  of  their  rulers,  the  people 
rose  en  masse^  resolved  to  deliver  their  country  at  all  hazards  from 
the  ruthless  and  perfidious  invader. 

A  national  government  was  formed  at  Seville,  under  the  denomi- 
nation of  the  Supreme  Junta,  and  subordinate  Juntas  were  appointed 
in  the  remainder  of  the  towns  and  districts. 

It  is  beyond  the  purpose  and  the  proposed  compass  of  this  rapid 
narrative  to  describe  at  length  the  episode  of  the  general  insurrection 
which  created  for  Spanish  patriotism  an  almost  universal  sympathy. 
'  The  murders  of  the  governors  who  were  favorable  to  French 
domination  ;  the  elevation  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  to  the  monarchy  of 
Spain ;   the   proclamation  of  "  war  to   the   knife"  in   the   Asturias, 


40  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1808 

trallicia,  Estremadura,  Catalonia,  Valencia,  and  Andalusia  ;  the  noble 
defence  of  Saragossa ;  the  vigorous  measures  taken  by  Napoleon  tc 
crush  the  rebellion  ;  the  defeat  and  surrender  of  Dupont's  corps  ; 
and  the  appeal  of  Spain  to  Great  Britain  for  intervention  and 
assistance,  arc  historical  events  with  which  every  tyro  is  familiar. 

The  spirit  of  resistance  originating  in  Spain  communicated  itself  to 
Portugal,  and  led  to  the  defection  of  the  national  troops  who  formed 
part  of  the  force  under  Junot's  orders.  The  vigilance,  however,  of 
that  astute  soldier  prevented  any  general  outbreak,  and  he  and  the 
25.000  Frenchmen  at  his  command,  continued  to  trample  upon  the 
unhappy  inhabitants  of  Lisbon. 

Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  reached  Coruaa  in  due  course,  and  after 
communicating  with  the  Gallician  authorities  proceeded  to  Oporto, 
where  the  Supreme  Junta  of  Portugal  had  assembled.  To  that  body 
he  expounded  his  plans.  He  was  convinced  that  nothing  effectual 
could  be  accomplished  towards  the  deliverance  of  Spain  and  Portugal 
until  Lisbon  was  occupied  by  a  friendly  force.  He  therefore 
proposed  to  land  his  troops,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  collected  patriots 
of  Portugal  march  at  once  upon  the  capital.  This  proposal  was, 
however,  negatived,  and  Sir  Arthur  set  sail  for  Mondego  Bay,  to  the 
northward  of  Lisbon,  because  that  place  afforded  a  better  landing 
place  than  any  part  of  the  coast  lower  down. 

The  "  Sepoy-General,"  as  Napoleon,  in  his  assumed  contempt  for 
the  British  leader,  was  wont  to  call  him,  landed  with  his  small 
compact  force  between  the  1st  and  5th  of  August,  1808.  As  the 
last  brigade  was  leaving  the  transports  for  the  shore,  General  Brent 
Spencer's  division  most  opportunely  came  to  anchor.  By  the  8th  of 
the  same  month,  General  Spencer,  with  his  4000  or  5000  men,  was 
by  the  side  of  Sir  Arthur,  and  the  latter,  without  waiting  for  any  one 
of  the  three  or  four  expected  senior  officers  who  might  at  any  moment 
wrest  the  chief  command  from  his  capable  hands,  commenced  opera- 
tions. Anything  more  interesting  than  the  march  from  Mondego 
Bay,'  considered  with  reference  to  its  then  expected  results,  is  not  to 
be  found  in  the  page  of  history.  Junot,  alarmed  at  the  news  of 
his  approach,  instantly  despatched  General  Laborde  and  General 
Loison  to  arrest  his  progress.  We  trace,  in  our  mind's  eye,  the 
anxious  progress  of  Loison  and  his  cohorts,  in  order  to  effect  a 
junction  with  Laborde  and  repel  the  English  intrusion :  we  watch 
with  equal  interest  the  movements  of  Wellesley  and  Spencer :  with 
nervous  apprehension  we  read  of  the  outpost  affair  at  Obidos,  where 

1  A  bay  to  the  north  of  Lisbon.  It  ia  the  oiJy  part  of  the  coast  contiguous  to  the  mouth  of 
(he  Tagus  which  offered  security  In  landing. 


1808.] 


BATTLE  OF  RORigA, 


41 


the  impetuosity  of  the  British  Rifles  carried  them  into  the  lion's 
jaws :  and  then  we  come  upon  the  rencontre  at  Roriqa.  As  Laborde 
snters  to  take  up  a  better  position — as  Fergusson  and  the  Portuguese 


BIFLEMEN  AT  EORigA. 


move  forward  and  find  themselves  checked  by  ravines — we  hold  our 
breath ;  the  issue  hangs  upon  a  thread.  At  length,  the  indomitable 
29th  Foot  and  the  daring  9th  advance  under  a  shower  of  bullets  ; 
the  29th  is  foremost ;  it  nearly  reaches  the  crest  of  the  mountain. 
Lake,  its  colonel,  cheers  it  on  to  the  attack — the  French  rush  forward 
in  masses — the  29th  staggers — gives  ground — the  men  fall  off  by 
sections — Lake  is  killed.  But  the  9th  are  at  hand  !  Hurra !  both 
corps  renew  the  attack  with  increased  vigour.  "  Forward  !"  is  still  the 
word.  Stewart,  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  9th,  falls,  mortally 
wounded.  Again  a  terrific  concussion — the  French  retire — the 
table  land  is  gained  and  held  by  the  British  infantry — Laborde  grows 
desperate — the  5th  Foot  and  Hill's  flank  companies  now  scale  the 
heights — the  French  are  obstinate  in  their  attacks — Fergusson's 
column  appears — Laborde  commands  a  retreat — his  cavalry  sup- 
port it   with   their   charges.     No  matter — the   British  are  resolute 


42  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [180 

— the  cavalry  are  discomfited — the  French  retire  to  Zambugeira — • 
they  rally  and  deploy :  it  is  of  no  use ;  Spencer  is  at  them  with  his 
division  :  one  gallant  charge/  and  the  enemy  fly  ;  the  British  are 
masters  of  the  field  ! 

Sir  Arthur  Wellcsley  lost  480  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing 
on  the  heights  of  llori<^a  ;  but  had  not  Lake  been  amongst  the  killed, 
he  would  have  considered  his  first  victory  cheaply  purchased. 

The  heroic  attack  at  Roriqa,  and  the  perseverance  which  distinguish- 
ed the  British  troops,  satisfied  the  French  that  they  had  now  an 
enemy  to  contend  with  who  could  be  as  formidable  on  land  as  he  had 
proved  himself  at  sea.  The  moral  influence  of  the  victory  in  Portugal 
and  Spain  was  immense.  At  the  same  time  it  pointed  out  to  the 
French  leaders  the  necessity  of  increased  exertion. 

It  was  the  intention  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  to  press  the  retreat 
of  the  French  even  to  the  very  gates  of  Lisbon.  Intelligence,  how- 
ever, reached  him  that  General  Anstruther,  with  a  fresh  brigade  and 
a  fleet  of  store  ships,  had  arrived  from  England  and  was  anchored  off 
Peniche.  Sir  Arthur,  therefore,  moved  on  Lourinha  to  secure  the 
safe  landing  of  this  welcome  accession.  A  second  brigade  under 
General  Acland  soon  afterwards  arrived,  and  with  the  united  forces, 
now  amounting  to  16,000  men,  and  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery,  Sir 
Arthur  Wellesley  took  up  a  position  near  the  village  of  Vimiero. 
Thence  he  intended  to  march  to  Lisbon.  The  arrival  of  Sir  Harry 
Burrard,  an  ofiicer  senior  to  himself,  however,  prevented  the  execution 
of  this  intention.  Sir  Harry  Burrard  was  on  board  a  frigate  in 
Maceira  roads,  contiguous  to  the  little  river  Maceira,  which  runs 
through  the  village  of  Vimiero,  and  did  not  immediately  land.  Sir 
Arthur  visited  him.  Sir  Harry  did  not  consider  the  army  sufficiently 
strong  and  efiective  for  such  an  enterprise  as  the  march  to  Lisbon : 
he  wished  to  delay  operations  until  Sir  John  Moore  should  reach 
the  coast  with  reinforcements.  Like  the  Cunctator  of  old,  he  was  all 
for  delay,  while  Wellesley  knew  that  success  depended  upon  taking 
time  by  the  forelock.  Finding  that  no  impression  could  be  made 
upon  him.  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  returned  to  his  quarters  ;  but  the 

1  The  military  character  of  Sir  Brent  Spencer  was  marked  by  an  ardent  zeal,  an  inflexible  flrm- 
nc83,  and  a  devotion  to  the  perforraanco  of  the  trusts  reposed  in  him,  almost  unparalleled.  Th« 
charge,  and  the  use  of  the  bayonet,  were  his  constant  and  favourite  mode  of  warfare.  In  the 
numerous  actions  in  which  he  was  afterwards  engaged,  ho,  on  all  occasions  possible,  adopted 
It,  with  the  most  powerful  effect ;  and  he  must  be  considered  to  have  been  particularly  instru- 
mental in  establishing  a  practice  which  has  in  all  our  military  movements  given  a  decided 
Buperlority  to  our  arms ;  and  in  restoring  to  the  British  soldier  that  mode  of  fighting  the  most 
consonant  to  the  national  character,  and  by  which  the  victories  and  conquests  of  former  agea 
■were  gained. 


1808]  BATTLE  OF  VIMIERO.  43 

very  next  morning  an  event  occurred  which  gave  him  the  opportunity 
he  sought  of  striking  another  blow  at  the  power  of  the  French  in 
Portugal. 

Junot,  the  Duke  d'Abrantes,  feeling  that  after  the  terrible  repulse 
at  Rori9a,  safety  was  not  to  be  found  in  remaining  at  Lisbon,  pushed 
forward  with  the  whole  of  his  disposable  force.  Reaching  the  heights 
on  the  road  to  Lourinha,  in  the  vicinity  of  Vimiero,  on  the  morning 
of  the  21st  of  August,  he  descried  the  British,  and  at  once  gave 
battle.  Dividing  his  army  into  two  parts,  one  wing  under  Laborde 
assailed  the  advanced  brigade  of  Sir  Arthur's  position  on  an  eminence 
near  the  village  of  Vimiero,  and  General  Solignac,  with  the  other  divi- 
sion, attacked  the  British  left.  The  contest  was  most  desperate — the 
attacks,  though  separate,  were  simultaneous,  but  only  one-half  the 
British  force  was  engaged.  In  less  than  four  hours  the  French  were 
completely  routed,  and  driven  from  the  field  in  disorder.  Nearly 
3000  of  their  number  lay  dead  upon  the  heights,  and  in  the  valley  ; 
one  general  officer  (Brennier)  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner,  and 
not  less  than  thirteen  pieces  of  cannon,  twenty-three  ammunition 
waggons  with  20,000  rounds  of  ammunition,  powder,  shells,  and  stores 
of  all  kinds,  were  taken  from  them.  The  loss  of  the  British  amounted 
to  nearly  800  men  and  officers.  Flushed  with  their  signal  victory, 
the  British  pursued  the  scattered  French  columns,  the  dragoons 
cutting  them  up  in  their  flight,  when  an  order  was  given  for  a  lialt. 
Sir  Harry  Burrard  had  assumed  the  command  ;  and,  obstinate  in  his 
determination  to  impede  the  movement  sugge'sted  by  Wellesley, 
checked  the  troops  in  their  victorious  career !  The  consternation  and 
bitter  vexation  of  Sir  Arthur  at  this  untimely  interference  may  be 
imagined.  But  true  to  his  principle  of  obedience,  he  confined  his 
dissatisfaction  to  simple  remonstrance. 

"Within  twelve  hours  of  the  fatal  halt.  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  arrived, 
and  assumed  the  direction  of  afiairs. 

Satisfied  with  the  course,  and  applauding  the  victory,  of  Sir  Arthur 
at  Rori9a,  it  was  his  wish  that  the  latter  should  continue  his  course  of 
proceeding  uninterruptedly.  This  intention  did  not,  however,  reach 
Sir  Arthur  until  too  late  to  be  of  use ;  the  French  had  had  time  to 
recover  their  order  and  to  effect  a  retreat  in  a  regular  and  soldier-like 
manner. 

Sir  Hew  Dalrymple,  on  taking  the  command  of  the  army,  issued 
orders  for  an  advance  in  conformity  with  the  original  plan  of  Sir 
Arthur.  An  unexpected  incident  prevented  the  fulfilment  of  this 
intention. 

General  Kellerman,  with  an  escort   of  cavalry,  appeared   in  the 


44  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1808 

British  camp.  He  came  to  propose  an  armistice  as  a  preparatory 
step  to  the  evacuation  of  Portugal  by  the  French  army. 

The  armistice  was  agreed  to,  and  negotiations  were  entered 
upon,  which  terminated  in  what  is  called  the  Convention  of 
CiNTRA,  although  C intra  was  at  some  distance  from  the  scene  of 
discussion. 

This  Convention  was  so  exceedingly  indulgent  towards  the  French, 
conceding  to  them  so  many  points  which  the  British  generals  were  in 
a  position  to  refuse,  that  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  protested  vehemently 
against  it,  but  failing  to  prevent  its  conclusion,  he  drew  up  a 
paper  (dated  Ramahal,  23rd  of  August,  180S),  which  involved  several 
subsidiary  stipulations  calculated  to  neutralise,  in  some  sort,  the 
mischievous  eifects  of  the  concession. 

To  the  Home  Government,  a  few  days  subsequently,  he  communi- 
cated his  sentiments  respecting  the  Convention,  and  the  prospects  of 
the  British  in  Portugal,  and  expressed  his  anxious  desire  to  quit  the 
army.  The  officers  and  men  he  had  led  to  victory  deeply  regretted 
with  himself  the  unnecessary  suspension  of  operations,  and  the 
Generals  Spencer,  Hill,  Fergusson,  Nightingale,  Bowles,  Fane,  and 
Catlin  Crawford,  who  had  commanded  brigades  and  divisions  under 
his  orders,  presented  him  with  a  piece  of  plate  value  one  thousand 
guineas,  as  a  testimony  of  their  esteem  and  respect. 

From  Vimiero,  the  British  army  proceeded  to  Torres  Vedras,  and 
quartered  there  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Lisbon.  That  Sir  Arthur 
could  feel  himself  at  his  ease  under  Dalrymple  was  not  to  be  expected 
after  all  that  had  occurred,  and  though  he  was  unremitting  in  his 
co-operation  with  that  officer,  when  his  advice  and  assistance  were 
called  for,  it  is  no  subject  of  marvel  that  we  find  him  writing  to 
Captain  (afterwards  Admiral  Sir  Pulteney)  Malcolm  in  these 
terms : — 

"  I  am  afraid  that  I  am  so  much  connected  with  the  credit  of  this 
army  that  I  cannot  remain  with  it,  without  falling  as  it  will  full.  If 
I  could  be  of  any  use  to  men  who  have  served  me  so  well,  I  wduld 
stay  with  them  for  ever ;  but  as  matters  are  situated,  I  am  sure  that 
I  can  be  of  no  use  to  them ;  I  am  convinced  that  they  cannot  render 
any  service,  and  I  am  determined  to  go  home  immediately." 

And  again,  addressing  Lord  Castlereagh,  on  the  30th  of  August, 
he  says — 

'•  I  assure  you,  my  dear  Lord,  matters  are  not  prospering  here ; 
and  I  feel  an  earnest  desire  to  quit  the  army.  I  have  been  too  suc- 
cessful with  this  army  ever  to  serve  with  it,  in  a  subordinate  situation, 
with  satisfaction  to  the  person  who  shall  command  it,  and  of  course 


1808.]  THE   CONVENTION  AT   CINTRA.  45 

not  to  myself.     However,  I  shall  do  whatever  the  Government  may 
wish." 

On  the  11th  and  12th  of  September,  the  French  army  embarked 
under  the  protection  of  a  brigade  of  British  troops.  The  inhabitants 
of  Lisbon  were  so  much  incensed  by  the  conduct  of  the  French,  and 
so  little  pleased  with  the  Convention,  that  they  had  previously  perpe- 
trated numerous  assassinations  in  the  streets  and  houses.  Without 
the  protection  afforded,  the  French  could  not  have  left  the  city.  On 
their  departure,  the  people  gave  way  to  tumultuous  joy  which  lasted 
for  nine  days. 

Five  days  subsequent  to  the  embarkation  of  the  French,  Sir  Arthur 
Wellesley  obtained  leave  to  return  to  England.  He  had  pointed  out 
a  course  of  conduct  to  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  which  Sir  Hew  did  not 
choose  to  adopt,  and  the  just  pride  and  patriotism  of  the  hero  of 
K,ori(ja  and  Vimiero  were  offended  that  Lord  William  Bentinck  should 
Lave  been  selected  as  the  medium  of  communication  between  the 
British  commander  and  the  local  Junta. 

Not  long  after  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's  return.  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple 
was  recalled,  and  Sir  Harry  Burrard,  who  temporarily  succeeded  him, 
resigned.  The  command  of  the  army  then  devolved  upon  Sir  John 
Moore. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  sorrow  and  indignation  of  the  people  of 
England  at  this  issue  to  a  victory  they  had  been  tumultuously 
celebrating.  *  Byron,  in  some  unpublished  lines  in  "  Childe  Harold,' 
thus  summed  up  the  national  feeling  post  and  ante  the  battle  and  the 
Convention : — 

"  Dull  victory !  baffled  by  a  vanquished  foe, 
Wheedled  by  conynge  tongues  of  laurels  due, 
Stood  worthy  of  each  other  in  a  row — 
Sir  Arthur,  Harry,  and  the  dizzard  Hew, 
Dalr)'niple,  secly  wight,  sore  dupe  of  t'other  tew. 

*  *  *  *  * 

— Well  I  wot  when  first  the  news  did  come, 
That  Vimiero's  field  by  Gaul  was  lost, 
For  paragraph  no  paper  scarce  had  room. 
Such  Pseans  teemed  for  our  triumphant  host, 
In  Courier,  Chronicle,  and  eke  in  Morning  Post. 

But  when  Convention  sent  his  handywork, 
Pens,  tongues,  feet,  hands,  combined  in  wild  uproar; 
Mayor,  Aldermen,  laid  down  the  uplifted  fork ; 
The  Bench  of  Bishops  half  forgot  to  snore  ; 
Stem  Cobbett,  who  for  one  whole  week  forbore 
To  question  aught,  once  more  with  transport  leapt, 
And  bit  his  devilish  quill  again,  and  sworo 
With  foe  such  treaty  never  should  be  kept. 
Then  burst  the  blatant  beast,  and  roared,  and  raged,  and  slept." 


46 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON. 


['808 


Upon  the  arrival  of  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  and  Sir  Harry  Burrard,  a 
board  of  general  officers  was  ordered  to  investigate  the  circumstances 
attending  upon  the  (so  called)  Convention  of  Cintra.  During  the 
sitting,  public  opinion  was  loudly  expressed  against  the  measure.  At 
its  conclusion,  "at  which  nothing  was  concluded,"  the  King  ex- 
pressed a  vague  opinion  upon  the  armistice  and  the  negotiations, 
which  certainly  did  not  imply  satisfaction  at  their  terms  and 
conditions. 


THE   CONVENTION. 


ISOfi.l 


SIR  JOHN  MOORE  IN  SPAIN. 


47 


CHAPTER  IV. 


sir  John  Moore  in  Spain,  and  Sir  Johu  Craa<N»'<  in  Portugal— Memorandum  on  the  Defence  of 
Portugal— Departure  for  Portugal— Recep»- -n  at  Lisbon— Advance  upon  Oporto— Passage 
of  the  Douro— Battle  of  Talavera— The  ^  ^tish  wounded— Lines  of  Torres  Vedras— Maa- 
sena's  advance — Guerrillas— Battle  of  Bus»-«o. 

m  ARTHUR  WELLESLEY  re- 
sumed his  duties  as  Chief  Secretary 
of  Ireland.  Parliament  met  in 
January.  1 809.  He  took  his  seat 
upon  the  occasion,  and  then  re- 
ceived the  thanks  of  the  House  of 
Commons  for  his  "  distinguished 
valour,  ability,  and  conduct "  at 
the  battle  of  Vimiero. 

The  gallant  and  skilful,  but 
ultimately  unfortunate  attempt  of 
Sir  John  Moore  to  perpetrate  Spain,  and  rescue  her  from  the  domina- 
tion now  consolidatir-g  under  the  personal  exertions  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  forms  an  ippropriate  episode  in  a  memoir  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  The  l>mits,  however,  which  we  have  prescribed  to  our- 
selves in  this  sketch,  forbid  more  than  a  passing  reference  to  occur- 
rences in  which  his  Grace  was  not  either  an  actor,  or  over  which  he 
did  not  exercise  an  immediate  personal  control.  Moreover,  the 
Btory  of  the  retreat  to  Coruna  has  been  so  vividly  related  by  a  hun- 
dred eloquent  writers,  and  lives  so  freshly  in  the  memory  of  all  who 
have  read  the  biography  of  Moore,  that  its  repetition  would  be  almost 
a  work  of  supererogation.  Let  it  suffice  that,  though  the  retreat  was 
in  all  respects  a  victory,  reflecting  the  highest  honour  upon  the  talents 
and  bravery  of  Sir  John  Moore,  and  the  noble  fellows  he  commanded, 
its  effects  were  disastrous  in  the  extreme  to  Spain.  Her  cause  was 
virtually    lost.      "  Her   armies  "    (I  quote  Napier)  "  were  dispersed^ 


48  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  |1S09 

her  government  bewildered,  and  her  people  dismayed  ;  tlie  cry  of 
resistance  had  ceased,  and,  in  its  stead,  the  stern  voice  of  Napoleon, 
answered  by  the  tread  of  300,000  veterans,  was  heard  throughout  the 
land." 

To  command  the  small  body  of  British  troops,  which  remained  in 
the  Peninsula,  Sir  John  Cradock  was  despatched  to  Lisbon.  He 
found  the  government  in  a  state  bordering  upon  imbecility, — the 
people  unreflecting,  oblivious  of  past  service,  in  an  attitude  of  hostility 
to  their  recent  protectors, — the  whole  country  in  a  state  of  confusion, 
and  the  army  disorganised.  From  the  Minho  to  the  Tagus,  the  dis 
tressing  picture  was  unvaried,  and  it  was  quite  obvious  that  nothing 
•which  Sir  John  could  do  to  restore  order  and  confidence  would  possi- 
bly succeed  with  the  limited  means  then  at  his  disposal.  In  these 
circumstances,  the  English  Ministry  thought  of  abandoning  the  Penin- 
sula, but  before  they  came  to  any  final  decision  upon  the  subject  it 
•was  deemed  advisable  to  consult  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley. 

The  opinion  given  by  this  matchless  soldier  is  contained  in  a 
Memorandum,  dated  London,  9th  March,  1809.  The  subjoined  ex- 
tract will  sufficiently  disclose  his  views  : — 

"  The  British  force  employed  in  Portugal  should  not  be  less  than 
30,000  men,  of  which  number  4000  or  5000  should  be  cavalry,  and 
there  should  be  a  large  body  of  artillery. 

"  The  extent  of  force  in  cavalry  and  artillery,  above  required,  is 
because  the  Portuguese  military  establishments  must  necessarily  be 
deficient  in  these  two  branches  ;  and  British  or  German  cavalry  and 
artillery  must  be  employed  with  the  Portuguese  infantry. 

"  The  ■whole  of  the  army  in  Portugal,  Portuguese  as  well  as 
British,  should  be  placed  under  tlie  command  of  British  officers. 
The  staff  of  the  army,  the  commissariat  in  particular,  must  be  British, 
and  these  departments  must  be  extensive  in  proportion  to  the  strength 
of  the  whole  army  which  will  act  in  Portugal,  to  the  number  of  detached 
posts  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  occupy,  and  in  a  view  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  providing  and  distributing  supplies  in  that  country.  In 
regard  to  the  detail  of  these  measures,  I  recommend  that  the  British 
army  in  Portugal  should  be  reinforced  as  soon  as  possible  with  some 
companies  of  British  riflemen,  with  3000  British  or  German  cavalry ; 
that  the  complement  of  ordnance  with  that  army  should  be  made 
thirty  pieces  of  cannon,  of  which  two  brigades  should  be  nine  pounders  . 
that  these  pieces  of  ordnance  should  bo  completely  horsed  ;  that 
twenty  pieces  of  brass  (twelve  pounders)  ordnance,  upon  travelling 
carriages,  should  be  sent  to  Portugal,  with  a  view  to  the  occupation 
of  certain  positions  in  the  country  ;  that  a  corps  of  engineers  for  an 


1809.]  DEFENCE  OF  PORTUGAL.  49 

army  of  60,000  men  should  be  sent  there,  and  a  corps  of  artillery  for 
sixty  pieces  of  cannon. 

"  I  understand  that  the  British  army  now  in  Portugal  consists  of 
20,000  men,  including  cavalry.  It  should  be  made  up  to  20,000 
infantry,  at  least,  as  soon  as  possible,  by  additions  of  riflemen  and 
other  good  infantry,  which  by  this  time  may  have  been  refitted  after 
the  campaign  in  Spain. 

"  The  reinforcements  may  follow  as  the  troops  shall  recover  from 
their  fatigues. 

"  The  first  measures  to  be  adopted  are  to  complete  the  army  in 
Portugal  with  its  cavalry  and  artillery,  and  to  horse  the  ordnance  as 
it  ought  to  be.  As  soon  as  this  shall  be  done,  the  general  and  staff 
officers  should  go  out ;  as  it  may  be  depended  upon,  that  as  soon  as 
the  newspapers  shall  have  announced  the  departure  of  officers  for 
Portugal,  the  French  armies  in  Spain  will  receive  orders  to  make 
their  movements  towards  Portugal,  so  as  to  anticipate  our  measures 
for  its  defence.  "We  ought,  therefore,  to  have  everything  on  the 
spot,  or  nearly  so,  before  any  alarm  is  created  at  home,  respecting  our 
intentions. 

"  Besides  the  articles  above  enumerated,  30,000  stands  of  arms, 
clothing  and  shoes,  for  the  Portuguese  army,  should  be  sent  to  Lisbon, 
as  soon  as  possible." 

This  "  memorandum,"  from  such  a  source,  was  not  to  be  disre- 
garded. Lord  Castlereagh  instantly  resolved  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  suggestions,  provided  the  consent  of  the  Junta  of  Portugal 
could  be  obtained.  The  intention  to  assist  Spain  in  her  prostrate 
condition,  was  not  immediately  contemplated,  but  it  was  not  con- 
cealed that  the  success  of  Sir  Arthur's  scheme  in  Portugal  would 
sooner  or  later  operate  beneficially  upon  the  interests  of  the  sister 
kingdom. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  the  acquiescence  of  the  Portuguese  in  the 
proposals,  the  command  of  the  Portuguese  army  was  offered  to  Sir 
Arthur,  and  on  his  declining  its  acceptance,  the  appointment  was 
conferred  on  General  Beresford,  who  was  subsequently  assisted  by 
General  Hill.  At  the  same  time  the  force  of  Sir  John  Cradock  was 
augmented.  Under  Beresford's  excellent  system  of  discipline,  the 
Portuguese  battalions  rapidly  acquired  an  efficient  character,  and 
were  about  to  take  the  field,  in  conjunction  with  the  troops  under 
Cradock,  when  Napoleon's  generals  made  a  dash  upon  the  territory, 
seizing    Oporto    under   circumstances   of  cruelty,'  and   establishing 

1  Soult,  who  commanded,  issued  an  order,  upon  his  entry  into  Spain,  commanding  that.  aD 
VOL.  I.  E 


50  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1809 

themselves  in  positions  which  compelled  Sir  John  Cradock  to 
restrict  himself  to  an  arrangement  by  which  he  could  cover  Lisbon 
and  the  Tagus. 

The  British  Government  now  saw  the  necessity  of  employing  the 
master  spirit  whose  genius  had  devised  the  new  scheme  of  defence. 
At  this  distant  period  it  appears  unaccountable  that  any  hesitation 
should  have'i  existed  to  entrust  to  one  so  highly  gifted  the  execution  of 
a  project  which  he  alone  could  conceive. 

Accepting  the  trust,  Sir  Arthur  embarked  on  board  the  Surveillante^ 
with  his  staff,  left  Portsmouth  on  the  IGth  of  April,  1809,  and  after  a 
dangerous,  but  quick  passage,  anchored  in  the  Tagus  on  the  22nd. 

"  The  effect  produced  upon  the  British  army  in  Portugal,  by  the 
arrival  of  their  favorite  cJiief,  seemed  magical.  Into  every  depart- 
ment his  presence  seemed  to  infuse  new  life  and  confidence.  Men 
Bpoke  no  longer  of  defensive  security,  or  speculated  on  the  probable 
period  of  their  departure  from  the  Tagus ;  but  all  looked  forward  to 
active  service,  as  a  thing  consequent  on  the  appearance  of  a  victorious 
commander ;  and  the  general  question  which  was  asked  was,  '  when 
shall  we  be  in  readiness  to  move  forward  ? '  The  delight  of  the 
Portuguese  was  unbounded,  and  they  welcomed  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
'  as  if  conquest  and  his  name  were  one.'  * 

'•  All  day  long  the  streets  were  crowded  with  men  and  women 
congratulating  one  another  on  the  happy  event ;  and  at  night  the  city 
was  illuminated,  even  in  the  most  obscure  and  meanest  of  its  lanes 
and  alleys. 

"  In  the  theatres  pieces  were  hastily  got  up,  somewhat  after  the 
fashion  of  the  masks  anciently  exhibited  among  ourselves,  in  which 
Victory  was  made  to  crown  the  representative  of  the  hero  with  laurels, 
and  to  address  him  in  language  as  far  removed  from  the  terms  of 
ordinary  conversation  as  might  be  expected  from  an  allegorical 
personage.  But  it  was  not  by  such  exhibitions  alone  that  the 
Portuguese  nation  sought  to  evince  its  confidence  in  its  former 
deliverer  and  its  satisfaction  at  his  return.  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  was 
immediately  nominated  Mar.shal-Gcneral  of  the  armies  of  Portugal ; 
by  which  means,  whilst  the  care  of  training  and  managing  the  whole 
of  the  interior  economy  rested  still  with  Beresford,  the  fullest 
authority  to  move  the  troops  whithersoever  he  would,  and  to  employ 
them  in  any  series  of  operations  in  which  he  might  desire  to  embark, 
devolved  upon  him." 

persons  found  with  arms  in  their  hanUa  should  bo  treated  as  gangs  or  banditti,  having  no  other 
object  tlian  robbery  and  murder,  and  condemned  and  shot  immediately.  This  sanguinary  edict  he 
carried  into  Portugal. 


1809.]  MARCH  TO  OPORTO.  Si 

The  eagle  glance  of  Wellesley  at  once  took  in  a  view  of  the  position 
of  the  French  armies,  and  the  condition  of  Portugal,  and  with 
characteristic  decision  he  resolved  to  march  to  the  northward,  with 
the  whole  of  the  British  troops,  and  6000  Portuguese.  The  conviction 
of  success  which  seemed  to  possess  him  is  visible  in  a  passage  of  his 
despatch  to  the  Foreign  Minister  of  the  27th  of  April,  1809  : — 

"  As  S0071  as  the  enemy  shall  have  evacuated  the  north  of  Portugal^ 
it  is  iny  intention  to  return  to  the  eastern  frontier  of  the  kingdom,  and 
to  co-operate  with  the  Spanish  General  Cuesta  against  the  army  of 
Marshal  Victor." 

On  Sir  Arthur's  way  to  Coimbra,  the  greatest  demonstrations  of 
joy  were  made  by  the  people.  The  towns  were  illuminated,  and  his 
entrance  into  Coimbra  was  distinguished  by  the  most  extravagant 
excesses  of  delight.  The  balconies  were  thronged  with  ladies,  who 
covered  the  General  "  with  roses  and  sugar  plums." 

On  the  4th  of  May  the  army  was  fresh  brigaded.  It  was  divided 
into  eight  brigades  of  infantry  and  one  of  cavalry.  The  latter, 
commanded  by  Major-General  Stapleton  Cotton,  consisted  of  the  14th, 
16th,  and  20th  Light  Dragoons,  and  the  3rd  regiment  of  the  King's 
German  Legion.  The  infantry  was  composed  of  two  battalions  of 
Guards,  the  3rd,  or  Buffs,  the  7th  Fusileers,  9th  Foot,  27th,  29th,  31st, 
45th,  48th,  53rd,  66th,  83rd,  87th,  88th,  and  97th,  the  5th  battalion  of 
the  60th  rifles,  and  a  battalion  of  detachments.  Intermingled  with 
these  were  several  Portuguese  battalions,  and  the  brigades  were 
commanded  by  Major-Generals  Hill,  Tilson,  and  M'Kenzie  ;  Brigadier- 
Generals  H.  Campbell,  Cameron,  Steward,  Sontag,  and  A.  Campbell. 
In  addition  to  this  force  were  four  regiments  (two  brigades)  of  the 
infantry  of  the  King's  German  Legion,  respectively  commanded  by 
Brigadier-Generals  Langworth  and  Dribourg,  which  were  again  com- 
manded by  Major-General  Murray.  The  whole  army  was  subsequently 
divided  into  wings  under  Lieutenant-Generals  Sherbrooke  and  Paget, 
and  the  cavalry  placed  under  Lieutenant-General  Payne. 

On  the  6th  of  May  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  inspected  the  troops, 
and  was  gratified  with  the  appearance  of  the  disciplined  Portuguese, 
although  of  course  they  were  every  way  inferior  to  the  British.  On 
the  9th  of  the  month  the  Commander-in-chief  quitted  Coimbra  with 
the  last  brigade,  the  remainder  having  preceded  him  in  two  columns 
on  the  main  roads  between  Oporto,  by  Adiga  on  the  Vouga,  and  by 
the  Bay  Tilson's  brigade  and  some  cavalry  under  the  orders  of 
General  of  Aveiro  to  Ovar.  Previous  to  this,  a  corps,  consisting  of 
Marshal  Beresford,  had  been  sent  forward  to  move  on  the  enemy's  left 
flank  and  rear. 


52  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE  OF   "WELLINGTON.  [1809. 

The  advance  of  the  French,  under  General  Francheschi,  was  on  the 
Vouga,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  surprising  it.  This,  however, 
failed  from  want  of  sufficient  precaution  on  the  part  of  the  Portuguese 
cavalry  and  the  guides.  On  the  11th  of  May  the  army  came  upon 
a  strong  body  of  4000  or  5000  infantry  of  the  division  of  Mermet, 
posted  upon  a  height  over  the  village  of  Grijon.  The  16th  Portuguese 
regiment  and  the  German  Light  Infantry  were  in  front  acting  as 
shirmishers  on  the  left  and  right  of  the  road.  As  the  enemy  showed 
himself  the  skirmishing  became  very  sharp,  and  the  29th  regiment 
was  forced  to  support  the  Portuguese,  who  were  once  obliged  to  fall 
back.  At  the  moment  of  this  retrogression  the  French  pushed  a 
column  of  infantry  down  the  road  through  the  village,  which  being 
reported  to  Sir  Arthur,  he  replied  in  the  most  quiet  manner,  '•  Order 
the  battalion  of  detachments  to  charge  them  with  tJie  bayonet  if  they 
coine  any  further.''^ 

The  officers  of  the  staff,  many  of  them  at  that  time  young  soldiers, 
could  not  help  evincing  strong  feeling  on  hearing  the  simple  and 
distinct  manner  in  which  the  order  was  given ;  but  before  some 
mouths  had  passed  over  their  heads  they  had  opportunities  of  not 
only  hearing  similar  orders  repeated,  but  of  seeing  them  carried  into 
execution. 

The  French  retired  from  their  position.  The  cavalry,  under 
Brigadier-General  Stewart  pursued  them  for  some  distance,  making 
some  gallant  charges  and  capturing  one  hundred  prisoners.  The 
French  fell  back  on  Ovar,  where,  finding  Major-General  Hill,  they 
withdrew,  after  some  skirmishing,  to  Oporto  during  the  night. 

Approaching  Oporto,  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  received  intimation  that 
the  bridge  of  boats  over  the  Douro  had  been  destroyed  by  the  enemy. 
At  Villa  Nova,  where  Hill's  brigade  had  previously  arrived,  Sir 
Arthur  took  a  reconnaissance  of  the  country  in  his  front.  Taking 
post  upon  an  elevated  spot,  the  garden  of  the  Convent  of  Sierra,  he 
found  the  whole  city  visible  like  a  panorama ;  nothing  that  passed 
within  it  could  be  hidden  from  his  view.  The  French  guards  and 
sentries  were  at  their  posts,  but  they  did  not  appear  to  notice  the 
proximity  of  the  British. 

The  passage  of  a  river  in  front  of  an  enemy  is  allowed  to  be  the 
most  difficult  of  military  operations  ;  and  when  it  became  obvious, 
from  the  collection  of  boats  on  the  other  bank,  that  precautions  had 
been  taken  to  secure  them  from  the  English,  the  barrier  appeared 
insurmountable.  General  Murray  had  been  directed  to  march  in  the 
morning  to  try  and  cross  the  river,  about  five  miles  up  at  Avintas 
but  having  only  four  battalions  and   two  squadrons,  unless  he  could 


1809.] 


PASSAGE   OF  THE   DOURO. 


5S 


be  aided  in  his  successful  passage,  he  would  lie  open  to  defeat ;  and 
in  consequence,  Sir  Arthur's  anxiety  was  very  great  to  establish  his 
army  on  the  opposite  bank.  In  the  meanwhile,  Colonel  Waters,  of 
the  Quartermaster  General's  Department,  had  passed  up  the  left  bank 


PAS.S.\GE   OK    THE    DOURO. 


of  the  river,  searching  for  means  to  cross  it,  and  about  two  miles 
above  the  city  found  a  small  boat  lying  in  the  mud  partially  concealed 
among  some  reeds.  The  peasantry  demurred  at  going  over  to  the 
other  side  to  procure  some  larger  boats  seen  on  the  opposite  bank  ; 
hut  the  Colonel  (from  speaking  Portuguese  like  a  native),  learned  that 
the  Prior  of  Amarante  was  not  distant  from  the  spot,  and  hoped  by 
his  influence  to  attain  his  object.  This  patriotic  priest,  on  learnmg 
the  desire  of  the  British,  joined  with  Colonel  Waters  in  inducing  the 
peasants,  after  some  persuasion,  to  accompany  the  Colonel  across,  who 
brought  back  four  boats. 

When  the  doubts  and  fears  of  the  army  were  at  the  highest,  this 
agreeable  information  arrived,  and  was  received  by  all  with  the  great- 
est satisfaction.  The  moment  the  first  boat  reached  the  bank,  the 
circumstance  was  reported  to   Sir  Arthur.     "  Then,"  said  he,  "  let 


54  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1809. 

the  men  cross."  Three  companies  of  the  Buffs,  accompanied  by 
General  Paget,  were  immediately  conveyed  to  the  other  side. 

The  spot  at  which  they  passed  over  and  landed  was  about  half  a 
mile  above  the  city,  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  cliff,  up  which  a  zigzag  road, 
or  wide  path,  led  to  a  vast  unfinished  brick  building,  called  the  semi- 
nary, standing  on  the  brink.  This  was  intended  for  a  new  residence 
for  the  bishop,  and  placed  in  the  Prado,  being  surrounded  by  a  wall 
with  a  large  iron  gate,  opening  on  the  road  to  Vallonga.  It  was  a 
strong  post,  and  the  three  companies,  on  gaining  the  summit,  threw 
themselves  into  it,  as  it  at  once  covered  the  place  of  disembarkation, 
and  was  for  themselves  a  good  means  of  defence.  The  British  Artil- 
lery was  posted  on  the  high  bank,  on  the  other  side,  completely  com- 
manding the  Prado  and  the  Vallonga  road. 

Soult  had  his  quarters  on  the  side  of  the  city,  near  the  sea,  and  hav- 
ing collected  all  the  boats,  as  he  supposed,  on  the  right  bank,  consid- 
ered himself  in  perfect  security.  He  thought  if  the  British  made  any 
attempt  to  cross,  it  would  be  in  conjunction  with  the  ships  lying  off  the 
bar,  and  all  his  attention  was  devoted  to  that  quarter.  He  even 
turned  into  ridicule  the  first  report  of  their  having  crossed,  and  dis- 
credited the  fact  to  the  last,  until  it  was  incontestably  proved  by  the 
firing.  The  boats  had  made  more  than  one  trip  before  any  one  in  the 
town  appeared  to  notice  it.  General  Foy  instantly  ordered  the  drums 
of  the  nearest  battalion  to  beat  the  generale.  Nearly  the  whole  of 
the  Buffs  had  crossed,  and  the  French  regiments  began  forming  on 
their  parades.  This  was  an  anxious  moment,  and  just  as  the  whole  of 
the  Buffs  had  landed,  a  battalion  was  observed  moving  down  a  road 
towards  them.  This  was  the  17th  Infanteric  de  la  Ugne^  brought 
down  by  Foy,  and  which  was  quickly  supported  by  the  70th.  The 
first  made  an  attack  on  the  Buffs,  who  stood  their  ground,  giving  a 
tremendous  fire,  while  the  artillery  from  the  opposite  side  killed  and 
wounded  a  great  many  of  the  enemy. 

More  boats,  in  the  mean  time,  were  carried  across,  and  more 
troops  ;  the  48th,  GGth,  and  a  Portuguese  battalion,  landed,  and  not 
only  defended  themselves  successfully,  but  even  drove  the  enemy 
from  the  walls,  between  the  town  and  the  bishop's  palace.  This 
petty  success  was  seen  by  Sir  Arthur  and  his  staff,  who  cheered  the 
soldiery  as  they  chateed  the  enemy  from  the  various  posts.  The 
enemy's  troops  now  came  through  the  town  in  great  numbers,  and 
obliged  our  troops  to  confine  themselves  to  the  enclosure.'     They 

1  A  Tisitor  to  the  scene  of  action,  speaking  of  \,h&  sequel  to  tlie  flglit,  says :  "Willi  difBcuIty 
we  pushed  our  way  through  the  dense  mob,  as  we  turned  our  steps  toward  the  seminary. 
We  feit  naturally  curious  to  see  the  plnce  where  our  first  detachment  landed,  and  to  examin* 


1809.]  BATTLE  OF   OPORTO.  U5 

continued  running  along  the  road  towards  and  beyond  the  irou-gate, 
while  the  shells  and  shot  were  whizzing  through  the  trees  and 
between  the  houses  into  the  road  as  they  passed.  They  brought  up 
a  gun  through  the  gate  to  batter  the  house  ;  but  this  proved  an  un- 
fortunate experiment,  as  the  British  troops  increasing  in  number  by 
fresh  disembarkations,  though  G-eneral  Paget  was  wounded,  charged 
and  captured  it.  The  enemy  also  brought  some  guns  to  bear  from 
the  open  spaces  in  the  town,  but  they  were  tamely,  if  not  badly  served 
But  General  Murray  had  made  good  his  position  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river,  and  was  soon  descried  making  as  much  show  as  possible, 
marching  with  his  ranks  open  towards  the  Vallonga  road,  thus 
threatening  the  communication  of  the  enemy  with  Loison.  He  was 
cot,  however,  strong  enough  to  interrupt  the  retreat  of  10,000  desper- 
ate men ;  for  the  French  now  began  to  think  of  nothing  else,  and 
directed  their  march  towards  Amarante.  On  their  deserting  the 
quays,  the  Portuguese  jumped  into  the  boats,  which  soon  transported 
across  (amidst  the  cheers  of  the  people  and  the  waving  of  pocket 
handkerchiefs  by  the  women  from  the  windows)  the  Guards  and  Gen- 
eral Stewart's  brigade,  who  proceeded  through  the  town  with  the 
greatest  speed. 

The  Buflfs,  in  the  mean  time,  had  dashed  into  the  city  and  cut  off  a 
battery  of  Light  Artillery  in  retreat,  which  becoming  jammed  be- 
tween that  regiment  and  the  29th,  received  the  fire  of  both,  and  was 
captured. 

The  flight  of  the  enemy  was  continued,  but  they  were  overtaken  by 
the  two  squadrons  which  had  passed  with  General  Murray,  led  by 
Brigadier-General  Stewart,  who  charged  the  rear  and  made  200 
prisoners.  Major  Hervey,  who  commanded  the  Dragoons,  lost  his 
arm.  The  enemy  collected  their  scattered  troops  at  some  distance, 
but  continued  their  retreat  towards  Amarante  in  the  night.  The 
loss  of  the  British  did  not  exceed  120  men,  while  the  enemy,  besides 


the  opportunities  of  defence  it  presented.  The  building  itself  was  a  large  and  irregular  one,  of 
an  oblong  form,  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  of  solid  masonry,  the  only  entrance  being  by  a  heavTr 
iron  gate.  At  this  spot,  the  battle  appeared  to  have  raged  with  violence ;  one  side  of  the  massive 
gate  was  torn  from  its  hinges,  and  lay  flat  upon  the  ground ;  the  walls  were  breached  in  many 
places,  and  pieces  of  torn  uniforms,  broken  bayonets,  and  bruised  shakos,  attested  that  the 
conflict  was  a  close  one.  The  seminary  itself  was  in  a  falling  state  ;  the  roof,  from  which  Paget 
had  given  his  orders,  and  where  he  was  wounded,  had  fallen  in.  The  French  cannon  had 
fissured  the  building  from  top  to  bottom,  and  it  seemed  only  awaiting  tlie  slightest  impulse  to 
crumble  into  ruin.  When  we  regarded  the  spot,  and  examined  the  narrow  doorway  which, 
opening  upon  a  flight  of  a  few  steps  to  the  river,  admitted  our  first  party,  we  could  not  help  feel- 
ing struck  anew  with  the  gallantry  of  that  mere  handful  of  brave  fellows  who  thus  threw  them- 
selves amid  the  overwhelming  legions  of  the  enemy,  and  at  once,  without  waiting  for  a  single 
reinforcement,  opened  a  fire  upon  their  ranks." 


56  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1809 

killed  and  wounded,  left  on  hand  500  prisoners  and  1000  sick  in  the 
hospitals,  and  several  pieces  of  cannon.  The  city  of  Oporto  was 
illuminated  at  night,  and  Sir  Arthur,  without  allowing  himself  any 
rest,  the  same  evening  gave  out  an  order  of  thanks  to  the  army,  after 
eating  the  dinner  which  had  been  prepared  for  Soult.  The  operations 
of  the  three  preceding  days  had  been  most  gratifying,  and  the  quick- 
ness with  which  the  enemy  had  been  forced  from  his  various  posi- 
tions and  pursued,  seldom  equalled.  The  army  had  advanced  eighty 
miles  in  four  da3's,  three  of  which  were  in  constant  presence  of  the 
enemy. 

Sir  Arthur  had  completely  surprised  in  his  quarters  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  French  Marshals,  and  consummated  in  his  face  the 
most  difficult  operation  in  war,  that  of  crossing  a  deep  and  rapid  river 
before  an  enemy.  The  rapidity  of  Sir  Arthur's  own  movements  had 
been  wonderful :  for  within  twenty-six  days  of  leaving  Portsmouth, 
Oporto  was  captured,  and  the  enemy  in  full  retreat.  Captain  Fitzroy 
Stanhope,  one  of  the  Commander  of  the  Forces'  aides-de-camp,  was 
sent  to  England  with  the  despatches  containing  the  report  of  this  suc- 
cess by  one  of  the  ships  cruising  off  the  port,  whose  crews  from  the 
sea  had  seen  the  smoke  of  the  firing  during  the  actions  of  the  11th 
and  12th  of  April. 

The  Duke  of  Dalmatia,  Marshal  Soult,  was  overwhelmed  with  aston- 
ishment at  the  audacity  and  success  of  the  passage  of  the  Douro. 
But  he  was  too  experienced  and  collected  a  soldier  to  regard  the  re- 
verse as  final. 

Falling  back  by  the  Vallonga  road  he  restored  his  battalions  to 
their  just  organisation,  and  retreated  with  great  regularity  in  order  to 
unite  witli  Loison  and  Amarante.  He  was  not  aware  at  the  time  that 
Beresford  had  forced  Loison  to  abandon  the  bridge  and  move  towards 
Oporto.  This  news  came  upon  him  like  a  thunder-clap.  He  saw 
that  his  intended  retreat  was  cut  off,  and  that  his  army  could  only  be 
saved  by  the  desperate  expedient  of  abandoning  artillery,  ammunition, 
and  baggage,  and  rapidly  marching  over  the  mountains  to  the  Braga 
road. 

The  object  to  be  attained  was  worth  the  sacrifice  ;  and  the  sacrifice 
was  accordingly  made.  After  encountering  innumerable  perils  con- 
sequent upon  a  mountain  march,  over  almost  impassable  paths, 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  most  tempestuous  weather,  pursued  by  the 
British,  encountering  everywhere  blazing  or  deserted  villages,  and 
suffering  a  variety  of  obstructions  from  the  indignant  Portuguese 
people,  Soult  reached  Orcnse  with  19.000  men,  having  lost  since  he 
crossed  the  frontier,  nearly  one  third  of  his  force,  and  sixty  pieces  of 


1809.1  THE  SPANISH   GENERAL.  57 

artillery  !  His  renown,  however,  was  far  from  tarnished  by  this  bold 
movement ;  on  the  contrary,  it  gained  in  the  estimation  of  military 
men,  and  above  all  in  that  of  the  astute  British  Commanuer. 

Intimation  now  reaching  Wellesley  that  a  menacing  movement 
had  been  made  on  Estremadura,  he  determined  to  return  immediately 
to  the  Tagus.  He  accordingly  proceeded  thither  by  easy  marches. 
Sickness  had  broken  out  among  his  troops,  and  of  those  who  continued 
in  the  vigour  of  health  so  many  were  guilty  of  excesses  as  they  passed 
through  the  towns  and  villages  that  it  became  necessary  to  make 
examples  of  some  of  the  most  flagrant  offenders,  and  this  involved 
halts  and^delays.  The  Provost  Marshal  had  continual  employment. 
Sir  Arthur  was  compelled  to  execute  some  of  the  heaviest  culprits. 

Nor  was  the  ill  health  of  some,  and  the  misconduct  of  others,  the 
only  obstruction  to  rapidity  of  movement. 

Money  was  wanting.  The  remittances  from  the  Home  Govern- 
ment were  inadequate  to  the  necessities  of  the  hour,  and  the 
Portuguese  Government  and  merchants  doled  out  loans  reluctantly, 
and  in  small  sums.  Over  all  these  difficulties  Sir  Arthur  ultimately 
rode  triumphantly.  But  valuable  time  was  consumed  in  the  struggle, 
and  in  the  meanwhile  the  French  Marshals,  Soult  and  Victor,  were 
enabled  leisurely  to  take  up  good  positions,  or  to  retreat  towards  the 
frontier. 

If  the  enforced  pause  in  Sir  Arthur's  operations  was  in  one  respect 
detrimental  and  vexatious,  it  had  its  advantages  in  giving  him  time 
to  arrange  his  future  plans.  Several  were  open  to  him,  and  he  select- 
ed that  which  held  out  the  prospect  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy.  He  resolved  to  unite  himself  to  the  Spanish  General  Cuesta, 
and  to  march  by  Plasencia  and  Almaraz  towards  Madrid. 

The  Fi'ench  at  this  time  were  tolerably  strong  upon  the  Spanish 
frontier.  Marshal  Victor,  Duke  of  Belluno,  had  28,000  men  stationed 
at  Merida ;  General  Sebastian!  was  at  Ciudad  Rodrigo  with  16,000. 
The  plan  suggested  by  Sir  Arthur  was  calculated  either  to  force 
Victor  to  give  him  battle  or  retire,  and  Cuesta  might  have  acted 
separately  against  Sebastiani,  for  the  latter  general  was  not  able 
with  facility  to  form  a  junction  with  Victor.  Unhappily  for  the 
interests  of  Spain,  her  Commander  was  an  obstinate,  ignorant,  vain, 
and  indolent  man.  Advanced  in  years,  incapable  of  physical  exertion, 
and  unwilling  to  admit  the  great  intellectual  superiority  of  his 
collahorateur^  he  seemed  rather  to  take  a  pleasure  in  thwarting  the 
designs  and  wishes  of  Sir  Arthur  Welleslej^  In  dealing  with  this 
incapable  and  impracticable  soldier,  Sir  Arthur  evinced  wonderful 
patience   and  forbearance,   and  felt    his   talents  for  war  called   into 


£8 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1809. 


redoubled  exercise   to  avert  the  evils  which  Cuesta's   perverseness 
would  have  precipitated. 

Pending  Sir  Arthur's  arrangements,  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who  was 
King  of  Spain,  crossed  the  Tagus,  and  reinforced  Sebastiana  and 


MARSHAL    VICTOR. 


Victor.  The  force  of  the  latter  now  consisted  of  35,000  men,  and 
was  concentrated  in  the  vicinity  of  Talavera  del  Reyna  and  on  the 
Alberche.  Sir  Arthur  resolved  to  attack  it,  and  arranged  with 
Cuesta  to  execute  his  plan  of  operations  on  the  18th  of  July,  '-if 
the  French  should  remain  so  long  in  their  position."  But  Cuesta 
had  his  own  projects.  Eager  to  reap  the  honour  of  driving  the 
French  single-handed  out  of  the  Peninsula,  he  forsook  his  position, 
followed  a  French  corps  into  a  net,  was  surrounded,  and  compelled 
with  heavy  loss,  and  in  great  disorder,  to  retrace  his  steps.  Upon 
his  return  Sir  Arthur,  with  some  difficulty,  placed  him  on  the  right 


1809.J  CUESTA'S  BIVOUAC.  59 

of  the  l5riteish  iinc,  in  a  position  of  some  security  in  front  of  the  town 
of  Talavera  down  to  the  Tagus,  protected  by  olive  trees,  walls,  fences. 
and  embankments.  The  British  line  occupied  two  miles  of  open 
ground  commanded  by  a  hc?ight  on  which  was  placed  a  division  of  in- 
fantry under  Major-General  Hill. 

The  Bivouac  of  Cuesta  was  on  the  road  to  Madrid,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  Alberche,  where,  on  the  cushions  taken 
out  of  his  carriage,  he  sat  the  picture  of  mental  and  physical  inability. 
Two  soldiers  stood  near  to  aid  or  support  him  in  any  little  necessary 
operation,  and  the  scene  would  have  been  ridiculous  had  it  not  been 
painful,  as  the  British  officers  saw  the  tide,  which,  "  when  taken  at  its 
flood,"  might,  nay,  would  "  lead  on  to  fortune  "  and  victory,  fast  ebbing 
without  advantage  being  taken  of  it.  After  considerable  suspense,  it 
was  universally  reported  throughout  the  army,  that  on  being  pressed 
and  driven  to  his  last  excuse,  Cuesta  pleaded  that  it  was  Sunday,  at 
the  same  time  promising  to  attack  at  daylight  the  next  morning,  and 
the  troops  were  in  consequence  ordered  back  to  their  bivouacs.  It 
may  be  fairly  considered  that  pride  had  considerable  weight  on  this 
occasion.  Cuesta  vfas  a  true  Spaniard,  and  disliked  suggestions  from 
an  English  General  in  his  own  country,  and,  with  the  recollections  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  him,  could  not  bring  his  ideas  down 
to  present  changes  and  circumstances.  These  feelings  were  national 
and  constantly  evinced,  and  it  was  only  very  late  in  the  war,  after  the 
Spaniards  found  they  had  not  an  officer  to  lead  their  armies,  and  they 
despaired  of  finding  one,  that  they  consented  to  place  Sir  Arthur  at 
their  head. 

Though  sorely  annoyed  by  Cuesta's  determination,  the  officers  could 
not  let  pass  without  ridicule  the  incongri^y  they  had  observed  with- 
in a  few  days  in  the  old  gentleman's  proceedings.  It  was  impossible 
not  to  notice  the  Spanish  Greneral  going  out  to  battle,  to  within  half-a- 
mile  of  the  advanced  posts,  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  nine  mules,  and 
the  precautions  to  preserve  him  from  rheumatism,  like  those  taken  by 
delicate  ladies,  in  our  humid  climate  at  a/ete  champetre,  in  placing 
the  carriage  cushions  on  the  grass.  To  these  the  Spanish  Command- 
er-in-Chief was  supported  by  two  grenadiers,  and  on  which  he  was  let 
drop,  as  his  knees  were  too  feeble  to  attempt  reclining  without  the 
chance,  nay,  certainty  of  a  fall.  Yet  this  was  the  man  to  whom  the 
Cortes  had  entrusted  their  armies,  but  who  ought  (if  he  did  not  him- 
self feel  his  own  inability)  to  have  been  removed  without  a  moment's 
delay  after  the  first  trial. 

The  French  army,  commanded  by  Joseph  Bonaparte,  was  admirably 
posted,  and  in  great  strength.     It  consisted  of  upwards  of  60,000 


CO  LIFE  OF   THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1809. 

men,  formed  into  corps  severally  commanded  by  Marshals  Victor  and 
Jourdan  and  General  Sebastian!.  The  British  army  and  the  German 
legion  did  not  exceed  20,000  cavalry  and  infantry,  with  30  guns.  In 
subordinate  commands  in  the  French  army  were  Generals  Ruffin, 
Villatte.  and  Lapisse.  The  British  brigades  were  led  by  Hill,  Camp- 
bell, Tilson,  McKenzie,  and  Colonel  Donkin. 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  July,  Sir  Arthur,  surrounded  by  his  staff, 
slept,  wrapped  in  his  cloak,  on  the  open  ground,  in  rear  of  the  second 
line,  about  the  centre  of  the  British  army.  A  hasty  doze  was  occa- 
sionally taken,  as  more  continued  rest  was  disturbed  by  alarm  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  while  the  reflections  of  others  kept  them  waking. 

"  We  could  not  but  feel,"  wrote  one  of  the  young  combatants  new 
to  such  scenes,  "  that  here  was  to  be  another  trial  of  the  ancient 
military  rivalry  of  England  and  France  ;  that  the  cool,  constitutional, 
persevering  courage  was  again  to  be  pitted  against  the  more  artificial, 
however  chivalrous,  though  not  less  praiseworthy,  bravery  of  the 
latter.  This  view  of  the  relative  valour  of  the  two  nations  cannot 
be  questioned,  if  we  consider  that  the  reminding  the  British  of  this 
moral  quality  is  wholly  unnecessary,  and  instead  of  language  of 
excitement  being  constantly  applied  to  our  soldiery,  that  of  control, 
obedience,  and  composure  is  solely  recommended  ;  while  our  ancient 
opponents  are  obliged  incessantly  to  drive  into  the  ears  of  their  men 
that  they  are  nationally  and  individually  the  bravest  of  the  human 
race  Hearing  nothing  else  so  flattering  to  their  unbounded  vanity, 
they  become  so  puffed  up  by  this  eternal  stimulant,  as  to  be  fully 
convinced  of  its  truth,  which,  in  consequence,  makes  their  first  attack 
tremendous." 

It  was  on  the  27th  and^Sth  of  July,  1809,  that  the  Battle  of 
Talavera  was  fought.  It  was  a  terrible  trial.  The  odds  were 
greatly  against  the  British — three  to  one,  at  least,  and  most  of  the 
latter  were  raw  soldiers.' 

True,  there  was  the  Spanish  army  of  34,000  men,  with  70  guns, 
pseudo  allies  of  the  English  ;  but  when  it  is  remembered  that  no 
dependence  was  to  be  placed  upon  the  fidelity  of  their  adherence, 
and  that  they  were  commanded  by  a  senile  dotard,  whose  soi-disant 
co-operation  had  been  a  fruitful  source  of  vexation  and  perplexity  to 
Sir  Arthur  for  some  time  previously,  4,hey  are  scarcely  to  be  counted 

1  "  We  could  not  hide  from  ourselves,"  says  an  officer  writing  soon  afterwards,  "  th.it  our  ranks 
were  filled  with  young  soldiers,  being  principally  the  second  battalions  of  those  Enjjiish  regiments 
who  h:id  embarked  at  Corufia,  and  consisting  of  draughts  from  the  Militia,  thai  had  never  seen 
an  enemy,  .i'ith  the  exception  of  the  Guards  and  a  few  others,  there  were  more  knapsacks  with 
Oic  names  of  Militia  regiments  upon  them,  than  of  numbered  regular  regiments."  This  was  a 
force  scarcely  to  be  relied  upon. 


1809]  BATTLE  OF  TALAVERA.  61 

as  augmenting  the  British  strength.  And,  in  effect,  they  did  nothing 
during  the  whole  of  the  two  eventful  days  of  the  battle,  although  they 
afterwards  claimed  a  portion  of  the  honor.  We  may,  then,  in  all 
fairness,  consider  Wellesley  to  have  been  opposed  by  a  disciplined 
and  highly  effective  force,  nearly  treble  the  numerical  extent  of  his 
own  army.  This  was  a  difficulty  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  appal 
generals  of  other  nations ;  but  from  the  days  of  Henry  V.,  English- 
men have  never  stood  upon  ceremony  in  that  respect.  Marlborough 
revived  the  practice  of  beating  the  French  with  an  inferior  army,  after 
four  or  five  centuries  of  comparative  peace,  and  Wellesley  adopted 
it  from  his  first  entrance  upon  the  Peninsula.  This  was  a  feature  of 
the  battle  of  Talavera,  calculated  to  give  it  importance  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world ;  but  there  were  other  circumstances  of  interest  in  the 
operation.  The  opposite  tactics  of  the  two  greatest  generals  of  the 
age  had  now  to  be  tried  on  a  grand  scale.  The  French  attacked  in 
dense  column,  sending  out  clouds  of  skii'mishers  in  the  first  instance, 
and  supporting  the  advance  with  a  heavy  cannonade  from  heights  in 
the  rear.  The  English  commander  received  them  in  line,  delivering 
volley  upon  volley,  then  charging  with  the  bayonet,'  assisted  by  the 
cavalry  of  the  German  Legion.     The  contest  was  long  and  doubtful ; 


1  Thr(Jughout  the  campaigns  in  the  Peninsula,  Lord  Wellington  adopted  this  method  of  resisting 
the  French  attack  in  column,  and  as  ho  was  almost  always  successful,  he  expresses  his  surprise, 
in  one  of  his  despatches,  that  they  should  persevere  in  such  a  system.  It  has,  however, 
been  demonstrated  by  able  military  writers  that  it  requires  certain  qualities  in  soldiers  to 
act  in  line  which  are  seldom  found  imited  in  any  but  the  British.  Success  is  also  in  some 
measure  dependent  upon  the  nature  of  the  ground.  "  In  line,  the  greater  part  of  the  officers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  are  either  in  the  rear  or  in  the  ranks ;  the  soldier  is,  therefore, 
not  animated  by  the  example  of  his  superiors ;  the  enemy's  grape-shot  and  musketry-fire  may 
cause  blanks  in  the  ranks,  which  can  only  be  repaired  by  the  rapidity  of  the  march ;  it  may 
be  requisite  to  halt,  and  re-establish  order,  and  then  all  impulse  is  at  an  end.  The  natural 
uistinct  of  the  soldier  induces  him  to  make  use  of  his  weapon  at  the  sight  of  danger;  hence, 
firing  begins  in  spite  of  all  the  orders  of  the  officers,  and  the  charge  fails.  This  frequently 
occurs  when  the  enemy,  not  allowing  himself  to  be  intimidated,  awaits  the  charge  with 
coolness,  and  only  begins  to  fire  within  short  range.  Besides,  the  defeat  of  one  battalion, 
exposing  the  flank  of  the  one  next  to  it,  might  cause  a  general  rout."— (Jenxi's  Manual  of 
Field  Operations.) 

This  found  its  illustration  at  Toulouse,  where  the  Spaniards  attacked  a  horn  work  in  line, 
and  were  driven  back  in  great  disorder.  At  Albuera,  also,  Colborne'3*%rigade  was  exposed  to 
heavy  loss  by  General  Stewart's  attempt  to  deploy  into  line  within  range  of  the  enemy's  fire. 
The  advantages  of  the  column,  when  not  too  deep,  are,  that  impulse  is  given  to  the  men  by 
tlieir  confidence  in  the  support  they  possess ;  the  leading  division,  finding  itself  supported, 
advances  more  boldly ;  those  that  follow  fancy  they  are  protected  by  the  one  in  front ;  the 
sharpshooters  make  up  for  the  deficiency  of  the  fire  of  the  columns,  and  in  this  formation 
they  can  be  more  numerous  without  inconvenience,  as  they  have  large  intervening  spaces 
to  retire  into.  Besides,  the  sharpshooters  protect  the  deployment  of  columns,  who  can,  thus 
protected,  continue,  according  to  circumstances,  their  charge  in  line,  or  halt  and  begin  firing. 
This  is  so  obviously  rational,  that  the  continual  failure  of  the  French  is  only  to  be  ascribed  to 
the  fact  of  their  columns  being  too  deep,  exposing  them  to  great  loss  from  the  fire  of  artillery, 


62  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1809 

but  British  resolution  ultimately  succeeded  in  maintaining  the 
position  ■which  had  been  taken  up,  and  the  enemy  retired  to  the 
ground  they  had  occupied  before  the  battle,  leaving  10,000  men  dead 
upon  the  field.  Never,  perhaps,  were  the  characteristic  coolness  and 
decision  of  Sir  Arthur  put  to  a  severer  test  than  in  the  battle  of 
Talavera  del  Reyna. 

From  his  point  of  observation  in  a  tower,  and  afterwards  on  the 
summit  of  a  hill  he  was  continually  witnessing  scenes  which  would 
have  alarmed  less  gifted  men.  The  flight  of  5.000  Spaniards,  almost 
immediately  after  the  "  order  of  battle"  had  been  formed ;  the 
turning  of  the  left  of  Donkin's  brigade ;  the  night  charge  of  Rufl&n's 
division ;  the  announcement  next  day  that  "  Cuesta  was  betraying 
the  English  army ;"  the  check  given  by  the  ravines  to  Anson's 
Dragoon  charge,  just  as  the  French  were  commencing  their  attack 
upon  the  whole  British  line — all  conspired  to  try  the  British 
General's  nerves  to  the  utmost.  The  greater,  therefore,  the 
achievement. 

Few  victories  excited  greater  emotion  in  England  than  this  of 
Talavera.  The  good  old  King  was  peculiarly  pleased  with  the  success 
of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's  operation,  and  the  Duke  of  York,  .always 
prompted  to  the  generous  expression  of  his  sentiments,  put  forth 
the  following  general  order  : —  • 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  has  received  the  King's  commands  to 
notify  to  the  army  the  splendid  victory  obtained  by  his  troops  in 
Spain,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-General  the  Right  Hon. 
Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  on  the  27th  and  28th  of  last  month  (July  1809), 
at  the  battle  of  Talavera  de  la  Reyna. 

'■  His  Majesty  is  confident  that  his  army  will  learn  with  becoming 
exultation  that  the  enemy,  after  escaping  by  a  precipitate  retreat 
from  the  well-concerted  attack  with  which  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Spanish  army,  had  threatened  him  on  the  24th 
of  July,  concentrated  his  force  by  calling  to  his  aid  the  corps  under 
the  French  General,  Sebastiani,  and  the  garrisons  of  Madrid  ;  and 
thus  re-inforced,  ^ain  approached  the  allied  army  on  the  27th  of 
July ;  and,  on  this  occasion,  owing  to  the  local  circumstances  of  its 
position,  and  to  the  deliberate  purpose  of  the  enemy  to  direct  his 
whole  eflforts  against  the  troops  of  his  Majesty,  the  British  army 

and  the  lapping  Arc  of  the  nritish  infiinlry  wheeled  upon  their  flanks.  Tho  best  order  of 
attack  is  a  combination  of  the  two  systems — making  one  portion  of  the  troops  march  in  line, 
while  the  other  is  formed  in  columns  at  tho  winsa.  It  was  tried  with  success  by  Lord 
VVelliagton  in  1812. 


1809.]  THE   DUKE  OF   YORK'S   GENERAL   ORDER.  63 

sustained  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  this  great  contest,  and  has 
acquired  the  glory  of  having  vanquished  a  French  army  double  it? 
numbers,  not  in  a  short  and  partial  struggle,  but  in  a  battle  obstinately 
contested  on  two  successive  days  (not  wholly  discontinued  even 
throughout  the  intervening  night),  and  fought  under  circumstances 
which  brought  both  armies  into  close  and  repeated  combat. 

"  The  King,  in  contemplating  so  glorious  a  display  of  the  valour 
and  prowess  of  his  troops,  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  commana 
that  his  royal  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  the  army  serving  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  shall  be 
thus  publicly  declared  in  General  Orders. 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  has  received  the  King's  commands  to 
signify,  in  the  most  marked  and  special  manner,  the  sense  his 
Majesty  entertains  of  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's 
personal  services  on  this  memorable  occasion,  not  less  displayed  in 
the  result  of  the  battle  itself,  than  in  the  consummate  ability,  valour, 
and  military  resource  with  which  the  many  difficulties  of  this  arduous 
and  protracted  contest  were  met,  and  provided  for,  by  his  experience 
and  judgment. 

"  The  conduct  of  Lieutenant-General  Sherbrook,  second  in  com- 
mand, has  entitled  him  to  the  King's  marked  approbation.  His 
Majesty  has  observed  with  satisfaction  the  manner  in  which  he  led 
on  the  troops  to  the  charge  with  the  bayonet — a  species  of  combat, 
which,  on  all  occasions,  so  well  accords  with  the  dauntless  character 
of  British  soldiers. 

"  His  Majesty  has  noticed  with  the  same  gracious  approbation  the 
conduct  of  the  several  generals  and  other  officers.  All  have  done  their 
duty  ;  most  of  them  have  had  occasions  of  eminently  distinguishing 
themselves,  the  instances  of  which  have  not  escaped  his  Majesty's 
attention. 

"  It  is  his  Majesty's  commands,  that  his  royal  approbation  and 
thanks  shall  be  given  in  the  most  distinct  and  most  particular  manner 
to  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  private  men.  In  no  instance 
have  they  displayed  with  greater  lustre  their  native  valour  and 
characteristic  energy,  nor  have  they  on  any  former  occasion  more 
decidedly  proved  their  superiority  over  the  inveterate  enemy  of  their 
country. 

"  Brilliant,  however,  as  is  the  victory  obtained  at  Talavera,  it  is 
not  solely  on  that  occasion  that  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Arthur 
Wellesley,  and  the  troops  under  his  command,  are  entitled  to  his 
Majesty's  applause.  The  important  service  eflFected  in  an  early  part 
of  the  campaign  by  the  same  army,  under  the  command  of  the  same 

P 


64  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1809. 

distinguished  General,  by  the  rapid  march  on  the  Douro,  the  passage 
ef  that  river,  the  total  discomfiture  of  the  enemy,  and  his  expulsion 
from  the  territory  of  one  of  his  Majesty's  ancient  and  most  faithful 
allies,  are  circumstances  which  have  made  a  lasting  impression  on  his 
Majesty's  mind  ;  and  have  induced  his  Majesty  to  direct  that  the 
operations  of  this  arduous  and  eventful  campaign  shall  be  thus 
recorded,  as  furnishing  splendid  examples  of  military  skill,  fortitude, 
perseverance,  and  of  a  spirit  of  enterprise  calculated  to  produce 
emulation  in  every  part  of  his  army,  and  largely  to  add  to  the  renown 
and  to  the  military  character  of  the  British  nation. 

"  By  order  of  the  Right  Honorable  the  Commander-in-Chief 

"Harry  Calvert,  Adjxitant-Geiieral. 

"  IIORSK-GUARDS,  13tA  Mugust,  1809." 

In  the  battle  of  Talavera,  General  McKenzie  was  killed.  Sir 
Arthur  had  also  to  lament  the  loss  of  Brigadier-General  Langworth 
of  the  German  Legion,  and  Brigade-Major  Beckett  of  the  Guards. 
The  battle  of  the  27th  began  at  two  in  the  morning,  and  was  continued 
until  night.  Renewed  at  day-break  on  the  28th,  it  raged  until  nine 
o'clock,  when  a  pause  of  two  or  three  hours  took  place.  In  this 
interval  a  signal  illustration  of  the  absence  of  personal  vindictiveness, 
on  the  part  of  rival  French  and  English  soldiers,  was  presented.  A 
small  stream,  tributary  to  the  Tagus,  flowed  through  a  part  of  the 
battle-ground,  and  separated  the  combatants.  During  the  pause,  the 
respective  armies  removed  their  dead  from  the  scene  of  action,  and 
then  it  was,  as  Lord  Castlereagh  observed,  when  moving  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  tlie  army  and  its  leader,  that  "  those  whose  arms  were 
before  uplifted  for  mutual  havoc  met  at  the  stream  which  intervened 
between  their  mutual  positions,  and  shook  hands  in  token  of  their 
reciprocal  admiration  of  the  bravery,  skill,  and  firmness  displayed  on 
both  sides.'" 

1  Tlicse  civil  passages,  so  characteristic  of  civilised  w.irfarc,  were  of  frequent  occurrence 
during  llie  IVniusular  War.  An  interesting  article  in  a  popular  Magazine,  contained,  about 
tweuty-livc  years  ago,  the  subjoined  description  of  the  friendly  understanding  subsisting 
between  the  rival  armies: — 

"  I  liave  known  several  Instances  of  right  feeling  evinced  by  the  enemy,  wortliy  of  gentle- 
men wlio  are  above  turning  into  individual  strife  llic  ([uarrcls  of  the  two  coiiiitries.  While 
the  light  division  was  at  Uallegos,  some  grcyhoiujds  belonging  to  an  ofliccr  strayed  into  the 
enemy's  lines,  and  an  opportunity  was  found,  by  means  of  the  first  flag  of  truce,  to  request 
their  being  returned.  Tlio  answer  wa.s  favourable,  stating  that  they  sliould  be  sent  in  on  the 
first  opportunity.  A  day  or  two  after,  llic  greyhounds  were  seen  in  couples  in  tlio  rear,  and 
on  the  (Irsl  carabine  being  fired,  they  were  let  slip  (the  dogs  of  war?)  and  came  curveting 
Jbrougli  the  whistling  balls  to  llieir  old  master. 

"Theae  recollections    revive    others.      On    the    day    the    French    retired    from    Fuentes. 


1809.]  AMICABLE  ENEMIES.  65 

On  the  day  following  the  battle  of  Talavera,  the  light  brigade 
under  Major-General  Robert  Craufurd,  consisting  of  the  43rd,  52nd, 
and  95th  (Rifles)  reached  Talavera.  They  had  marched  sixty  miles 
in  twenty-six  hours.     With  this  reinforcement,  it  was  the  intention 

d'Onore,  the  last  troops  they  withdrew  from  our  front  were  some  squadrons  of  cavalry. 
Accompanied  by  a  friend  of  mine,  we  quietly  followed  their  retrograde  movement,  and,  secure 
in  the  speed  of  our  horses,  and  the  open  plain,  gradually  neared  the  rear-guard.  When  we 
came  within  a  few  yards,  an  ofllcer  rode  out,  and  begged  that  we  would  not  encroach  so  much, 
or  otherwise  he  should  be  obliged,  but  with  regret,  a  f aire  charger  les  tirailleurs  ;  it  is  need- 
less to  say  that  we  did  not  further  obtrude  upon  his  good  nature  or  civility.  I  have  witnessed 
some  remarkable  instances,  on  a  momentary  suspension  of  arms,  even  during  a  general  action, 
of  almost  a  mi.\ture  of  the  armies.  At  Buasco,  when  the  baggage  of  General  St.  Simon,  who 
had  been  loft  in  the  midst  of  our  ranks  on  the  repulse  and  overthrow  of  the  enemy's  attack, 
was  sent  for,  the  light  division  and  the  enemy's  troops  opposed  to  them  fairly  mingled  iu 
plundering  the  dead,  and  Lord  Wellington  became  desirous  of  checking  if,  as  some  of  their 
soldiery  had  strolled  up  (I  spoke  to  several  of  them)  to  the  very  summit  of  the  hill,  even  be- 
yond where  their  advance  had  penetrated  in  their  previous  attack. 

"  A  similar  occurrence  took  place  in  front  of  our  lines  that  covered  Lisbon.  Before  we  fell 
back  upon  our  redoubts,  we  held  the  ground  near  the  village  of  Santa  Quintina,  opposite  our 
centre,  for  several  days.  The  71st,  under  Ciolonel  Cadogan,  were  here  posted  behind  a  little 
bank  they  had  thrown  up,  and  were  only  divided  from  the  enemy,  equally  covered  by  a  wall, 
by  a  small  field,  about  a  hundred  yards  across.  Under  Loison's  direction,  the  enemy  stormed 
our  post,  and  were  beat  back  by  Colonels  Cadogan  and  Reynell,  at  the  head  of  two  companies, 
literally  with  the  bayonet,  as  one  of  their  men  was  stabbed  as  he  was  crossing  the  parapet  of 
the  breastrwork.  The  whole  skirmish  and  the  repulse  were  speedily  over,  and  when  all  firing 
had  ceased,  they  called  across  for  permission  to  carry  off  their  killed  and  wounded  men,  who 
were  strewed  over  the  little  field  in  front.  To  this  we  assented,  and  they  sent  a  party, 
accompanied  by  an  officer,  who  commenced  their  removal.  Whilst  they  were  so  employed, 
the  officer  came  up  to  Reynell,  and  with  some  flippancy,  mingled  with  mortification,  said, 
'•  Apres  Paffaire  nous  sommes  de  bans  amis.'  Colonel  Reynell  replied  with  great  quickness, 
pointing  to  a  shot  he  had  just  received  through  his  blue  cloth  light  infantry  cap, '  Sans  doute; 
cependantje  vous  remercie  pour  cette  marque  de  voire  bonte.' 

"  I  only  know  of  one  accident  arising  from  similar  communication,  and  that,  I  have  under- 
stood, arose  from  a  mistake,  though  its  efibcts  were  fatal.  During  the  time  Colonel  Cadogan 
occupied  the  town  of  Fuentes  d'Onore,  when  no  firing  was  going  on,  though  a  portion  of  the 
village  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  he  was  called  to  by  a  French  officer  to  approach,  having 
eomething  to  communicate.  He  accordingly  descended,  with  a  sergeant  and  a  man,  to  the 
banks  of  the  little  rivulet  that  runs  through  the  village  to  meet  him,  and  at  that  instant  some 
of  their  nearest  men,  seizing  their  muskets  (it  is  believed  not  being  aware  of  what  had  passed), 
fired,  and  shot  the  sergeant  through  the  body,  and  the  private  (one  of  his  best  men)  through 
the  ear  into  the  head.  Considering  that  we  are  always  playing  with  edge  tools,  it  is  surprising 
that  more  accidents  do  not  occur.  At  Oporto,  in  1809,  to  be  sure,  we  commenced  by  cannonading 
a  few  Portuguese,  whose  blue  jackets  we  mistook  for  French ;  at  Talavera  we  had  some  pitiable 
Instances  of  the  light  infantry  in  our  front  being  killed  and  wounded  by  our  own  fire  during  the 
night ;  and  Sir  S.  Cotton  being  wounded  by  a  Portuguese  sentry  after  Salamanca ;  but  beyond 
these,  I  do  not  recollect  any  similar  mishaps. 

''  Civilities  have  at  all  times  passed  between  the  two  armies,  softening  much  the  rigours  of 
war,  and  baggage  and  money  have  ever  been  received  on  both  sides  for  officers  who  have  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  made  prisoners.  Lord  Wellington  generally  received  the  enemy's  officers 
^of  rank  at  his  table  ;  and  on  one  occasion,  at  Celorico,  the  pertness  of  a  Colonel  of  gens-d'armes 
drew  forth  from  a  Spanish  Colonel  attached  to  head-quarters  a  keen  repartee.  Lord  Wellington 
VOL.  I.  5 


66  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  fl809 

of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  to  have  maintained  his  ground.  But  newa 
reached  him  of  the  advance  of  Soult,  and  as  Cuesta  refused  until  too 
late  to  send  a  Spanish  corps  to  defend  Banos,  the  point  to  which 
Soult  directed  his  steps,  and  supplies  of  every  kind  were  with  difficulty 
obtained  at  Talavera,  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  resolved  on  moving  with 
the  British  army  to  Plasencia  in  the  hope  of  encountering  Soult, 
Ney,  and  Mortier.  This  resolution  was  carried  out  on  the  3rd  of 
August,  arrangements  having  been  made  that  the  Spanish  General, 
Cuesta,  should  remain  at  Talavera  to  check  Victor,  secure  the  rear  of 
the  British  army,  and  protect  the  numerous  sick  and  wounded  who 
were  unavoidably  left  in  the  hospitals.  A  few  hours  subsequent  to 
the  departure  of  the  British,  Cuesta  violating  his  promise  and  utterly 
regardless  of  consequences,  abandoned  Talavera,  and  followed  upon 
the  footsteps  of  Sir  A.  Wellesley,  to  his  great  consternation  and 
embarrassment. 

Sir  Arthur's  thoughts  immediately  reverted  to  the  wounded.  He 
wrote  at  once  the  following  note  to  General  Kellerman : — 

"TO  GENERAL  KELLERMAN. 

"Deleytosa,  0th  August,  1809. 

"  The  fortune  of  war  has  placed  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
British  army  who  were  wounded  in  the  recent  battle  of  Talavera  in 
the  hands  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  army. 

"  I  wrote  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  army  to  com- 
mend these  soldiers  to  him,  and  to  request  him  to  permit  me  to  send 
to  Talavera  to  attend  to  those  officers  who  will  not  be  considered 
as  prisoners  of  war,  and  to  whom  their  return  to  the  army  may  be 
granted  when  their  wounds  are  healed.  I  requested,  also,  to  be 
allowed  to  send  a  small  amount  of  money  to  the  officers. 

"  Having  the  honour  of  being  known  to  you,  I  venture  to  engage 
your  kind  offices  with  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  French  army, 
and  to  recommend  my  wounded  to  you.  If  it  were  Marshal  Soult 
who  commanded,  he  owes  me  all  the  care  which  can  be  given  to  my 
brave  soldiers,  for  I  saved  his  (whom  the  fate  of  warfare  placed  in  my 
power)  from  the  fury  of  the  Portuguese  populace,  and  took  care  of 
them.  Besides,  as  the  two  nations  are  always  at  war,  we  ought  to 
reciprocate   those    attentions    which  I   claim  for  my  wounded,  and 

asked  if  the  Duchess  of  Abrantes  (.Madame  Junot)  was  not  at  Salamanca,  to  which  he  replied 
in  the  affirmative,  and  added,  ^  ElU  a  Cintenlion  iTaccouchcr  dans  sun  L>u:he^ — Abrantes 
being  at  that  time  two  hundred  miles  to  our  rear,  and  into  which  place,  as  i',  hap{>ened,  the 
French  never  entered.  This  brought  upon  him  the  happy  and  neat  remark  to  which  I  allude— 
^Peut-ctre  la  Duchesse  aura  une  fausse  coucheP  "  • 


1809.J 


COURTESY  AND  HUMANITY. 


61 


which    I   have   always   bestowed   upon   those   whose   lot  cast  them 
on  me." 

Happily  for  the  interests  of  humanity,  the  French  Marshals,  who 
occupied  Talavera  upon  its  evacuation  by  the  besotted  Spaniards, 
took  every  care  of  the  British  wounded  !  Victor,  who,  more  than  any 
other  French  general,  embodied  the  characteristics  of  the  preux 
chevalier  of  old,  on  his  entrance  into  the  town,  sent  soldiers  to  every 
house  with  orders  to  the  inhabitants  to  receive  and  accommodate  the 
wounded  English,  as  well  as  the  wounded  French,  and  he  expressly 
directed  that,  in  the  care  and  attention  bestowed  on  them,  preference 
should  be  given  to  the  English.  On  his  being  relieved  by  Marshal 
Mortier,  Duke  de  Bulluno,  the  latter  continued  the  humane  offices 
of  his  gallant  predecessor,  and  would  not  permit  his  own  soldiers, 


MARSHAL   MORTIEE. 


although   suffering   severe  privations   themselves,  to   receive  rations 
until  the  hospitals  were  first  supplied. 


68  LIFE    JF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON,  [1809 

Mortier  was  a  man  of  great  humanity  of  character.  In  the  Russian 
war  of  1812,  he  gave  several  proofs  of  the  excellence  of  his  heart.  It 
is  said  that  his  conduct  towards  the  wounded  at  Talavera  arose  from 
the  fact  of  one  of  his  old  friends  and  schoolfellows  of  the  English 
army  being  amongst  them,  but  those  who  have  tracked  him  through 
other  campaigns  are  aware  that  humanity  was  a  feature  of  his 
character. 

The  idiotic  (to  call  it  by  no  worse  jiame)  proceeding  of  Cuesta 
forced  Sir  Arthur  to  change  his  plan  of  operations.  He  felt  com- 
pelled to  give  up  the  movement  upon  Plasencia,  and  retire  to  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tagus. 

On  the  11th  of  August  he  withdrew  his  troops  over  the  bridge  of 
Arzobispo,  with  the  view  of  covering  Seville  and  the  south  of  Spain, 
and  at  the  same  time  preserve  his  communication  with  Lisbon,  and 
reached  the  valley  watered  by  the  Elevante  on  the  1 1  th  of  August. 
After  his  troops  had  had  time  to  repose,  finding  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  prosecute  the  war  in  Spain  with  any  chance  of  success 
against  the  French  forces,  which  had  now  greatly  augmented,  and  were 
preparing  to  enter  Portugal  by  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Almeida,  Sir 
Arthur  Wellesley  determined  to  move  into  Portugul.  He  therefore 
fell  back,  and  in  September,  1809,  took  up  the  line  of  the  Guadiana, 
and  established  his  head-quarters  at  Badajoz.  In  this  position  he 
expected  to  secure  the  province  of  Andalusia,  as  the  enemy  could  not 
venture  to  penetrate  across  the  Sierra  Morena  with  the  British  army 
on  their  right  flank  ;  to  give  confidence  to  the  army  of  La  Mancha, 
and  finally  to  encourage  the  people  to  persevere  in  the  cause,  by 
afi"ording  the  Spanish  nation  an  opportunity  of  reforming  its  govern- 
ment, and  of  choosing  new  men  to  direct  their  measures  in  the*  cabinet 
and  conduct  their  armies  in  the  field. 

While  in  this  position  a  variety  of  circumstances  occurred,  calculated 
to  produce  an  alternation  of  hope  and  despair,  ultimately  terminating 
in  the  destruction  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley' s  plans.  The  British 
Minister,  Frere,  who  had  caused  much  annoyance  to  the  British 
commander,  was  withdrawn,  and  replaced  by  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley, 
the  sagacious  brother  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  who  had  destroyed 
the  Mysore  power  and  the  Mahratta  confederacy  in  India.  Cuesta 
was  removed  from  the  command  of  the  Spanish  army,  and  in  recom- 
pense of  the  very  distinguished  gallantry  and  profound  skill  which 
bad  marked  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 's  operations  at  Talavera,  the 
King  raised  him  to  the  peerage,  by  the  titles  of  Baron  Douro  of 
Wellesley,  and  Viscount  Wellington  of  Talavera,  and  of  Wellington 
in  the  county  of  Somerset  ;  and  a  grateful   country,  by   its   repre- 


1809.]  LINES  OF  TORRES  VEDRAS.  69 

sentatives  in  Parliament,  voted  him  a  pension  of  two  thousand  pounds 
per  annum. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  the  Spanish  generals  who  held  out  against 
the  French  in  different  parts  of  Spain  endured  serious  reverses,  the 
British  troops,  suffering  intensely  from  privations  and  sickness,  daily 
diminished  in  numbers  ;  dissatisfaction  arose  among  the  officers  ;  a 
large  political  party  in  England  assailed  Lord  Wellington  with  every 
species  of  misrepresentation  and  acrimonious  abuse  ;  the  Spanish  Junta 
continued  to  torment  the  General  with  their  indecision  and  imbecility, 
and  Napoleon,  having  humbled  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  sent  hia 
cohorts,  110.000  strong,  under  Marshal  Massena,  to  attempt  the  re- 
conquest  of  Portugal. 

After  a  stay  of  a  month  or  so  at  Badajoz,  Lord  Wellington  set  out 
for  Lisbon  upon  a  journey,  leaving  the  army  in  its  quarters.  The 
object  of  this  journey,  which  he  kept  a  profound  secret  as  long  as  it 
was  possible,  excited  a  great  deal  of  speculation  among  the  troops, 
and  throughout  the  Peninsula.  By  many  it  was  expected  that  he 
meditated  arrangements  for  the  evacuation  of  Portugal,  but  he, 
hoping  against  hope,  confident  while  all  others  despaired,  was.  on  the 
contrary,  devising  means  for  defending  Lisbon  against  any  army  the 
French  could  bring  into  the  field.  Lord  Wellington's  purpose  was 
to  examine  the  ground  personally,  and  to  plan  those  famous  lines 
which  were  to  give  a  fatal  check  to  the  progress  of  Napoleon's  armies. 
The  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  which  brought  the  Peninsular  struggle 
to  a  crisis,  are  a  monument  of  power  and  perseverance  which  '•  neither 
the  Romans  in  ancient,  nor  Napoleon  in  modern  times"  ever  reared, 
vast  as  was  their  military  genius.  When  completed,  these  works 
formed  a  double  and  nearly  parallel  chain  of  redoubts  and  other  en- 
trenchments. The  outer  or  advanced  lines  extended  from  the  mouth 
of  the  small  river  Zinandro,  on  the  ocean  through  the  mountain  points 
of  Torres  Vedras  and  Monte  Agraqa,  the  keys  of  the  position,  to  Al- 
handra,  on  the  Tagus,  and,  following  the  trace  of  its  defensive  features, 
this  outer  line  measured  twenty-nine  miles.  In  rear  of  this,  the  sec- 
ond, or  principal,  line  of  defence  across  the  Peninsula  had  its  left  on 
the  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  St.  Lorenzo  (in  front  of  Eri- 
ceira),  and  its  right  on  the  Tagus  at  Via  Longa ;  occupying  on  its 
trace  the  strong  mountain  passes  of  Mafra,  Montachique,  and  Bucellas, 
through  which  run  three  of  the  four  great  roads  to  Lisbon,  while  the 
fourth  skirts  the  river.  The  principal  line,  in  its  sinuosities,  measured 
twenty-four  miles,  the  direct  breadth  of  the  neck  of  the  Peninsula  be- 
tween the  flanks  of  the  two  lines  being,  however,  twenty-five  and 
twenty-two  miles  respectively. 


70 


LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLxNGTON. 


[1809. 


In  the  month  of  December,  1809,  Lord  Wellington  withdrew  his 
army  from  Spain,  and  in  the  course  of  three  weeks  the  whole  of  his 
force  was  placed  on  a  new  and  extended  position  along  the  frontier  of 
Portugal,  the  head-quarters  being  in  the  city  of  Viseu.  Here  they 
remained  for  six  months. 


BRITISU    HEAVY    DRAGOONS. 


During  this  interval  Napoleon  put  an  immense  force  in  motion. 
Besides  the  100,000  men  mentioned  above,  20,000  of  the  Imperial 
Guard  were  marching  on  the  Bidassoa,  a  corps  of  Poles  and  Italians 
had  entered  Catalonia,  and  a  powerful  siege-train,  and  nearly  800 
carriages  with  stores  and  ammunition,  were  moving  by  the  Burgos 
road.  The  grand  total  of  the  French  army  actually  within  the 
Pyrenees  amounted  to  365,000  men.  From  the  elite  of  this  enormous 
force  two  grand  armies  were  formed,  each  comprising  three  distinct 
corps.  The  first,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia,  was 
composed  of  the  corps  of  Victor,  Mortier,  and  Sebastiani,  with  a 
reserve  under  General  Dessoles.  The  second  comprised  the  corps  of 
Ncy,  Junot,  and  part  of  Victor's,  and  was  especially  intended  to  be 
employed  by  Massena,  the  Prince  of  Essling.     The  first  corps  (V  armee, 


1809.]  POSITION   IN   PORTUGAL.  7l 

collected  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  Morena,  mustered  65,000  men,  and 
was  intended  to  overrun  Andalusia.  The  second,  concentrated  in  the 
valley  of  the  Tagus,  amounted  to  80,000  effective  soldiers,  and  was 
destined  to  reduce  Ciudad  Rodrigo  in  the  onset,  and  finally  to  expel 
the  English  from  Portugal,  and  thus  achieve  the  conquest  of  the 
Peninsula. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  1810,  the  enemy  invested  the  fortress  of 
Ciudad  Rodrigo  with  30,000  infantry,  and  5000  cavalry.  The  gar- 
rison, despairing  of  being  able  to  hold  out  against  so  large  a  force, 
deputed  the  Marquis  of  Romana  to  entreat  Lord  Wellington  to 
advance  to  its  relief ;  but  this  his  lordship  refused  to  do.  It  did 
not  appear  to  him  that  it  was  safe  to  risk  the  general  cause  of  the 
Peninsula  for  the  sake  of  saving  a  small  garrison.  He,  therefore, 
held  his  ground,  and  on  the  16th  of  July  the  fortress  surrendered  by 
capitulation  to  Marshal  Ney.  Foreseeing  the  line  of  attack  medi- 
tated by  the  French  upon  Portugal,  Lord  Wellington  had  taken  up  a 
fresh  position.  His  army,  organized  into  six  divisions,  and  respect- 
ively commanded  by  Generals  Spencer,  Hill,  Picton,  Lowry  Cole, 
Robert  Craufurd,  and  Stapleton  Cotton,  formed  the  segment  of  a 
circle  of  which  the  convex  part  was  opposed  to  Beira  and  the  Alem- 
tejo.  Guardo,  Celerico,  Pinhel,  and  the  west  bank  of  the  Coa  with 
its  tributary  streams  flowing  in  front  of  the  line  along  the  greater 
part  of  its  extent. 

The  fortresses  of  Almeida,  Elvas,  and  Valenca,  Peniche,  Abrantes, 
and  Setuval,  were  garrisoned  by  the  Portuguese  regulars  and  militia. 
Baceller  held  the  provinces  beyond  the  Douro  with  native  troops. 
The  country  between  Penamacor  and  the  Tagus  was  similarly  de- 
fended. Four  regiments  of  militia  occupied  the  Alemtejo  ;  three  gar- 
risoned the  fortresses  of  the  Algarves  ;  while  twelve  remained  in 
reserve,  quartered  upon  both  banks  of  the  Tagus,  and  chiefly  about 
Setuval. 

By  this  masterly  arrangement  the  extremes,  of  the  defensive  line 
were  entrusted  to  the  militia  and  ordenanza,  while  the  whole  of  the 
regular  troops  occupied  the  central  positions  ;  thus  enabling  Lord 
Wellington,  in  two  marches,  to  concentrate  40,000  splendid  soldiers, 
either  at  Guarda,  or  between  that  place  and  the  Douro. 

The  tenure  of  this  position,  and  the  general  operations  of  the 
war  at  this  time,  were  distinguished  by  a  very  gallant  affair  on  the 
river  Coa  occasioned  by  General  Craufurd's  movement  in  aid  of  the 
besieged  at  Ciudad  Rodrigo  ;  by  the  fall  of  the  fortress  of  Almeida, 
and  by  the  growth,  activity,  intelligence,  and  determination  of  the 
Spanish  Guerillas,     Without  discipline,  but  acting  always  in  concert; 


72 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1809. 


and  with  a  fierce  determination  to  exterminate  the  French,  the.se 
daring  men,  often  headed  and  encouraged  by  the  priesthood, 
assembled  in  bands  at  a  brief  notice,  and  from  the  rocks  above  the 
mountain  passes,  in  forests  skirting  the  roads,  on  the  banks  of  rivers, 
in  towns  and  in  villages,  assailed  the  eneni}',  committed  the  most 
barbarous  cruelties  upon  the  persons  of  the  French  in  retaliation  of 
the  wrongs  done  to  themselves  and  their  families,  and  intercepted 
the  provisions  and  stores  which  were  sent  from  France  across  the 
Pyrenees. 


OUEKILLAS    CAPTURING    A    FRENCH    rRISONEtt. 


Mina,  a  chief  possessing  great  authority  and  ability,  had  under  his 
command  3000  of  these  men,  who,  divided  into  small  parties,  from 
their  knowledge  of  the  country  dispersed  and  assembled  in  a  few 
hours'  time.  One  instance  of  their  activity  and  courage  is  sufficient 
to  furnish  an  idea  of  what  they  could  accomplish,  when  regularly 
organised  Mina  was  a  member  of  the  Spanish  University :  a 
nephew  of  his  commenced  this  destructive  method  of  weakening  the 
enemy,  with  his  companions,  most  of  them  young  men  of  education. 
The  nephew  was  killed  in  a  skirmish,  and  the  uncle  took  the  lead ; 


1809.]  THE   GUERILLAS.  73 

and  of  so  much  importance  was  he  considered  by  the  enemy,  that  a 
plan  was  formed  by  four  French  generals,  to  entrap  him  and  his  fol- 
lowers, particularly  as  a  large  quantity  of  stores  were  expected  from 
Bayonne,  which  they  apprehended  would  fall  into  the  clutches  of  this 
daring  leader  and  his  hardy  companions.  By  four  different  routes 
they  imagined  he  might  be  surrounded,  and,  by  closing,  take  himself 
and  party.  The  wily  Mina,  however,  was  not  only  aware  of  this  plot 
laid  for  him,  but  also  was  on  the  watch  to  attack  the  convoy,  amount- 
ing to  2000  men. 

By  the  mode  of  dispersing  his  troops  in  small  parties,  he  soon  got 
clear  of  the  French  forces,  and  by  re-assembling  at  an  appointed 
place  on  the  Pyrenees,  he  was  enabled  to  attack  the  convoy,  of  which 
he  killed  900,  took  600  prisoners,  and  all  the  stores  :  King  Joseph's 
secretary,  disguised  as  a  peasant,  was  killed.  Thus  the  skill,  courage, 
and  dexterity  of  Mina,  with  a  band  of  undisciplined  men,  defeated  a 
body  of  2000  French  soldiery,  and  took  an  immense  quantity  of 
stores. 

Many  like  feats  were  performed  by  the  other  Guerilla  chiefs,  and  as 
a  convincing  proof  of  their  activity,  the  French  could  not  send  a  bag 
of  letters,  but  under  a  guard  of  250  horse  and  foot ;  nor  could  this 
Guerilla  force  be  readily  destroyed  ;  for,  acquainted  as  they  were  with 
the  different  passes  in  the  mountains,  and  the  by-roads  through  the 
country,  they  could  assemble  at  any  given  point,  or  disperse,  without 
the  possibility  of  defeat. 

As  this  description  of  warrior  was  self-appointed,  and  acknowl- 
edging no  control,  although  at  all  times  found  prepared  to  conform 
to  the  chieftain's  orders,  no  exact  account  could  be  taken  of  their 
numbers  :  they  were,  however,  very  generally  esteemed  at  15,000 
men  :  they  lived  by  rapine,  of  course  were  no  expense  to  the  state  : 
they  were  dressed  as  each  man  could  afford,  and  armed  as  they  could 
obtain  weapons  ;  some  mounted,  some  on  foot,  but  all  equally  ferocious 
and  hardy. 

The  following  extract  from  the  notes  of  an  officer  who  served 
the  campaign  of  1809-14,  illustrates  the  feeling  and  acts  of  the 
Guerillas : — 

"  Though  the  large  towns  had  become  accustomed  to  the  French, 
still  the  peasantry  felt  to  the  last,  hatred  and  vengeance.  These 
became  blended  in  all  their  acts  and  ideas,  and  were  even  introduced 
in  their  national  songs.  Little  couplets  of  four  lines,  or  of  two, 
with  a  senseless  chorus,  imitating  the  crowing  of  a  Gallic  cock, 
sounding  like  kokaroo^  kokaroo,  koo^  were  chaunted  by  the  very  girls 
during  the  evening  dances,  and  accompanied  by  their  tambourines. 


74  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1810 

One,  I  recollect,  amused  me  much,  putting  in  fair  contrast  the  oaths 
of  their  friends  and  their  enemies : 

"  '  Viva  los  Ingleses  qui  dicen 
God  damn  you  ! 
Mueran  los  qui  dicen 
Sacre  nom  de  Dieu  P 

"  The  inhabitants  of  the  Peninsula  thought  the  French  who  invaded 
and  insulted  their  houses  could  deserve  no  mercy ;  and  the  peasantry, 
who  found  a  fit  opportunity  to  shoot  one  of  them,  felt  no  more  com- 
punction than  in  destroying  a  pole-cat,  or  other  vermin.  The  mili- 
tary ideas  of  the  French  only  tolerated  as  a  legitimate  enemy  those 
in  uniform,  and  considering  all  others  they  found  armed  as  brigands, 
put  them  to  death  without  mercy.  These  diflferent  views  produced 
retaliation,  leading  on  both  sides  to  horrid  atrocities,  and  for  a  long 
while  no  quarter  was  given  or  received  between  the  Guerillas  and  the 
enemy. 

"  General  Franceschi,  one  of  the  most  active  officers  of  the  French 
Light  Cavalry,  having  most  imprudently  declined  an  escort,  was 
taken  near  Zamory,  early  in  1809,  and  aftewards  died  at  Granada, 
in  prison.  The  Guerillas,  posted  in  countries  difficult  of  access,  as 
much  actuated  by  hope  of  plunder  as  patriotism,  were  constantly  on 
the  alert ;  and  the  corps  under  the  enterprising  Mina,  established  in 
the  valley  of  Arragon  and  Biscay,  at  the  very  threshold  of  France, 
interrupted  all  supplies  not  accompanied  by  a  little  army.  Large 
supplies  of  clothes  and  stores  fell  occasionally  into  their  hands,  and 
in  1813-14,  the  infantry  of  Mina  were  in  French  uniforms.  An 
officer  of  Guerillas,  on  one  occasion,  brought  his  plunder  for  sale  to 
head-quarters,  which  we  conceived  to  be,  from  the  choice  and  number 
of  patterns,  the  travelling  stock  of  a  tailor.  "We  were  shown  several 
badges  of  embroidery  and  beautiful  cyphers  (several  with  that  of 
Marie  Louise),  intended  for  collars,  cuffs,  and  skirts  of  coats,  besides 
some  splendid  sashes.  The  Guerilla  captain  understood  so  well  to 
marchander^  and  remained  so  long  at  head-quarters,  that  we  were 
all  satisfied  he  was  less  patriotic  than  mercenary.  Do  not  suppose 
that  we  give  the  like  credit  to  the  Guerillas  as  you  have  done  in 
England  ;  for,  however  they  may  have  annoyed  and  even  distressed 
the  enemy,  and  rendered  neces.sary  the  employment  of  large  bodies 
of  troops  to  keep  up  communication,  they  never  could  nor  would 
have  liberated  their  country.  Tlieir  petty  mountain  warfare  could 
not  lead  to  great  results,  while  their  miserable  armies  only  entered 
the  plains    to    be  dispersed,  and,  but  for  our    forces,  all   the  best 


1810.] 


MARSHAL  MASSENA. 


75 


and  accessible   countries  of  every  province  were   permanently  sub- 
dued. 

Towards  the  middle  of  the  month  of  September,  1810,  the  Prince 
of  Essling  (Massena)  made  a  feint  of  moving  down  upon  the  left  bank 
of  the  Mondego. 


MARSHAL    MASSENA. 


Wellington  retired  behind  the  Alva.  By  the  20th  of  September, 
Massena  had  crossed  the  river  below  Celerico,  and  was  advancing 
upon  Coimbra  by  the  way  of  Vizeu.  This  movement  was  counteract- 
ed by  Lord  "Wellington  with  his  usual  prescience.  The  intentions  of 
the  enemy  being  very  apparent,  the  second  division  of  the  army  under 
the  orders  of  Lieutenant-General  Hill  made  a  parallel  movement 
with  Regnier's  corps  d'arjnee,  when  the  whole  of  the  combined  army, 
with  the  exception  of  General  Fane's  division  of  cavalry,  and  Le  Cor's 
brigade  of  Portuguese  infantry,  "  was  placed  upon  the  right  bank  of 
the  Mondego  with  a  celerity  which  set  all  ordinary  calculation  at  de- 
fiance." 

The  mountain  road  north  of  the  Mondego  runs  over  a  high  ridge 


•76  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1810. 

called  the  Sierra  de  Busaco.  Towards  this  it  was  evident  Marshal 
Massena's  force  directed  its  steps  en  route  to  Coimbra.  At  this 
point,  therefore,  Wellington  was  resolved  to  stop  him.  Accordingly, 
at  day-break  on  the  26th  of  September  (1810),  the  several  divisions 
of  British  and  Portuguese  troops  ascended  the  heights  of  Busaco, 
where  the  whole  of  the  enemy's  force,  consisting  of  60,000  infantry, 
and  a  very  large  body  of  cavalry,  could  distinctly  be  seen  from  a 
convent  which  Sir  Arthur  occupied.  Colonel  Leith  Hay,  in  his 
'•  Narrative  of  the  Peninsular  War,"  vividly  describes  the  scene  that 
presented  itself  "  Nothing  could  be  conceived  more  enlivening,  more 
interesting,  or  more  varied,  than  the  scene  from  the  heights  of  Bu- 
saco. Commanding  a  very  extensive  prospect  to  the  eastward,  the 
movements  of  the  French  army  were  distinctly  perceptible  ;  it  was 
impossible  to  conceal  them  from  the  observation  of  the  troops  station- 
ed along  the  whole  range  of  the  mountain  ;  nor  did  this  appear  to 
be  the  object  of  the  enemy.  Rising  grounds  were  covered  with  troops, 
cannon,  or  equipages  :  the  widely-extended  countr}'^  seemed  to  contain 
a  host  moving  forward,  or  gradually  condensing  into  numerous 
masses,  checked  in  their  progress  by  the  grand  natural  barrier  on 
which  the  allies  were  placed,  and  at  the  base  of  which  it  became  ne 
cessary  to  pause.  In  imposing  appearance  as  to  numerical  strength, 
there  has  been  rarely  seen  anything  comparable  to  that  of  the  enemy's 
army  from  Busaco  ;  it  was  not  alone  an  army  encamped  before  us, 
but  a  multitude  :  cavalry,  infantry,  artillery,  cars  of  the  country, 
tribes  of  mules  with  their  attendants,  sutlers,  followers  of  every  de- 
scription, crowded  the  moving  scene  upon  which  Lord  Wellington 
and  his  army  looked  down." 

Towards  evening,  the  French  pickets  made  an  attack  upon  the  Por- 
tuguese Caqadores,  who  returned  the  fire  with  great,  steadiness  and 
effect.  At  night  the  troops  bivouacked  in  their  several  positions. 
"The  veterans,"  says  Alison,  in  his  admirable  "History  of  Europe," 
"  accustomed  to  similar  scenes  of  excitement,  slept  profoundly  on 
their  stony  beds  ;  but  many  of  the  younger  soldiers,  who  were  now  to 
witness  a  battle  for  the  first  time,  were  kept  awake  by  the  grandeur 
and  solemnity  bf  the  scene  around  them." 

At  dawn  of  day  the  fight  began  by  the  French  making  two  des- 
perate attacks  upon  the  right  and  centre  of  the  allied  army.  Gen- 
eral Simon's  brigade  led  the  assault.  The  fire  of  the  light  troops 
and  the  horse  artillery  scattered  death  among  the  leading  columns, 
but  did  not  check  their  advance — they  reach  the  summit — they  de- 
ploy into  line.  "  Charge  !"  cried  Craufurd,  who  watched  the  up- 
ward progress  of  the  French  brigade  —  the  43rd,  52ud,  and  95th 


1810.1  BATTLE  OF  BUSACO.  77 

rush  forward  with  the  bayonet — the  French  give  way — their  columns 
are  overlapped  by  the  light  troops — they  break — retreat — volley  after 
volley  is  poured  into  them,  tumbling  them  down  the  hill,  whence 
they  escape  covered  by  the  fire  of  Ney's  guns  from  the  opposite  side 
of  the  hill.  Previous  to  this  an  attack  was  made  on  the  right  of  the 
British  line,  but  was  repelled  with  equal  gallantry  by  Colonel  Mac- 
kinnon's  brigade,  directed  by  Major-General  Picton,  supported  by 
Generals  Leith  and  Lightburne.  The  battle  lasted  great  part  of  the 
day,  but  with  unvarying  success  on  the  part  of  the  British. 

Every  effort  of  the  French  troops,  however  daring  and  skilful,  was 
foiled  by  the  indomitable  British  line  and  the  Portuguese  levies.  The 
British  force  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Busaco  consisted  of  24,000  men. 
The  French  army  was  not  less  than  55,000  strong.  The  British 
artillery  was  used  with  great  effect  from  the  heights,  and  the  Portu- 
guese Ca^adores  made  a  most  successful  debut  in  the  field. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  Marshal  Massena  made  a  feint  attack 
with  his  light  troops,  and  towards  mid-day  marched  on  the  road  from 
Mortagoa,  over  the  mountains  towards  the  Vouga.  Inferring  from 
this  movement,  that  it  was  the  Prince  of  Essling's  intention  to  gain 
the  Oporto  road,  and  the  position  of  Busaco  having  been  actually 
turned,  on  the  29th  Lord  Wellington  recrossed  the  Mondego,  and 
retreated  to  the  position  he  had  previously  determined  on  in  front  of 
Lisbon,  with  his  right  at  Alhandra  on  the  Tagus,  passing  by  Torres 
Vedras,  and  his  left  on  the  sea. 

Lord  Wellington's  army  entered  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras  on  the 
8th  of  October,  and  by  the  15th  the  allies  finally  took  up  their 
ground.  Shortly  afterwards  they  were  joined  by  the  Marquis  de  la 
Romana  with  about  5000  effective  men.  Lord  Wellington  was  now 
to  reap  the  advantage  of  his  admirable  foresight.  Girdled  by  im- 
pregnable works,  strengthend  by  Nature,  the  allied  army  remained 
within  the  Lines  for  five  months,  laughing  to  scorn  the  futile  efforts  of 
Massena  to  penetrate  its  strongholds. 


78 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON, 


[1810. 


CHAPTER  V. 


Uiissena  before  the  Lines— His  Retreat— Pursuit  by  the  Allies— Affairs  at  Redinha,  Pombal, 
Foz  d'Aronce,  and  Casal  Nova— Wellington's  Correspondence. 

ASSENA— baffled  in  his 
endeavours  to  force  the 
Lines — of  the  existence 
of  which  he  had  only 
heard  five  days  before 
he  approached  them  — 
retired  on  the  1 4th  of 
November,  1810,  to 
Santarem — a  place  ad- 
mirably adapted  for  a 
defensive  post  agamst  an  assailant  moving  from  the  side  of  Lisbon. 
Whether  he  hoped  to  lure  Lord  Wellington  from  his  fastnesses  to 
attack  him,  or  whether  he  really  wished  to  maintain  the  position 
against  any  possible  attack,  it  is  certain  that  he  took  great  pains  to 
entrench  himself  What  nature  had  left  unfinished  to  render  the 
position  formidable,  Massena  endeavoured  to  accomplish.  Field- 
works  of  various  kinds  crowned  the  eminence,  while  the  face  of  the 
hill  was  studded  with  innumerable  breast-works,  from  which  thousands 
of  Frenchmen  frowned  defiance  upon  the  allies. 

When  Massena  moved  to  Santarem,  Lord  Wellington  concluded 
that  he  was  about  to  retreat  into  Spain.  The  grounds  of  this 
supposition  were  natural.  By  the  retreat,  IMassena  would  have  been 
able  to  supply  his  army  with  plenty  of  food  during  the  winter,  and 
put  them  into  good  and  quiet  cantonments ;  he  could  have  procured 
medical  attendance  and  medicines  for  his  numerous  sick ;  he  would 
have  been  able  to  clothe  and  re-equip  his  troops,  aff'ord  the  people 
of  the  country  the   means  of  cultivating  their  ground,  and  at  any 


p.  78. 


1811.] 


MASSENA  AT  SANTAREM. 


19 


time  have  resumed  his  position  in  greater  strength.  Acting  then 
upon  the  belief  that  a  retreat  was  intended,  Lord  Wellington  dis- 
patched Major-General  Hill  to  cross  the  Tagus  and  attack  Santarem, 
while  his  lordship  moved  the  head  quarters  to  Cartaxo.  When 
General  Hill  was  near  enough  to  reconnoitre  the  positions,  it  was 
evident  that  the  crafty  Massena  had  no  such  object  as  an  immediate 
retreat  in  view.  The  whole  of  his  force  was  brought  up  in  the 
vicinity  of  Santarem.  From  this  circumstance,  and  the  fact  of  the 
roads  and  rivulets  being  impassable,  owing  to  heavy  rains,  it  was  deemed 
unadvisable  to  attempt  the  attack.  Immense  loss  must  have  ensued, 
and  the  British  General  ran  a  risk  of  having  some  of  his  detachments 
insulated  and  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  others. 

It  was  late  in  November  when  General  Hill  crossed  the  Tagus  and 
stood  in  the  path  of  the  French  Marshal,  who  obviously  meditated  an 
attempt  on  Lisbon.  From  that  time  until  the  5th  of  March,  1811, 
neither  army  stirred.     Lord  Wellington  was  not  inactive,  as  we  shall 


EEINF0RCEMENT8. 


presently  show,  but  his   antagonist  made   an   effort   to   disturb  his 
repose.     In  fact,  during  January  and  February,  1811,  the  weather 


80  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [ISll. 

was  so  bad  that  military  operations  upon  either  side  were  quite  out 
of  the  question.  With  an  uninterrupted  communication  with  the 
sea,  Lord  Wellington  was  enabled  to  receive  reinforcements  and 
considerable  supplies  from  England  during  this  interval,  though  the 
latter  came  not  by  any  moans  in  the  proportion  expected  or  desired. 
The  British  Prime  Minister,  Percival,  oscillating  between  the  fear  of 
increasing  the  power  of  the  opposition,  who  continued  steadily  to 
oppose  the  Peninsular  War  on  financial  grounds,  and  the  apprehension 
of  weakening  his  own  position  with  the  Prince  Regent,  almost 
starved  the  troops,  notwithstanding  the  arguments  of  the  Marquis 
of  Wellesley  at  home,  and  the  indignant  remonstrances  of  Lord 
Wellington  abroad.  Massena's  position  grew  every  day  more 
perilous.  It  was  the  practice  of  the  French  armies  to  make  the 
countries  through  which  they  passed  support  them.  Every  man 
foraged  for  himself  when  the  columns  came  to  a  halt,  and,  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  much  violence  was  practised  if  the  villagers 
and  townspeople  did  not  in  their  alarm  burn  and  forsake  their 
dwellings,  and  drive  away  their  flocks  before  th&  enemy  arrived.* 
This  abominable  and  most  unwise  usage  had  converttjd  the  country  in 
Massena's  rear  into  a  desert.  To  feed  his  army  at  Santarem,  he  was, 
therefore,  obliged  to  send  out  strong  foraging  parties  to  scour  the 
country  to  the  very  confines  of  the  British  positions.  Several 
important  captures  of  cattle  and  grain  were*  made  in  this  way.     But 

1  "The  French  plundered  after  the  most  scientific  and  approved  methods;  they  used  to  throw 
water  on  suspected  places,  and  watch  its  absorption,  judging  the  spot  where  it  dried  the 
quickest  had  been  lately  disturbed.  No  qualms  of  conscience  prevented  the  orthodox  Catholic 
soldiery  of  the  French  army  from  rifling  the  most  sacred  places.  The  communion  plate  and 
silver  lamps  and  candlesticks  even  vanished  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Not  content  with 
wb.1t  the  churches  afforded  above-ground,  or  from  a  zeal  for  antiquarian  research,  they 
despised  a  superficial  or  traditional  account  of  the  former  modes  of  burial,  and  investigated 
the  point  by  breaking  open  the  tombs.  At  Jericejo  (a  word  by-the-by,  no  one  but  a  native 
ever  pronounced),  when  they  turned  Cuesta's  flank,  in  1809,  by  the  bridge  of  Arzo  Dispo, 
they  tore  open  a  sarcophagus,  let  into  the  wall,  containing  the  mortal  remains  of  some  great 
hidalgo,  who  had  been  buried  (the  date  w.ns  the  10th  centurj-)  near  three  liuiidred  years 
before.  Finding  the  body,  though  not  absolutely  embalmed,  w.is  dried  into  a  sort  of  mummy, 
they  took  it  out,  and  stuck  it  up  against  the  door  as  a  bugaboo,  with  a  musket  in  his  hand ! 
However  chivalrous  and  warlike  this  contemporary  Don  of  Charles  or  the  Philips,  he  could 
never  have  surmised,  had  he  even  believed  in  the  metempsychosis  (which  would  not  have 
been  prudent  in  those  times  for  a  good  Citholic),  that  after  being  comfortably  buried  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  he  should  do  duly  as  a  Factionnaire  Scarecrow  at  the  door  of  his  own 
church!  The  thoughtlessness  of  the  French  character  was  often  shown  in  similar  practical 
Jokes.  Wljen  they  retired  from  before  the  lines,  they  j)laced  the  bodies  of  their  de.id  comrades 
in  cupboards  and  again.st  closed  doors,  insuring  the  fall  of  these  grim  memento  maris  on  the 
first  inquisitive  searcher.  At  Cartaxo,  with  a  view,  no  doubt,  to  improve  the  water,  or  to 
leave  us  ingredients  to  prepare  a  soup  maigrt  on  a  largo  scale,  they  dropped  a  dead  donkey  into 
one  of  the  finest  wells  in  the  place.  This  was  not  detected  mitil  it  was  possible  for  a  regiment  of 
the  Ist  Division  to  report  upon  the  flavour  of  soup  a  Pane." — United  Strvice  Journal, 


1811.]  MASSENA'S  RETREAT.  81 

the  cavalry  of  Lord  Wellington  was  always  upon  the  alert,  and  the 
cattle  and  corn  were  often  recovered,  while  the  French  foragers, 
thrown  into  a  frightful  state  of  indiscipline,  were  frequently  cut  off 
and  made  prisoners.  The  cupidity  of  some  of  the  people  of  Lisbon 
was  likewise  a  material  source  of  supply  to  Massena.  "  Under  the 
pretence  of  selling  sugar  at  Thomar  and  Torres  Novas,  the  agents  of 
certain  fidalgos  in  Lisbon  passed  by  the  road  of  Celdas  and  through 
the  mountains  of  Pedragoa."  This  failed  in  time,  as  discovery  in- 
creased Wellington's  surveillance,  and  Massena,  early  in  March,  1811, 
found  it  necessary  to  break  up  his  camp  and  abandon  in  despair  the 
hope  of  reaching  Lisbon. 

It  is  a  rule  in  war  that  a  retreat  shall  always,  when  practicable,  be 
followed  by  a  pursuit.  Massena  quitted  his  position  on  the  4th  of 
March.  He  had  continued  at  Santarem  longer  than  was  justifiable 
by  the  state  of  his  magazines  and  the  health  of  the  troops,  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  being  joined  by  Marshal  Soult  with  14,000  men — an 
expectation  defeated  by  the  vigilance  of  the  foe.  Moving  away  with 
the  apparent  intention  of  proceeding  to  Thomar,  he  was  followed  in 
a  day  or  two  by  Lord  Wellington's  army,  every  now  and  then  checking 
his  pursuer  by  a  movement  which  appeared  to  be  directed  on  the  lines 
of  Torres  Vedras,  thus  gaining  four  marches  upon  his  adversary. 

There  are  many  tales  extant  in  the  history  of  war  of  disastrous 
retreats — retreats  in  which  the  sufferings  of  the  retiring  force  have 
even  awakened  the  compassion  of  their  pursuers — but  the  world's 
annals  do  not  produce  a  parallel  to  the  cruelties  and  abominations 
which  marked  the  progress  of  the  French  when  quitting  Portugal. 
With  the  double  purpose  of  satisfying  the  cravings  of  hunger,  and 
avenging  the  hostility  of  the  Portuguese,  who  had  rendered  their 
stay  at  Santarem  a  bitter  trial,  they  burnt,  plundered,  devastated,  and 
murdered  without  remorse.  Sif  William  Napier,  always  just,  often 
indulgent,  towards  a  gallant  enemy,  truthful  to  a  point  offensive  to 
prejudice,  says : — 

"  The  laws  of  war,  rigorously  interpreted,  authorise  such  examples,' 
when  the  inhabitants  take  arms,  yet  it  can  only  be  justly  done  to  over- 
awe, and  not  to  revenge  defeat ;  but  every  horror  making  war  hideous 
attended  this  dreadful  retreat !  Distress,  conflagration,  death  in  all 
modes  ! — from  wounds,  from  fatigue,  from  water,  from  the  flames,  from 
starvation,  on  every  side  unlimited  ferocity  !  I  myself  saw  a  peasant 
hounding  on  his  dog  to  devour  the  dead  and  dying ;  and  the  spirit  of 
cruelty  once  unchained  smote  even    the  brute  creation,  for,  on  the 

I  He  is  referring  to  the  "harsh  and  ruthless  spirit"  with  which  Massena  burnt  towns  and 


VOL,  I. 


82  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

15th,  Massena,  to  diminish  the  incumbrances,  ordered  the  destruction 
of  some  beasts  of  burthen,  and  the  inhuman  fellow  charged  with  the 
execution  hamstringed  500  asses  and  left  them  to  starve.  Being 
thus  found  by  the  British  army,  the  mute  yet  deep  expression  of  pain 
and  grief  visible  in  their  looks,  wonderfully  aroused  the  fury  of  the 
soldiers,  and  so  little  weight  has  reason  with  the  multitude  when  op- 
posed by  a  momentary  sensation,  that  no  quarter  would  have  been 
given  to  any  prisoner  at  that  moment,  and  a  humane  feeling  would 
have  led  to  direct  cruelty.  The  French  have,  however,  been  accused 
of  crimes  which  they  did  not,  and  could  not,  commit ;  such  as  the 
driving  of  all  women  above  ten  years  of  age  into  their  camp  at 
Redinha,  near  which  there  were  neither  men  nor  women  to  be  driven  ! 
The  country  was  a  desert !  They  have  been  also  charged,  by  the  same 
writer,  with  the  mutilating  of  John  the  First's  body  in  the  convent  of 
Batalha  during  MassenVs  retreat ;  whereas  the  body  of  that  monarch 
had  been  wantonly  pulled  to  pieces  and  carried  off  by  British  officers 
during  the  retreat  to  the  lines  !" 

Colonel  Jones,  in  his  work  on  the  sieges  in  Spain,  quotes  from  a 
French  military  writer  a  distinct  statement,  in  contradiction  of  part 
of  the  foregoing,  that  in  Massena's  army  detachments  sent  out  to 
forage  had  orders  to  bring  all  girls  between  twelve  and  thirty  years 
of  age  for  the  use  of  the  soldiery.  "  I  saio  tvith  my  own  eyes"  writes 
an  officer  in  the  "  Quarterly  Review  "  of  1839,  "  when  Massena  had 
retired  from  before  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  forty  or  fifty  of  these 
wretches  in  a  state  of  disease,  famine,  and  insanity  beyond  all  con- 
ception." This  was  making  war  support  war  (Napoleon's  theory) 
with  a  vengeance ! 

Vigorously  following  the  baffled  French  Mai-shal,  Lord  Wellington's 
troops  came  up  with  him  several  times.  Massena  turned,  showed  his 
teeth,  and  again  moved  on  with  a  still  diminishing  force.  He  was 
making  for  the  Mondego  river,  when  the  Light  Division,  the  German 
Hussars,  and  the  Portuguese  Casqadores,  under  Brigadier  Pack,  came 
up  with  him  at  Pombal,  drove  the  French  from  the  castle  and  town, 
and  took  several  prisoners.  On  the  12th  of  March,  the  French 
having,  during  the  previous  night,  reached  a  strong  position  at  the 
end  of  a  defile  between  lledinah  and  Pombal,  with  their  right  in  a 
wood,  Redinha  on  their  rear,  and  their  left  extending  towards  some 
high  ground  above  the  river  of  Redinha,  the  British  army  again 
assailed  them.  Sir  W.  Erskine  led  the  Light  Division,  and  forced 
the  wood  in  gallant  style.  Lord  Wellington,  in  his  despatch, 
bore  personal  testimony  to  the  dashing  facility  with  which  the 
operations   were    performed.      The    3rd   Division — which    acquired, 


1811.]  AFFAIRS   OF   REDINHA  AND  FOZ  D'ARONCE.  83 

during  the  Peninsular  war,  the  soubriquet  of  the  "  fighting  division  " 
— was  headed  by  Major-General  Picton :  Major-General  Cole  took 
the  4th  Division  into  action ;  and  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Brent 
Spencer  led  the  line  against  the  enemy's  position  on  the  heights. 
Two  days  after  this  affair  the  British  came  up  with  a  strong  corps  of 
the  enemy,  under  Marshal  Ney,  an  oflScer  of  the  rarest  courage  and 
determination — intrepid  in  attack — resolute  in  defensive  retreat. 
TTuaware  of  the  strength  of  the  position  Ney  had  taken  up  at 
Casel  Nova,  owing  to  the  density  of  the  fog  on  the  mountains, 
Erskine  sent  forward  the  52nd  Light  Infantry  to  attack  him. 
Isolated,  opposed  by  a  daring  and  superior  foe,  the  Oxfordshire 
Regiment  was  in  peril,  but  it  manfully  held  its  ground  until  succour 
came  in  the  shape  of  the  residue  of  the  glorious  Light  Division. 
The  combat  then  became  general.  The  6th  Division  under  General 
Campbell,  supported  the  Light  Division,  assaulting  the  front  of  the 
French.  The  3rd  and  4th  Divisions,  under  Cole  and  Picton,  tm-ned 
their  left  and  right.  The  enemy,  after  a  sharp  struggle,  abandoned 
all  their  positions  in  the  mountains,  and  the  cw^js  d'armee^  composing 
the  rear  guard,  were  flung  back  upon  the  main  body,  at  Miranda  de 
Corvo,  upon  the  river  Deira,  with  considerable  loss  of  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners. 

The  first  contest  in  the  retreat  is  graphically  described  by 
the  historian  of  the  Peninsular  war.  "  The  French  right  rested 
on  wooded  and  rugged  ground,  their  left  upon  the  village  of 
Foz  d'Aronce.  The  weather  was  obscure  and  rainy.  The  allies 
reached  the  Ceira  at  four  o'clock  on  the  15th,  and,  expecting  no 
action,  kindled  fires  ;  but  Wellington  having  rapidly  scanned  Ney's 
division,  directed  the  Light  Division  and  Pack's  Brigade  to  hold  the 
right  in  play,  and  sent  Picton  against  the  left,  while  the  horse 
artillery,  galloping  forward  to  a  rising  ground,  opened  with  a  great 
and  sudden  effect.  Ney's  left,  overthrown  by  the  first  charge,  fled  in 
confusion  towards  the  river,  and  some  missing  the  fords,  rushed  into 
the  deeps  and  were  drowned ;  others  crowding  to  the  bridge,  were 
crushed  to  death.  On  the  right,  the  ground  being  rugged  and  close, 
the  action  resolved  itself  into  a  skirmish,  and  Ney  was  enabled  to  use 
some  battalions  to  check  the  pursuit  of  his  left ;  but  darkness  came 
on,  and  the  defeated  troops  in  their  disorder  fired  on  each  other. 
Four  officers  and  sixty  men  fell  on  the  side  of  the  British.  The 
French  lost  five  hundred,  one  half  being  drowned,  and  an  eagle  was 
afterwards  found  in  the  river.  Massena  had  gone  behind  the  Alva, 
yet  Ney,  notwithstanding  this  disastrous  combat,  kept  his  post  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Ceira  until  every  incumbrance  had  passed,  and 


S4  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

then,   blowing   up   seventy   feet   of  the   bridge,  sent   his   corps   on, 
remaining  himself  with  the  llear-Gruard."  ' 

Lord  "Wellington,  never  slow  to  recognise  the  good  services  of 
troops,  though  wanting  perhaps  in  the  fervour  of  expression  which 
has  characterized  other  Generals,  speaks  of  the  43rd,  52nd,  95th,  and 
the  3rd  Portuguese  Caqadores  (Light  Infantry)  as  having  particu- 
larly distinguished  themselves  in  this  last  affair.  He  also  named  with 
honour  Colonels  Drummond  and  Beckwith,  Lieutenant-Colonels 
Ross,  Elder,  and  others.  Particularly  to  mark  his  sense  of  the 
services  of  the  three  regiments,  he  recommended  a  Serjeant  of  each 
regiment  for  promotion  to  an  ensigncy. 

The  account  of  the  close  of  the  operations  in  the  pursuit  of 
Massena  must  be  given  in  Lord  Wellington's  own  words  : — 

"The  result  of  these  operations  has  been  that  we  have  saved 
Coimbra  and  Upper  Beira  from  the  enemy's  ravages;  we  have 
opened  the  communications  with  the  northern  provinces ;  and  we 
have  obliged  the  enemy  to  take  for  their  retreat  the  road  by  Ponte 
da  Murcella,  on  which  they  may  be  annoyed  by  the  militia  acting  in 
security  upon  their  flank,  while  the  allied  army  will  press  upon  their 
rear.  The  whole  country,  however,  affords  many  advantageous 
positions  to  a  retreating  army,  of  which  the  enemy  have  shown  that 
they  know  how  to  avail  themselves.  They  are  retreating  from  the 
country,  as  they  entered  it,  in  one  solid  mass,  covering  their  rear  on 
every  march  by  the  operations  of  either  one  or  two  corps  d'armee  in 
the  strong  positions  which  the  country  affords,  which  corjys  d'armee 
are  closely  supported  by  the  main  body.  Before  they  quitted  their 
position  they  destroyed  a  part  of  their  cannon  and  ammunition,  and 
they  have  since  blown  up  whatever  the  horses  were  unable  to  draw 
away.  They  have  no  provisions,  excepting  what  they  plunder  on  the 
spot,  or,  having  plundered,  what  the  soldiers  carry  on  their  backs, 
and  live  cattle. 

"  I  am  concerned  to  be  obliged  to  add  to  this  account,  that  their 
conduct  throughout  this  retreat  has  been  marked  by  a  barbarity 
seldom  equalled,  and  never  surpassed.  Even  in  the  towns  of  Torres 
Novas,  Thoraar,  and  Pernes,  in  which  the  head  quarters  of  some  of 
the  corps  had  been  for  four  months,  and  in  which  the  inhabitants  had 
been  invited  by  promises  of  good  treatment,  to  remain,  they  were 
plundered,  and  many  of  their  houses  destroyed  on  the  night  the 
enemy  withdrew   from   their   position  ;    and   they  have   since   burnt 

I  As  a  further  and  a  striking  illiLstration  of  the  indomitable  perseverance  of  Marshal  Ney  ia 
covering  a  retreat,  the  reader  is  recommended  to  peruse  Scgur's  and  De  Fezeuaac's  description  of 
Uw  retreat  from  Moscow  to  the  west  of  the  Niemcn. 


1811.]  PLUNDERING.  85 

every  town  and  village  through  which  they  have  passed.  The  convent 
of  Alcobaqa  was  burnt  by  order  from  the  French  head-quarters. 
The  Bishop's  palace,  and  the  whole  town  of  Leyria,  in  which  General 
Drouet  had  had  his  head-quarters,  shared  the  same  fate ;  and  there  is 
not  an  inhabitant  of  the  country  of  any  class  or  description,  who  has 
had  any  dealing  or  communication  with  the  French  army/who  has 
not  had  reason  to  repent  of  it,  and  to  complain  of  them.  This  is  the 
mode  in  which  the  promises  have  been  performed  and  the  assurances 
have  been  fulfilled,  which  were  held  out  in  the  proclamation  of  the 
French  Commander-in-Chief,  in  which  he  told  the  inhabitants  of 
Portugal  that  he  was  not  come  to  make  war  upon  them,  but  with  a 
powerful  army  of  11 0,000  men  to  drive  the  English  into  the  sea.  It  i« 
to  be  hoped  that  the  example  of  what  has  occurred  in  this  country  will 
teach  the  people  of  this  and  of  other  nations  what  value  they  ought  to 
place  on  such  promises  and  assurances  ;  and  that  there  is  no  security 
for  life,  or  for  anything  which  makes  life  valuable,  excepting  in  de- 
cided resistance  to  the  enemy." 

It  has  been  observed  above,  that  Lord  Wellington  was  not  inactive 
during  the  period  of  his  occupation  of  the  Lines  of  Torres  Vedras. 
His  correspondence  at  this  period  conveys  the  best  evidence  of  the 
grasp  and  activity  of  his  mind.  Ranging  discursively  over  fifty  sub- 
jects of  deep  interest,  we  find  him  calmly  and  dispassionately  examining 
questions  of  high  political  importance,  ofi'ering  advice  deferentially, 
yet  with  a  conviction  of  its  utility,  and  then  descending  to  small 
matters  of  regimental  economy  with  equal  zeal  and  earnestness. 
Nothing  seems  to  have  been  too  high  for  his  judgment — nothing  too 
low  for  his  generosity.  His  orders  between  October,  1810,  and 
March,  1811,  embrace  manifold  subjects  bearing  reference  to  the 
good  order  and  safety  of  the  army,  and  the  integrity  of  its  conduct 
in  its  relations  with  the  Portuguese  country  people.  He  was  most 
anxious  to  prevent  straggling,  plundering,'  and  the  employment  of 

1  The  following  General  Order  was  issued  at  Leyria,  on  the  3rd  of  October,  1810 : — 

"Leyria,  3rd  October,  1810. 

"The  Commander  of  the  Forces  is  concerned  to  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  carrying  into 
execution  the  determination  which  he  has  bo  long  announced,  of  directing  the  immediate  ei- 
ecution  of  any  soldiers  caught  plundering ;  and  that  a  British  and  a  Portuguese  soldier  have  con- 
sequently been  hanged  this  day,  for  plundering  in  the  town  of  Leyria,  where  they  were,  contrary 
to  order,  and  for  this  criminal  purpose. 

"  He  trusts  that  this  example  will  deter  others  from  those  disgraceful  practices  in  future ; 
and  the  troops  may  depend  upon  it  that  no  instance  of  the  kind  will  be  passed  over.  They  are 
well  fed,  and  taken  care  of,  and  there  is  no  excuse  for  plunder,  which  could  not  be  admitted  on 
any  account. 

"  Once  more,  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  calls  upon  the  commanding  officers  of  regimenU 
to  oblige  their  men  to  march  in  a  regular  manner,  with  their  companiea. 


86  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   "WELLINGTON.  [1811 

the  men  as  servants  and  orderlies ;  he  regulated  the  issues  of  rice  and 
salt  meat ;  directed  that  the  soldiery  be  supplied  with  blankets ; 
took  measures  to  check  desertion  ;'  enjoined  the  careful  clearing  of 
houses,  which  the  French  might  have  occupied,  before  they  were 
slept  in  by  British  officers  or  men ;  prohibited  the  destruction  of 
olive  and  other  fruit-trees  for  fire-wood  ;  forbade  deer-shootiug  in 
the  private  parks  near  the  cantonments ;  regulated  the  leave  of 
absence  of  officers  ;  revived  the  proceedings  of  Courts  Martial ;  and 
did  a  hundred  other  things  to  conduce  to  regularity,  health,  and 
discipline.  His  correspondence  for  the  same  period  shows  how  alive 
he  was  to  the  responsibility  which  had  devolved  upon  him  ;  how 
resolute  to  maintain  his  authority  ;  how  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Portuguese  ;  how  careful  not  to  compromise  the  safety  of  his 
position  by  any  premature  attack  upon  the  French ;  how  admirably 
informed  of  the  strength,  the  resources,  and  the  intentions  of  his 
enemies  ;  how  desirous  that  no  rules  should  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
promotion  of  officers  of  merit ;  how  indignant  at  the  alternate 
interference  and  supineness  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  govern- 
ments ;  how  punctual  in  keeping  the  British  Ministry  apprised  of 
all  his  movements,  impressions,  and  views ;  how  angry  with  the 
Portuguese  authorities  for  attempting  to  deprive  British  soldiers  of 
their  billets ;  how  enraged  with  the  misrepresentations  of  newspapers 
at  home  and  abroad  (and  yet  how  nobly  independent  of  their  lies 
and  strictures  !) ;  how  enlarged  his  views  on  the  subject  of  recruiting 
for  the  army;    how  just   and   truthful,  frank  and  uncompromising 

1  "  GENERAL  ORDERS. 

"  Pkro  Nsoro,  10th  JVov.,  1810. 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  is  concerned  to  have  received  reports  from  some  of  the  regi- 
ments of  the  desertion  of  the  British  soldiers  to  the  enemy  ;  a  crime  wliicli,  iu  all  his  experience 
in  the  British  service,  in  diffcreut  parts  of  the  world,  was  till  lately  unknown  in  it ;  and  the 
existence  of  which  at  the  present  moment  he  can  attribute  only  to  some  false  hopes  held  out  to 
those  unfortunate  criminal  persons. 

"The  British  soldier  cannot  but  be  aware  of  the  difference  between  their  situation,  and  that 
of  the  enemy  opposed  to  them;  and  the  miserable  tale  told  by  the  half-starved  wretches  whom 
they  see  daily  coming  into  their  linc^,  ought  alone,  exclusive  of  their  sense  of  honour  and  patriot- 
ism, to  be  sufficient  to  deter  them  from  participating  in  their  miserable  fate. 

"  However,  although  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  lamenLs  the  fate  of  the  imfortunate  soldiers 
who  have  committed  this  crime,  he  is  determined  that  they  shall  feel  the  consequence  of  it 
during  their  Uves,  and  that  they  shall  never  return  to  their  friends  or  their  homes. 

"He  accordingly  requests  that  the  commanding  officers  of  regiments  from  which  any 
soldier  has  descrtc-d  to  tlie  enemy  will,  as  soon  as  possible,  send  to  the  AdJu-'ant-Gcneral's  office 
a  description  of  bis  person,  together  with  an  account  when  he  was  enlisted  wltb  the  rogiment, 
where  born,  and  to  what  parish  he  belongs,  in  order  that  the  friends  of  these  eo'd'eni  may  be 
Blade  acquainted  with  the  crime  which  they  have  committed  ;  may  be  prepared  to  cous.tler  them 
t*  lost  for  ever,  and  may  deliver  them  up  to  Juslica  ia  case  they  should  ever  return  to  their 
BatiTe  country." 


1811.]        LECTURE  TO  THE  PORTUGUESE  GOVERNMENT,  87 

upon  every  point  which  concerned  or  affected  the  public  interest  in 
any  way. 

So  much  of  the  character  of  the  subject  of  this  biography  is  to  be 
deduced  from  his  letters,  that  no  better  elucidation  of  the  great 
strength  of  his  mind,  his  determination  of  purpose,  his  jealousy  of 
unprofitable  interference,  his  candour,  and  his  highly  becoming  self- 
respect,  can  be  offered  than  the  four  following  extracts  supply : — 


"TO  CHARLES  STUART,  ESQ. 

"Rio  Mayor,  (Jth  Oct.,  1810. 

"  I  BEG  that  you  will  do  me  the  favour  to  inform  the  Regency, 
and,  above  all,  Principal  Sousa,  that  his  Majesty  and  the  Prince 
Regent  having  intrusted  me  with  the  command  of  their  armies,  and 
exclusively  with  the  conduct  of  the  military  operations,  I  will  not 
suffer  them,  or  anybody  else,  to  interfere  with  them ;  that  I  know 
best  where  to  station  my  troops,  and  where  to  make  a  stand  against 
the  enemy,  and  I  shall  not  alter  a  system,  framed  upon  mature 
consideration,  upon  any  suggestion  of  theirs. 

"  I  am  responsible  for  what  I  do,  and  they  are  not ;  and  I  recom- 
mend them  to  look  to  the  measures  for  which  they  are  responsible, 
which  I  long  ago  recommended  to  them,  viz.,  to  provide  for  the 
tranquillity  of  Lisbon,  and  for  the  food  of  the  army,  and  of  the  people, 
while  the  troops  shall  be  engaged  with  the  enemy. 

"  As  for  Principal  Sousa,  I  beg  you  to  tell  him,  from  me,  that  I 
have  had  no  satisfaction  in  transacting  the  business  of  this  country 
since  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Grovernment ;  that  being  embarked 
in  a  course  of  military  operations,  of  which  I  hope  to  see  the  suc- 
cessful termination,  I  shall  continue  to  carry  them  on  to  their  end  ; 
but  that  no  power  on  earth  shall  induce  me  to  remain  in  the  Peninsula, 
for  one  moment,  after  I  shall  have  obtained  his  Majesty's  leave  to 
resign  my  charge,  if  Principal  Sousa  is  to  remain  either  a  member  of 
the  Government,  or  to  continue  at  Lisbon.  Either  he  must  quit  the 
country  or  I  shall ;  and,  if  I  should  be  obliged  to  go,  I  will  take  care 
that  the  world,  in  Portugal  at  least,  and  the  Prince  Regent,  shall  be 
made  acquainted  with  my  reasons. 

"  From  the  letter  of  the  3rd  instant,  which  I  have  received  from 
Dom  M.  Forjaz,  I  had  hoped  that  the  Government  were  satisfied 
with  what  I  had  done  and  intended  to ;  and  that,  instead  of 
endeavouring  to  render  all  further  defence  fruitless,  by  disturbing  the 
minds  of  the  populace  at  Lisbon,  they  would  have  done  their  duty  by 
adopting  measures  to  secure  the  tranquillity  of  the  town. 


88  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

'•  But  I  suppose  that,  like  other  weak  individuals,  they  add  duplicity 
to  their  weakness,  and  that  their  expressions  of  approbation,  and 
even  gratitude,  were  intended  to  convey  censure.  I  request  you  to 
communicate  this  letter  to  the  Regency ;  and  to  transmit  it  to  tho 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs. 

"  P.  S.  All  I  ask  from  the  Portuguese  Regency  is,  tranquillity  in 
the  town  of  Lisbon,  and  provisions  far  tJieir  own  troops^  while  they 
shall  be  employed  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

"  I  have  but  little  doubt  of  success ;  but  as  I  have  fought  a  sufficient 
number  of  battles  to  discover  that  the  result  of  any  one  is  not  certain, 
even  under  the  best  arrangements,  I  am  anxious  that  the  Government 
should  adopt  preparatory  arrangements  to  take  out  of  the  enemy's 
way  those  persons  and  their  families  who  would  suffer  if  they  were  to 
fall  into  his  hands." 

"  TO  THE  EARL  OF  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Pero  Nkoro,  ^th  Oct^  1810. 

"  Your  Lordship  has  been  apprised  of  the  measures  which  had 
been  adopted  to  induce  the  inhabitants  of  Portugal  to  quit  that  part 
of  the  country  through  which  the  enemy  was  likely  to  pass,  or  which 
it  was  probable  would  become  the  seat  of  his  operations,  carrying  off 
with  them  their  valuable  property,  and  everything  which  could  tend 
to  the  enemy's  subsistence,  or  to  facilitate  his  progress. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  these  inhabitants  had  sufficient  knowledge 
from  former  experience,  of  the  treatment  they  would  receive  from  the 
enemy :  and  there  is  no  instance  of  those  of  any  town  or  village 
having  remained,  or  of  their  having  failed  to  remove  what  might  be 
useful  to  the  enemy,  when  they  had  sufficiently  early  intimation  of 
the  wishes  of  government,  or  of  myself,  that  they  should  abandon 
their  houses  and  carry  away  their  property. 

"  All  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  military  operations, 
with  their  dependence  upon  the  assistance  of  the  country  to  supply 
the  wants  of  the  army,  and  particularly  with  the  degree  to  which  the 
French  armies  depend  upon  this  assistance,  must  be  aware  of  the 
distress  which  this  system  has  occasioned  to  the  enemy ;  and  the 
official  and  private  letters  which  have  been  intercepted,  arc  filled  with 
complaints  of  its  effects,  which  have  been  repeated  in  the  official 
papers  published  in  the  Moniteiir  at  Paris. 

"  It  happened,  unfortunately,  that  the  Indian  corn  harvest,  which  is 
the  principal  support  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  large  part  of  Portugal, 
was  on  the  ground  at  the  moment  of  the  enemy's  invasion.  This,  of 
course,  could  not  be  carried  off:   the  enemy's  troops  have,  as  usual, 


1811.]    APPEAL  ON  BEHALF  OF  THE  PORTUGUESE.— BILLETS.     89 

destroyed  what  they  could  not  move,  and  nothing  remains.  If 
therefore,  the  result  of  the  campaign  should  be  to  oblige  the  enemy 
to  withdraw  from  Portugal,  it  is  much  to  be  apprehended  that  the 
greatest  distress  will  be  felt  in  those  districts  through  which  the 
enemy's  troops  have  passed,  which  there  are  no  means  whatever  in 
this  country  of  relieving. 

"  Upon  former  occasions,  the  wealthy  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain, 
and  of  London  in  particular,  have  stepped  forward  to  assist  and  re- 
lieve the  distresses  of  foreign  nations,  whether  suflfering  under  calami- 
ties inflicted  by  Providence,  or  by  a  cruel  and  powerful  enemy.  This 
nation  has  received  the  benefit  of  the  charitable  disposition  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  and  there  never  was  a  case  in  which  their  assist- 
ance was  required  in  a  greater  degree,  whether  the  sufierings  of  the 
people,  or  their  fidelity  to  the  cause  they  have  espoused,  and  their  at- 
tachment to  his  Majesty's  subjects,  be  considered. 

"I  declare  that  I  have  scarcely  known  an  instance  in  which  any 
person  in  Portugal,  even  of  the  lowest  order,  has  had  communication 
with  the  enemy  inconsistent  with  his  duty  to  his  own  Sovereign,  or 
with  the  orders  he  had  received. 

"I  would,  therefore,  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  unfortunate 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  who  have  eufiiered  from  the  enemy's  inva- 
sion to  your  lordship's  protection ;  and  I  request  you  to  consider  of 
the  mode  of  recommending  them  to  the  benevolent  disposition  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects,  at  the  moment  which  I  hope  may  be  not  far 
distant,  that  the  enemy  may  be  under  the  necessity  of  evacuating 
the  country." 

«  TO  CHARLES  STUART,  ESQ., 

"  Cartaxo,  31st  Dec,  1810. 

"I  HAVE  received  your  letter  of  the  30th  December.  I  have 
already  had  great  difficulty  in  arranging  the  business  of  quartering 
the  officers  of  the  army  at  Lisbon,  and  have  given  orders  upon  this 
subject,  in  respect  to  that  town  and  other  parts  of  Portugal,  of  which 
I  enclose  copies.  I  cannot  be  certain  that  these  orders  have  in  every 
instance  been  obeyed ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  have  orders  obeyed  by  the 
officers  which  afiect  their  own  convenience,  when  the  inhabitants  of 
the  towns  do  not  attend  to  any  regulations  upon  the  same  subject ; 
and  I  receive  innumerable  complaints,  particularly  of  the  conduct  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Lisbon. 

"  In  respect  to  Dom  M.  Forjaz's  regulations,  they  look  very  well 
upon  paper,  but  who  will  attend  to  them  ?  The  officers  of  the  British 
army  in  England  are  not  billeted  upon  private  houses,  but  upon  inns. 


90  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [181i 

There  is  not  an  inn  in  Portugal  in  which  an  officer  could  be  billeted, 
and  it  would  follow  that,  owing  to  the  deficiency  of  inns,  the  officers 
must  go  into  the  streets.  The  soldiers  also,  where  there  are  no 
convents  to  cover  them,  must  be  exposed  to  the  open  air,  because 
there  are  no  public-houses  in  which  they  can  be  billeted :  but  Dom 
M.  Forjaz  will  probably  have  no  objection  to  their  being  billeted 
where  we  like  in  the  ^ountry,  contrary  to  the  proposed  regulation 
and  our  own  law,  which  is  to  be  introduced  here,  provided  Lisbon  ia 
not  disturbed  by  either  officers  or  soldiers !  I  do  not  see  what 
further  steps  I  can  take  in  the  business  ;  and  I  only  desire  that  when 
my  order  is  disobeyed  complaint  may  be  made,  stating  the  name  of 
the  person,  and  that  the  complainant  may  be  prepared  to  prove  his 
story  before  a  court  martial. 

"  I  declare  that  I  think  it  disgraceful  to  the  Portuguese  government, 
and  to  the  people  of  Lisbon  in  particular,  that  such  a  proposition 
should  have  been  made  as  has  come  from  Dom  M.  Forjaz.  They 
have  now  part  of  one  battalion  in  Lisbon,  and  some  convalescents  at 
Balem,  some  of  the  officers  attached  to  whom  must  be  lodged  in  the 
town.  They  have  besides  some  sick  and  wounded  officers  there,  and 
occasionally  a  regiment  passes  a  night  or  two  in  Lisbon,  when  it 
lands  from  England  or  from  Cadiz.  Are  the  people  of  Lisbon  so 
inhospitable  that  the  officers  of  these  corps  must  be  put,  on  their 
landing,  into  cold,  damp,  and  dark  empty  houses,  without  the  chance 
of  getting  anything  to  eat?  Is  there  an  inn  or  tavern  at  Lisbon  to 
which  an  officer  can  go  in  such  circumstances  ? 

"  But  I  forgot,  the  general  officers  of  the  army,  those  upon  the 
staff,  the  officers  of  the  Guards  (for  the  others  can  but  ill  afford  the 
expense),  do  occasionally  go  to  Lisbon  for  a  day  or  two  for  their 
amusement.  Is  Dom  M.  Forjaz  serious  in  expressing  a  wish  that 
officers  of  this  description  should  go  into  empty  houses,  or  into  the 
street?  Is  this  the  mode  in  which  the  cause  of  Portugal  is  to  be 
made  popular  in  the  British  army?  Is  every  consideration  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  caprice  and  ease  of  the  people  of  Lisbon?  Are 
officers  of  this  class,  and  I  and  Marshal  Beresford,  to  be  provided 
with  a  lodging  upon  billet ;  but  the  others  who  go  there  upon  duty, 
and  who  can  less  afford  to  bear  the  hardships,  be  put  into  the  empty 
houses  or  into  the  streets  ?  For  my  part,  I  do  not  go  often  to  Lisbon ; 
but  if  the  rule  is  made  for  one  class  it  must  for  all,  and  I  will  have  no 
lodging  upon  billet  any  more  than  any  other  officer  of  the  army. 
The  circumstances  stated  by  Dom  M.  Forjaz,  respecting  the  mode  of 
lodging  the  British  officers  formerly,  suit  neither  the  circumstances 
of  the  army  nor  of  the  times.     I  declare  that  I  have  no  patience  with 


1811.]  STATE   OF  THE   SPANISH   ARMY.  91 

the  constant  efforts  which  I  see  made  by  the  Government  to  indulge 
the  caprice  and  ease  of  the  people  of  Lisbon,  at  the  expense  of  every 
otuer  consideration;  and  they  prefer  to  have  recourse  to  any  expe- 
dients rather  than  oblige  them  to  do  what  they  dislike,  which  is, 
when  they  make  a  complaint  of  an  officer,  to  appear  before  a  court 
and  prove  it." 

"  TO  MARQUIS  WELLESLEY. 

"  Cartaxo,  26th  Jan.,  1811. 

"  It  may  also  be  asked,  why  we  should  spend  our  money,  and  why 
these  troops  should  not  go  on  as  the  French  troops  do,  without  pay, 
provisions,  magazines,  or  anything?  The  answer  to  this  question  is 
as  long  as  what  I  have  already  written.  The  French  army  is  certainly 
a  wonderful  machine :  but  if  we  are  to  form  such  a  one,  we  must  form 
such  a  Government  as  exists  in  France,  which  can  with  impunity  lose 
one-half  of  the  troops  employed  in  the  field  every  3'ear,  only  by  the 
privations  and  hardships  imposed  upon  them.  Next,  we  must  com- 
pose our  army  of  soldiers  drawn  from  all  classes  of  the  population 
of  the  country — from  the  good  and  middling,  as  well  in  rank  as  in 
education,  as  from  the  bad ;  and  not  as  all  other  nations,  and  we  in 
particular,  do,  from  the  bad  only.  Thirdly,  we  must  establish  such  a 
system  of  discipline  as  the  French  have — a  system  founded  upon  the 
strength  of  the  tyranny  of  the  Government,  which  operates  upon  an 
army  composed  of  soldiers,  the  majority  of  whom  are  sober,  well-dis- 
posed, amenable  to  order,  and  in  some  degree  educated. 

"  When  we  shall  have  done  all  this,  and  shall  have  made  these 
armies  of  the  strength  of  those  employed  by  the  French,  we  may 
require  of  them  to  live  as  the  French  do,  viz.,  by  authorised  and 
regulated  plunder  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  if  any  should 
remain ;  and  we  may  expose  them  to  the  labour,  hardships,  and  priva- 
tions which  the  French  soldier  suffers  every  day ;  and  we  must  expect 
the  same  proportion  of  loss  every  campaign,  viz.,  one-half  of  those 
who  take  the  field. 

"This  plan  is  not  proposed  for  the  British  army,  nor  has  it  yet 
been  practised  in  any  great  degree  by  the  Portuguese ;  but  I  shall 
state  the  effect  which,  in  my  opinion,  the  attempt  has  had  upon  the 
Spaniards. 

"  There  is  neither  subordination  nor  discipline  in  the  army,  among 
cither  officers  or  soldiers ;  and  it  is  not  even  attempted  (as  indeed  it 
would  be  in  vain  to  attempt)  to  establish  either.  It  has,  in  my 
opinion,  been  the  cause  of  the  dastardly  conduct  which  we  have  so 
frequently  witnessed  in  the  Spanish  troops;  and  they  have  become 


92  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   "WELLINGTON.  [1^1 1 

odious  to  their  country ;  and  the  peaceable  inhabitants,  much  as  thej 
detest  and  suffer  from  the  French,  almost  wish  for  the  establishment 
of  Joseph's  Government,  to  be  protected  from  the  outrages  of  their 
own  troops. 

"  These  armies,  therefore,  must  be  paid  and  supported,  if  any  ser- 
vice is  expected  from  them ;  and  at  present,  at  least,  I  see  no  chance 
of  their  being  paid,  except  by  British  assistance. 

"  There  is  but  little  that  is  new  in  this  letter ;  but  the  subject  to 
which  it  relates  requires  the  early  consideration,  decision,  and  inter- 
ference of  the  British  Government,  or  the  cause  must  suffer." 

"TO  CHARLES   STUART,  Esq. 

"  Cartaxo,  28th  Jan.,  1811. 

"  I  THINK  the  Portuguese  Government  are  still  looking  to  as- 
sistance from  England,  and  I  have  written  to  the  King's  Govern- 
ment strongly  upon  the  subject  in  their  favour.  But  I  should 
deceive  myself  if  I  believed  we  should  get  anything,  and  them  if  I 
were  to  tell  them  we  should.  They  must,  therefore,  look  to  their 
own  resources.  I  shall  not  enter  upon  the  political  crisis  now 
existing  in  England ;  but  I  believe  you  will  agree  with  me  that  if 
the  change  which  is  probable  should  be  made,  the  chance  is  less  than 
it  was. 

"  It  is  quite  nonsense  their  quarrelling  with  me,  whether  the  system 
of  operations  I  have  followed  was  the  best  or  not.  I  believe  I  am 
not  only  the  best,  but  the  only  friend  they  have  ever  had,  who  has 
had  the  power  of  supporting  them  for  a  moment  in  England ;  and 
I  now  tell  them  that  the  only  chance  they  have  is  to  endeavour  to 
bring  their  revenue  equal  to  their  expenses.  It  is  ridiculous  to  talk 
of  the  efforts  they  have  made.  They  have,  hitherto,  produced  neither 
men  in  proportion  to  their  population,  nor  money  in  proportion  to 
their  commerce  and  riches,  nor  by  any  means  in  proportion  to  their 
gains  by  the  war.  They  talk  of  the  war  in  their  country :  was  Portu- 
gal ever  involved  seriously  in  any  war  without  having  it  in  the  heart 
of  the  country?  I  think  I  can  save  them  from  their  enemy,  if  they 
will  make  an  exertion  to  maintain  their  army ;  but  they  are  now  come 
to  that  situation  between  the  enemy,  the  people,  and  us,  that  they 
must  decide  either  to  raise  an  adequate  revenue  from  the  people,  in 
earnest,  or  to  give  themselves  over  to  the  enemy. 

'•  Now,  upon  this  point,  I  can  only  tell  them  one  thing ;  and  that  is, 
that  although  they  may  find  causes  for  not  levying  a  revenue  upon 
the  people  to  continue  the  contest  against  the  enemy,  the  enemy  will 

/ 


ISll.r  NECESSITY  FOR   PORTUGUESE   EXERTION.  93 

allow  of  none  for  not  raising  every  shilling  that  can  be  drawn  from 
the  people,  when  they  may  come  into  possession.  They  should  have 
thought  of  the  miseries  endured  by  the  people,  which  they  describe 
so  feelingly,  before  they  commenced  the  war ;  though,  by  the  by,  I 
would  observe  upon  these  miseries,  that  the  enemy  occupy  only  a 
part  of  one  province,  and  that  they  had  only  passed  through  another : 
this  is  bad  enough,  God  knows !  but  is  better  than  that  the  whole 
should  be  in  their  possession,  as  it  was,  and  as  it  will  be,  if  a  real 
effort  is  not  made." 


M 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


nsis. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


AO^'iTS  in  the  South  of  Spain — Siege  of  Cadiz— Battle  of  Barossa— Retreat  of  Massena— Attempt 
on  Almeida— Battle  of  Fuentea  d'Ofioro — The  wounded  at  Fuentes  d'Onoro. 

0  preserve  a  connection  be- 
tween the  events  which  oc- 
curred immediately  under 
Lord  Wellington's  own  eye 
and  those  which  transpired  at 
a  distance,  but  which,  at  the 
same  time,  formed  part  and 
parcel  of  the  system  adopted 
for  expelling  the  French  from 
the  Peninsula,  we  must  now 
retrace  our  steps  a  little. 

While  Lord  Wellington,  in- 
tent upon  the  Preservation  of 
Portugal,  was  forced  to  disengage  his  attention  from  the  afiairs  of 
Spain,  the  French,  late  in  1810,  made  great  efforts  to  obtain  possession 
of  Cadiz  (one  of  the  three  great  naval  ports  of  Spain  on  the  southern 
coast),  in  which  they  were  opposed  by  the  Spanish  patriots.  Anxious 
to  afford  the  latter  every  assistance  in  their  resolute  defence  of  the 
place,  the  British  Government  sent  Major-General  Graham,  who  had 
previously  been  appointed  second  in  command  to  Wellington,  to  take 
the  command  of  the  troops  in  the  fortress.  General  Graham  was  a 
soldier  of  ability,  who  had  served  first  at  Toulon  under  Lord  Mulgrave, 
as  a  volunteer — obtained  rank  in  the  army  by  raising  two  regiments  at 
his  own  expense — and  then  proceeded  to  join  the  Austrian  army  when 
engaged  with  the  French  Republican  forces  in  Italy.  lie  next  served 
in  the  Mediterranean  under  Sir  Charles  Stuart,  at  the  attack  of 
Minorca,  the  blockade  of  Malta,  &c. — was  in  Egypt,  in  Ireland,  in 
Sweden  with  Sir  John  Moore,  and  under  that  fine  soldier  at  Coruna. 


1811.]  SIEGE  OF  CADIZ.  95 

He  subsequently  served  at  the  siege  of  Flushing,  in  the  island  of 
Walcheren,  and  was  then  sent  to  assist  Lord  Wellington  in  the 
Peninsula. 

The  office  of  second  in  command  of  an  army  in  the  field  is  one  of 
small  importance,  where  the  head  is  endowed  with  much  activity  and 
feels  the  entire  weight  of  the  responsibility.  In  truth,  to  use  the 
words  of  Wellington  himself,  '•  the  office  is  not  only  useless,  but  in- 
jurious to  the  service.  A  person  without  defined  duties,  excepting 
to  give  flying  opinions  from  which  he  may  depart  at  pleasure,  must  be 
a  nuisance  in  moments  of  decision."  He  declared  more  than  once 
that,  whether  he  had  a  second  in  command  or  not,  he  was  determined 
always  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  judgment.  It  was 
therefore  of  no  consequence  to  him  that  a  separate  field  was  found 
for  Graham's  talents,  and  Graham  himself  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity 
of  independent  action.  He  was  "  a  daring  old  man,  and  of  a  ready 
temper  for  battle." 

The  only  point  from  which  it  was  easy  for  the  French  to  annoy 
the  garrison  of  Cadiz  was  Fort  Matagorda.  The  post  was  dismantled 
at  their  approach,  but  when  it  was  perceived  that  they  began  to 
reconstruct  it,  Graham  determined  to  dispossess  and  even  endeavour 
to  maintain  it  against  them.  This  was  accordingly  done  under  his 
direction.  The  fort  was  defended  by  Captain  Maclaine,'  with  a  degree 
of  bravery  which  excited  the  highest  admiration  of  the  Spaniards, 
dismayed  the  French,  and  received  the  approbation  of  the  British 
Government. 

Soult  commanded  in  the  operations  against  Cadiz,  and  stubbornly 
urged  the  siege.  Graham  had,  however,  rendered  the  town  almost  im- 
pregnable, and  Soult  made  little  progress.  Yet  it  was  tedious  work 
to  act  only  on  the  defensive ;  the  blockade  was  becoming  irksome, 
and  the  garrison  tired  of  inaction.  General  La  Pena,  who  command- 
ed in  chief,  resolved  therefore,  in  concert  with  Graham,  upon  making 
an  attack  upon  the  rear  of  the  French  army.  Ten  thousand  men 
were  straightway  embarked  in  Cadiz  Bay  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  junction  with  General  San  Roche.  They  disembarked  at  AIgesira.s, 
(a  fortified  city  in  the  Gulf  of  Gibraltar.)  and  uniting  at  Tarifa,  a 
town  on  the  coast,  west  of  Gibraltar,  moved  thence  on  the  28th  of 
February,  1811. 

The  Spanish  van-guard  having  opened  a  communication  with  the 
Isla  de  Leon,  by  attacking  the  rear  of  the  enemy's  lines  near  the 


>  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Archibald  Maclaine,  K.CB,  an  officer  who  had  seen  service  in  India, 
and  in  different  parts  of  the  Peninsula. 


96  LIFE   OF   THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811 

Santi  Petri  river,  General  Graham,  at  the  head  of  3000  British  troops, 
was  ordered  by  La  Pena  to  move  to  Bermeja,  a  position  about  half- 
^yay  between  Barossa  (a  low  ridge,  rising  gradually  from  the  coast  up 
a  mile  and  a  half,  four  miles  from  the  river,  and  on  which  Graham 
was  halted)  and  the  Santi  Petri.  Leaving  Major  Brown  with  the 
jSank  companies  of  two  regiments  on  Barossa  ridge,  Graham  moved 
down,  but  he  had  not  proceeded  very  far  when  intimation  reached  him 
that  the  enemy  were  in  force  in  the  plains,  and  advancing  towards 
the  heights  of  this  position.  He  instantly  faced  about  and  regained 
the  plains,  expecting  fully  to  find  La  Pena,  with  the  Spaniards  and 
the  cavalry,  on  the  Barossa  hill.  But,  to  his  consternation,  he  beheld 
General  Ruffin's  brigade  with  other  French  troops  near  the  summit 
on  one  side,  the  Spanish  van-guard  and  baggage  flyiug  towards  the 
sea  on  the  other,  pursued  by  the  French  cavalry.  There  was  no  sign 
of  La  Peiia  ! 

"  In  this  desperate  situation,  feeling  that  a  retreat  to  Bermeja 
would  bring  the  enemy  pell-mell  with  the  Allies  on  to  that  narrow 
ridge,  and  must  be  disastrous,  Graham  resolved  to  attack,  although 
the  key  of  the  field  of  battle  was  in  the  enemy's  possession.  Ten 
guns,  under  Major  Duncan,  instantly  opened  a  terrific  fire  against 
Laval's  column,  and  Colonel  Andrew  Barnard,  running  vehemently 
out  with  his  riflemen  and  some  Portuguese  companies,  commenced 
the  fight,  while  the  rest  of  the  British  troops,  without  any  attention 
to  regiments  or  brigades,  so  sudden  was  the  affair,  formed  two  masses, 
with  one  of  which  General  Dilkes  marched  against  Kufiin,  while 
Colonel  Wheatley  led  the  other  against  Laval.  Duncan's  guns 
ravaged  the  French  ranks ;  Laval's  artillery  replied  vigorously  ; 
Ruffin's  batteries  took  Whcatley's  column  in  flank,  and  the  infantry 
on  both  sides  pressed  forward  eagerly  and  with  a  pealing  musketry. 
But  when  the  masses  drew  near,  a  fierce,  rapid,  prolonged  charge  of 
the  87th  Regiment  overthrew  the  first  line  of  the  French,  and  though 
the  latter  fought  roughly,  they  were  dashed  violently  upon  the  second 
line,  and  both  being  broken  by  the  shock  went  off,  the  reserve  bat- 
talion of  grenadiers,  hitherto  posted  on  the  right,  alone  remaining  to 
cover  the  retreat. 

"  Meanwhile  Brown,  having  received  Graham's  laconic  order,'  fell 
headlong  upon  Ruffin,  and  though  nearly  half  of  his  detachment  went 
down  under  the  enemy's  first  fire,  he  maintained  the  fight  until  Dilkes' 
column,  which  had  crossed  a  deep  hollow,  and  never  stopped  even  to 
re-form  the  regiments,  arrived,  with  little  order  indeed,  but  in  a 
flighting  mood,  and  then  the  whole  ran  up  towards  the  summit ;  there 

>  "ri((ht !"  was  all  that  Graham  replied  in  Kosynr  to  an  applicatton  for  iostructions. 


1811.]  BATTLE  OF  BAROSSA.  gt 

was  no  slackness  on  either  side,  for  at  the  very  edge  of  the  ascent 
their  gallant  opponents  met  them,  when  a  dreadful,  and  for  some  time 
a  doubtful,  combat  raged.  Finally,  Ruffin  and  Chaudron  Rousseau, 
who  commanded  the  chosen  grenadiers,  fell,  both  mortally  wounded ; 
the  English  bore  strongly  onward,  and  their  slaughtering  fire  forced 
the  French  from  the  hill,  with  the  loss  of  three  guns  and  many  brave 
soldiers. 

•'  The  discomfitted  divisions,  retiring  concentrically  from  the  differ- 
ent points  of  battle,  soon  met,  and,  with  infinite  spirit,  endeavoured  to 
re-form  and  renew  the  action ;  but  the  play  of  Duncan's  guns,  rapid 
and  murderous,  rendered  the  attempt  vain.  Victor  then  quitted  the 
field  of  battle,  and  the  British,  having  been  twenty-four  hours  under 
arms  without  food,  were  too  exhausted  to  pursue. 

"  While  these  terrible  combats  of  infantry  were  fighting.  La  Pena 
looked  idly  on,  neither  sending  his  cavalry,  nor  his  horse  artillery, 
nor  any  part  of  his  army  to  the  assistance  of  his  ally ;  nor  yet 
menacing  Villatte,  who  was  close  to  him,  and  comparatively  weak. 
The  Spanish  Walloon  Guards,  the  regiment  of  Ciudad  Real,  and 
some  Guerilla  cavalry,  turned  indeed  without  orders,  and  came  up 
just  .as  the  action  ceased ;  and  it  was  expected  that  Whittingham,  an 
Englishman,  commanding  a  powerful  body  of  Spanish  horse,  would 
have  done  as  much  ;  but  no  stroke  in  aid  was  struck  by  a  Spanish 
sabre  that  day,  although  the  French  cavalry  did  not  exceed  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men ;  and  it  is  evident  the  eight  hundred  under 
Whittingham  might,  by  sweeping  round  the  left  of  Rufiin's  division, 
have  rendered  the  defeat  ruinous.  So  certain,  indeed,  was  this,  that 
Frederick  Ponsonby,  drawing  off  his  hundred  and  eighty  German 
hussars  belonging  to  the  English  army,  reached  the  field  of  battle, 
charged  the  French  squadrons  in  their  retreat,  overthrew  them,  took 
two  guns,  and  even  attempted  though  vainly,  to  sabre  Rousseau's 
chosen  battalions.  .This  was  the  fight  of  Barossa.  Short,  for  it  lasted 
only  one  hour  and  a  half ;  violent  and  bloody,  for  fifty  ofiicers,  sixty 
sergeants,  eleven  hundred  British  soldiers,  and  more  than  two 
thousand  French,  were  killed  and  wounded.  Six  guns,  an  eagle,  two 
generals,  both  mortally  wounded,  together  with  four  hundred  other 
prisoners,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors." 

Little  can  be  added  to  the  vigorous  picture  of  the  fight  at  Barossa 
drawn  by  the  master  hand  of  Napier.  It  will  suffice  to  state,  that  the 
French  force  was  numerically  double  that  of  the  English.  The 
regiments  of  the  enemy  were  the  flower  of  the  army,  and  had  receivea 
honorary  distinctions  from  the  Emperor,  in  record  of  their  previous 
services  and  gallantry.     Graham's  troops  had  not  even  the  advantage 

VOL.  I.  1 


98  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811 

of  experience  in  the  field.  The  position  of  the  English,  too,  was  seri- 
ously disadvantageous.  The  enemy  had  been  able  to  choose  his  own 
ground,  and  the  ground  had  been  also  previously  selected  by  Graham, 
for  the  command  it  afi"orded. 

Many  officers  who  became  eminent  in  after  life  for  their  intrepidity 
and  professional  skill,  reaching  high  rank  and  distinguished  command, 
behaved  nobly  on  the  heights  of  Barossa.  Colonel  Barnard,  after- 
wards Sir  Andrew,  the  leader  of  the  Rifles, — Gough,  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  87th,  who  rose  to  be  Lord  Gough,  and  a  mighty  soldier 
in  China  and  in  India, — Wheatley,  who  died  Sir  Henry,  Privy  Purse 
to  his  Sovereign, — John  Macdonald,  who  lived  to  be  Adjutant-General 
of  the  British  array, — all  cropped  honours  from  the  enemy,  to  weave 
a  garland  for  themselves. 

Parliament  voted  its  thanks  to  General  Graham,  his  officers,  and 
troops,  not  forgetting  the  German  cavalry  and  Portuguese  infantry, 
who  served  under  his  orders.  The  87th  Regiment,'  which  captured 
the  eagle  of  the  French  corps,  was  thenceforth  called  the  Prince  of 
"Wales's  Royal  First  Fusileers.  A  medal  was  struck  in  honour  of  the 
battle ;  and,  not  long  afterwards,  Graham,  to  whom  it  was  presented, 
received  the  Military  Order  of  the  Bath,  for  services  of  which 
Barossa  was  by  no  means  deemed  the  least. 

The  Spaniards,  who,  by  their  leaders,  made  a  point  throughout  the 
Peninsular  War,  of  claiming  every  victory,  and  repudiating  every  de- 
feat, were  so  loud  at  Cadiz  in  extolling  their  own  bravery,  and  detract- 
ing from  Graham's  merit,  that  the  veteran  rejected  with  contempt 
some  empty  honours  voted  to  him  by  the  Cortes,  and,  after  resenting 
the  conduct  of  General  La  Pena,  resigned  his  command,  and  hastened 
to  join  Lord  Wellington. 

In  the  opinion  of  Lord  Wellington,  Graham,  to  whom  his 
lordship  addressed  a  cordial  and  complimentary  letter,  peculiarly 
gratifying  to  the  old  man's  feelings,  had  saved  the  allied  army  by  his 
prompt  and  vigorous  attack.  Tlicre  is  no  doubt  that  the  siege  of 
Cadiz  could  have  been  raised  had  the  Spaniards  co-operated  zealously, 
yielding  to  the  superior  judgment  of  the  British  general.  The 
vulgarly  proud  spirit  of  the  degenerate  descendants  of  Don  Roderick 
was  ever  in  the  way  of  the  consolidation  of  a  success.  The  leaders 
were  bad  soldiers,'  in  all  but  absolute  fighting,  when  "  every  man  is 


1  This  regiment  is  called  llic  Favgh  a  BaJlaghs,  or  "  Clear  the  Way."  Tlic  origin  of  the  Celtic 
term  is  not  Icnown. 

2  "  They  march  the  troops  night  and  day,  without  provisions  or  rest,  and  abusing  anybody 
who  proposes  a  moment's  delay,  to  afford  either  to  the  famished  and  fatigued  soldiers.  They 
reach  the  enemy  in  such  a  state  aa  to  bo  unable  to  make  any  exertions,  or  to  execute  any 


1811.]  THE  FRONTIER  FORTRESSES.  99 

brave."  and  gave  immense  trouble  by  their  incapacity  to  command, 
and  their  disinclination  to  obey. 

Let  us  return  to  Lord  Wellington's  operations. 

The  necessity  under  which  the  British  chief  found  himself  of 
leaving  the  fortresses  upon  the  frontier  of  Spain  and  Portugal  to 
their  fate,  while  he  concentrated  his  troops  in  the  lines  of  Torres 
Vedras,  and  hemmed  in  Massena  with  the  corps  under  Sir  William 
Beresford  and  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  had  led  to  the  capture  of  those 
fortresses  by  the  French,  and  at  the  time  when  he  issued  from  his 
fastness  to  follow  the  "  enfant  gate^''  no  longer  enjoying  the  unbroken 
prestige  of  victory,  Almeida  and  Ciudad  Rodrigo  were  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  enemy,  and  Badajoz  soon  followed.  To  recover  these 
fortresses  became  now  the  object  of  the  Commander  of  the  Forces ; 
for,  without  them,  Portugal  would  not  be  free  from  the  risk  of  inva- 
sion, nor  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  Spain  practicable. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  geographical  positions  of  the  fortresses  and 
the  adjacent  country,  the  course  of  the  rivers,  and  the  direction  of  the 
ridges,  will  the  better  assist  to  an  understanding  of  what  follows. 

Almeida  is  a  very  strong  town  standing  upon  the  river  Coa,  an 
affluent  on  the  left  of  the  Douro,  which  comes  down  from  the  Sierra 
de  Esta,  and  flows  into  Portugal.  It  is  situated  in  advance  of  the 
Estrella.  The  spur  which  separates  the  Coa  from  the  Agueda,  en- 
closes the  plateau  of  Fuentes  d'Oiioro. 

Ciudad  Rodrigo  is  another  place  of  great  strength — one  of  the 
defences  of  Spain  against  Portugal.  It  stands  on  the  river  Agueda, 
another  issue  from  the  Sierra  de  Esta,  and  closes  the  road  from 
Madrid  to  Lisbon.  The  Agueda  forms,  during  parts  of  its  course, 
the  frontier  of  Portugal.  Both  this  river  and  the  Coa  form  very 
precipitous  banks,  and  flow  in  a  very  mountainous  basin.  They  are 
advanced  defences  of  Portugal,  backed  by  the  spurs  of  the  Estrella. 

Badajoz  is  a  formidable  place,  defended  by  nine  bastions,  two 
advanced  works,  and  the  castle  of  San  Cristoval.  It  rises  400  feet 
above  the  river  Guadiana  (the  ancient  Aras),  which  rises  to  the 
north  of  the  Sierra  Alcaraz,  among  lagunes.  After  crossing  a  marshy 
country  for  about  ten  miles,  the  stream  disappears  among  rushes  and 
flags  near  Tornelloso,  on  the  road  from  Madrid  to  Ubeda.  About 
thirteen  miles  further  on,  at  a  place  called  the  Eyes  of  the  Guadiana, 
the  water  gushes   from  the  earth  in   large  boiling  jets,   and   forms 

plan,  even  if  any  plan  had  been  formed :  and  then,  when  the  moment  of  action  amves,  they 
are  totally  incapable  of  movement,  and  they  stand  by  to  see  their  allies  destroyed,  and  after- 
wards abuse  them,  because  they  do  not  continue,  unsupported,  exertions  to  which  human  nature 
is  not  equal."— Z,e»er  of  Lord   Wellington  to  General  Graham. 


100 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTOK 


[1811. 


almost  iniincdiately  a  magnificent  canal,  which  is  the  Guadiana  re- 
stored to  the  light.  Traversing  an  almost  desert  countr}',  it  washes 
the  walls  of  Calatrava,  and  passes  on  within  two  miles  and  a  half 
of  Ciudad  Real.  Beyond  this  part  of  its  course,  the  river  winds  a 
great  deal,  by  reason  of  the  small  chain  of  mountains  that  bar  its 
progress,  and  laves  Medellin,  Merida  (a  place  where  many  roads 
meet),  and  Badajoz.  After  this,  the  Guadiana  turns  at  a  right  angle, 
forms  the  frontier  between  the  two  kingdoms  of  Spain  and  Portugal, 
as  far  as  Mourao,  washes  Juramenta,  a  strong  town  belonging  to 
Portugal,  and  leaves  upon  the  left,  Olivenqa,  a  Spanish  post.  At 
Mourao,  the  river  flows  entirely  in  Portugal. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  the  relative  positions  of  the  three 
fortresses.  Almeida  is  in  lat.  40°  55'  north,  long.  7^  10'  west; 
Ciudad  Rodrigo  is  nearly  the  same  latitude,  and  about  fifteen  miles 
further  east.     Badajoz  is  in  lat.  38^  50'  north,  and  long.  7°  20'  west. 

It  was   the  opinion  of  Wellington  that   all  the   fortresses   might 


ATTACK    ON    MASSENA  8    EEAE. 


have  been  held  if  the  Spanish   garrisons  had   been  true   to  them- 
Belves.    The  surrender  of  Badajoz  was  peculiarly  unaccountable.     The 


1811.]  PROCLAMATION  TO  THE   PORTUGUESE.  101 

garrison  was  not  deficient  in  either  ammunition  or  provisions  ;  it 
was  9000  strong,  and  the  besieging  army  did  not  number  more  than 
11.600  men,  including  2000  cavalry.  Nothing  but  treason  could  have 
caused  its  surrender. 

Continuing  his  pursuit  of  Massena,  Lord  Wellington  had  some 
affairs  with  his  troops  at  Celorico,  Sabugal,  and  on  the  Coa,  driving 
them  before  him  as  on  the  previous  days,  with  still  increasing  loss  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy.  At  length,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1811, 
Massena  entered  the  Spanish  frontier,  and  on  the  8th,  '•  the  last  of 
the  French  crossed  the  Agueda." 

On  the  10th  of  April,  in  the  full  pride  of  success,  or,  to  speak  as 
Wellington  habitually  spoke — in  the  pleasant  consciousness  of 
having  done  his  duty,  and  done  it  well — Lord  Wellington  issued 
a  Proclamation  to  the  Portuguese  people  : — 

PROCLAMATION. 

"  lOth  ^pril,  1811. 

"  The  Portuguese  nation  are  informed  that  the  cruel  enemy  who 
had  invaded  Portugal,  and  had  devastated  their  country,  have  been 
obliged  to  evacuate  it,  after  suffering  great  losses,  and  have  retired 
across  the  Agueda.  The  inhabitants  of  the  country  are  therefore  at 
liberty  to  return  to  their  occupations. 

"  The  Marshal-General  refers  them  to  the  Proclamation  which  he 
addressed  to  them  in  August  last,  a  copy  of  which  will  accompany 
this  Proclamation. 

"  The  Portuguese  nation  now  know  by  experience  that  the  Marshal- 
General  was  not  mistaken,  either  in  the  nature  or  the  amount  of  the 
evil  with  which  they  were  threatened,  or  respecting  the  only  remedies 
to  avoid  it;  viz.,  decided  and  determined  resistance,  or  removal  and 
the  concealment  of  all  property,  and  everything  which  could  tend  to 
the  subsistence  of  the  enemy,  or  to  facilitate  his  progress. 

"  Nearly  four  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  tyrant  of  Europe 
invaded  Portugal  with  a  powerful  army.  The  cause  of  this  invasion 
was  not  self-defence — it  was  not  to  seek  revenge  for  insults  offered 
or  injuries  done  by  the  benevolent  Sovereign  of  this  kingdom — it  was 
not  even  the  ambitious  desire  of  augmenting  his  own  political  power, 
as  the  Portuguese  Government  had,  without  resistance,  yielded  to  all 
demands  of  the  tyrant ;  but  the  object  was  the  insatiable  desire  of 
plunder,  the  wish  to  disturb  the  tranquillity,  and  to  enjoy  the  riches 
of  a  people  who  had  passed  nearly  half  a  century  in  peace. 

"  The  same  desire  occasioned  the  invasion  of  the  northern  provinces 


102  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

of  Portugal  in  1809,  and  the  same  want  of  plunder  the  invasion  of 
1810,  now  happily  defeated  ;  and  the  Marshal-General  appeals  to  the 
experience  of  those  who  have  been  witnesses  of  the  conduct  of  the 
French  army  during  these  three  invasions,  whether  confiscation, 
plunder,  and  outrage,  are  not  the  sole  objects  of  their  attention,  from 
the  General  down  to  the  soldier. 

"  Those  countries  which  have  submitted  to  the  tyranny  have  not 
been  better  treated  than  those  which  have  resisted.  The  inhabitants 
have  lost  all  their  possessions,  their  families  have  been  dishonoured, 
their  laws  overturned,  their  religion  destroyed,  and,  above  all,  they 
have  deprived  themselves  of  the  honour  of  that  manly  resistance  to 
the  oppressor  of  which  the  people  of  Portugal  have  given  so  signal 
and  so  successful  an  example. 

'•  The  Marshal-General,  however,  considers  it  his  duty,  in  an- 
nouncing the  intelligence  of  the  result  of  the  last  invasion,  to  warn 
the  people  of  Portugal,  that,  although  the  danger  is  removed,  it  is  not 
entirely  gone  by.  They  have  something  to  lose,  and  the  tyrant  will 
endeavour  to  plunder  them ;  they  are  happy  under  the  mild  govern- 
ment of  a  beneficent  Sovereign,  and  he  will  endeavour  to  destroy  their 
happiness ;  they  have  successfully  resisted  him,  and  he  will  endeavour 
to  force  them  to  submit  to  his  iron  yoke.  They  should  be  unremitting 
in  their  preparations  for  decided  and  steady  resistance  :  those  capable 
of  bearing  arms  should  learn  the  use  of  them  ;  or  those  whose  age  or 
sex  renders  them  unfit  to  bear  arms  should  fix  upon  places  of  security 
and  concealment,  and  should  make  all  the  arrangements  for  their  easy 
removal  to  them  when  the  moment  of  danger  shall  approach. 
Valuable  property,  which  tempts  the  avarice  of  the  tyrant  and 
his  followers,  and  is  the  great  object  of  their  invasion,  should  be 
carefully  buried  beforehand,  each  individual  concealing  his  own,  and 
thus  not  trusting  to  the  weakness  of  others  to  keep  a  secret  in  which 
they  may  not  be  interested. 

"  Measures  should  be  taken  to  conceal  or  destroy  provisions  which 
cannot  be  removed,  and  everything  which  can  tend  to  facilitate  the 
enemy's  progress :  for  this  may  be  depended  upon,  that  the  enemy's 
troops  seize  upon  everything,  and  leave  nothing  for  the  owner.  By 
these  measures,  whatever  may  be  the  superiority  of  numbers  with 
which  the  desire  of  plunder  and  of  revenge  may  induce,  and  his 
power  may  enable,  the  tyrant  again  to  invade  this  country,  the  result 
will  be  certain ;  and  the  independence  of  Portugal,  and  the  happiness 
of  its  inhabitants,  will  be  finally  established  to  their  eternal  honour." 

After  the  flight  of  the  enemy  into  Spain,  Lord  Wellington 
cantoned  his  army  along  the  river  Dos  Casas  and  on  the  sourcep 


1811.]  BATTLE  OF  FUENTES  D'ONORO.  103 

of  the  Azova,  placing  the  Light  Division  at  Gallegos  and  Espeja.  His 
object  was  to  blockade  the  fortress  of  Almeida,  which  was  then  well 
supplied  with  provisions  for  its  garrison.  The  blockade  was  esta- 
blished ;  but  on  the  2nd  of  May  the  whole  of  the  army  of  Massena 
re-crossed  the  Agueda  at  Ciudad  Rodrigo  with  the  evident  intention 
of  raising  the  blockade  of  Almeida.  In  proportion  as  the  enemy 
advanced,  the  British  division  fell  back  and  were  collected  at  the 
little  hamlet  of  Fuentes  d'Oiioro.'  The  French  force  had  been  ma- 
terially increased.  Napoleon  had  sent  Marshal  Bessieres,  with  8,000 
infantry  and  2,000  cavalry,  to  join  Massena.  They  had  thus  80,000 
men  wherewith  to  attack  the  allied  army  of  30,000  British  and  20,000 
Portuguese. 

On  the  3rd  of  May,  shortly  after  thay  had  formed  on  the  ground 
on  the  right  of  the  Bos  Casas,  the  enemy  attacked,  with  a  considerable 
force,  the  village  of  Fuentes  d'Onoro,  which  was  gallantly  defended 
by  some  Light  Infantry  battalions.  The  latter  maintained  their 
position  with  great  valour,  but  as  the  enemy  were  bent  upon  attain- 
ing possession  of  a  place  which  would  be  of  so  much  advantage  to 
them  in  their  subsequent  operations,  the  British  Commander  rein- 
forced the  village  with  the  76th  and  79th  Highlanders.  The  contest 
continued  during  the  night,  the  British  remaining  in  possession  of  the 
ground. 

On  the  following  day  the  French  made  a  reconnoissance  of  the 
whole  of  the  British  position,  and  on  the  5th  of  May  appeared 
in  great  force  to  renew  the  struggle.  Some  changes  in  Lord 
Wellington's  dispositions  had  thus  been  rendered  necessary :  the 
army  was  extended  on  some  high  ground  from  the  Turones  to  the 
Dos  Casas,  covering  the  communication  with  the  Coa,  and  preventing 
that  of  the  enemy  by  the  road  between  the  Turones  and  that  river, 
Fuentes  d'Onoro,  however,  being  still  held  by  the  Highland  regiments. 
The  French  commenced  their  attack  by  a  tremendous  cannonade  and 
several  charges  of  cavalry  upon  the  right  of  the  British  position. 

1  Fuentes  de  JN'ora  is,  perhaps,  the  proper  orthogrraphy  of  the  place,  but  it  saves  confusion  to 
adopt  the  commonly  corrupted  method  of  spelling.  JVoria  in  Spanish,  and  JVora  in  Portuguese, 
signify  the  apparatus  to  raise  water  which  is  often  seen  in  those  countries  (carried  thither, 
doubtless,  by  the  Moors),  and  which  we  call  the  "  Persian  wheel."  Both  words  are  nouns  femi- 
nine in  their  respective  languages,  though  the  name  of  the  village  has  found  its  way  into  our  maps 
as  Fuentes  de  Onora,  which  is  the  Portuguese  noim  feminine  with  an  article  masculine  before  it 
(0  JVora).  This  appears  to  have  led  to  niunerous  mistakes  in  the  manner  of  writing  and  pro- 
nouncing the  name,  which,  as  the  village  is  within  the  Spanish  boundary,  should  be  written 
Fuentes  de  JVoriu,  vhe  Fountains  of  the  A''oria,  or  Persian  wheel.  This  etymology  and  orthogra- 
phy were  given,  twenty-two  years  ago,  by  an  accomplished  traveller  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  an<i 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  for  hesitating  to  adopt  them. 


104  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [181L 

But  their  principal  eifort  was  directed  throughout  the  day  against 
Fuentes  de  OTioro,  of  which  they  at  one  time  obtained  possession,  to 
hold  it  for  a  very  brief  period,  for  the  light  infantry  battalions  of  the 
1st  and  3d  Divisions,  the  6th  Portuguese  Cac^adores,  and  the  light 
companies  of  some  Portuguese  brigades  came  to  the  rescue,  with  the 
74th  and  the  1st  battalion  88th  Regiment,  and  drove  the  enemy 
through  the  village.  Again  and  again  the  French  gallantly  renewed 
their  efforts,  and  always  with  the  same  results.  The  British  were 
invincible. 

On  the  night  of  the  7th  of  May,  Massena  commenced  retiring  from 
liis  position,  and  fell  back  with  such  haste  that  he  could  not  even 
communicate  with  Almeida,  which  he  left  to  its  fate,  one  single  soldier 
only  contriving  to  get  in  with  the  orders  to  the  governor  to  blow  up 
and  abandon  the  fortress. 

In  this  action,  or  succession  of  severe  actions,  the  British  troops 
covered  themselves  with  glory.  Lieutenant-Colonels  Williams, 
Cameron,  and  Cadogan,  Colonel  Mackinnon,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Kelly  (24th  Regiment),  received  honourable  mention  in  the  dispatches 
of  the  Commander-in-Chief;  and  his  Lordship  called  attention  to  the 
gallant  conduct  of  Major  Macintosh  of  the  85th,  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Nixon,  of  the  Ca^adores  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eustace,  of  the 
Chasseurs  Britanniques  (who  behaved  most  steadily  in  repelling  the 
charges  of  the  advanced  guard  of  the  enemy's  cavalry),  and  Lord 
Blantyre. 

But  there  was  one  man,  whose  intrepidity  was  the  admiration  of 
the  field, — a  soldier  who  had  acted  from  a  noble  impulse,  forgetful 
for  the  moment  of  the  instructions  he  had  received  to  occupy  a  par- 
ticular position, — and  his  name  was  omitted  in  the  despatches.  His 
momentary  disobedience  had  neutralised  his  amazing  gallantry.  It  is 
understood  that  had  Captain  Norman  Ramsay  held  to  his  instructions 
he  would  not  have  been  exposed  to  the  serious  risk  which  enforced  his 
display  of  intrepidity.  Let  the  story  be  told  in  the  nervous  language 
of  Napier.  Montburn,  a  first-rate  cavalry  general,  turned  the  right 
of  the  7th  Division  and  charged  the  British  cavalry  which  had  moved 
up  to  its  support. 

"  The  combat  was  unequal,  for  by  an  abuse  too  common,  so  many 
men  had  been  drawn  from  the  ranks  as  orderlies  to  general  officers, 
and  for  other  purposes,  that  not  more  than  a  thousand  English 
troopers  were  in  the  field.  The  French,  therefore,  drove  in  all  the 
cavalry  out-guards  at  the  first  shock,  cut  off  Ramsay's  battery  of 
horse  artillery,  and  came  sweeping  in  upon  the  reserves  of  cavalry 
and  upon  the  7th  Division.     Their  leading  squadrons,  approaching  \n 


1811.] 


BATTLE  OF  FUENTES  D'ONORO. 


105 


a  disorderly  manner,  were  partially  checked  by  fire  ;  but  a  great 
commotion  was  observed  in  their  main  body,  men  and  horses  were 
seen  to  close  with  confusion  and  tumult  towards  one  point,  where  a 
thick  dust  and  loud  cries,  and  the  sparkling  of  blades  and  flashiuo-  of 
pistols,  indicated  some  extraordinary  occurrence.  Suddenly  the 
multitude  became  violently  agitated,  an  English  shout  pealed  high 
and  clear,  the  mass  was  rent  asunder,  and  Norman  Eamsay  burst 
forth,  sword  in  hand,  at  the  head  of  his  battery,  his  horses,  breathing 


NOEMAN   EAMS.W   AT   FUENTES    D  ONOEO. 


fire,  stretched  like  greyhounds  along  the  plain,  the  guns  bounded 
behind  them  like  things  of  no  weight,  and  the  mounted  gunners 
followed  close,  with  heads  bent  low  and  pointed  weapons,  in  desperate 
career.  Captain  Brotherton,  of  the  14th  Dragoons,  seeing  this,  in- 
stantly rode  forth,  and  with  his  squadron  shocked  the  head  of  the 
pursuing  troops,  and  General  Charles  Stewart,  joining  in  the  charge, 
took  the  French  Colonel  Lamotte,  fighting  hand  to  hand ;  but  then 
the  main  body  of  the  French  came  on  strongly,  and  the  British 
cavalry  retired  behind  the  Light  Division,  which  was  immediately 
thfown  into  squares.     The  7th  Division,  which  was  more  advanced^ 


106  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

did  the  same,  but  the  horsemen  ■were  upon  them  first,  and  some  were 
cut  down.  The  mass,  however,  stood  firm,  and  the  Chasseurs  Britan- 
niques,  ranged  behind  a  loose  stone  wall,  poured  such  a  fire,  that  their 
foes  recoiled,  and  seemed  bewildered." 

Amongst  the  officers  mortally  wounded  at  Fuentes  d'Oiloro,  none 
were  more  lamented  than  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cameron,  of  the  79th. 
The  regiment  was  devotedly  attached  to  him.  Young,  ardent,  pat- 
riotic, courageous,  his  whole  soul  was  in  the  cause  in  which  Wel- 
lington was  engaged — the  deliverance  of  Portugal.  At  one  time, 
his  regiment  was  the  only  one  in  the  village  of  Fuentes.  The 
French  column,  1500  strong,  advanced  sternly  and  resolutel}'  to 
occupy  the  place.  Had  the  Highlanders  been  a  light-infantry  regi- 
ment, or  accustomed  to  street  fighting,  Cameron  would  have  found 
the  advantage  of  distributing  them  in  the  houses,  the  chapel,  and 
other  buildings  afi"ording  cover.  But  he  seems  not  only  to  have 
been  unaware  of  the  superiority  this  would  have  given  his  men,  but 
reluctant  to  fight  in  any  other  than  the  old  method  of  closing  upon 
the  foe  with  the  bayonet.  Forming  the  regiment  into  three  divisions, 
and  allotting  to  each  the  business  of  opposing  a  separate  French 
column,  he  ordered  them  to  charge,  and  waved  his  bonnet  as  a  signal. 
At  that  instant  he  was  struck  down  by  a  musket  shot.  The  regiment 
for  an  instant  halted,  paralyzed  by  sudden  grief  Twice  did  Major 
Petrie,  in  the  agony  and  peril  of  the  moment,  repeat  the  last  order 
of  the  intrepid  Cameron.  He  now  stood  aghast.  On  came  the 
French  columns  massed  for  mischief  Petrie  rushed  to  the  ensigns, 
seized  the  colours,  and  exclaiming,  "  There  are  your  colours,  my  lads, 
follow  me  !"  dashed  forward.  As  if  by  one  sudden  instinct,  the 
Highlanders  recovered  from  their  stupor,  raised  a  wild  shriek,  and 
threw  themselves  upon  the  enemy. 

Lord  Wellington  much  regretted  Cameron's  fall ;  and  addressed  an 
affecting  letter  of  condolence  to  his  father.  General  Cameron  : — "  I 
am  convinced,"  he  wrote,  '•  that  you  will  credit  the  assurance  which 
I  give  you,  that  I  condole  with  you  most  sincerely  upon  this  misfor- 
tune, of  the  extent  of  which  no  man  is  more  capable  than  myself  of 
forming  an  estimate,  from  the  knowledge  which  I  had,  and  the  just 
estimate  which  I  had  formed,  in  my  own  opinion,  of  the  merits  of 
your  son. 

"  You  will  always  regret  and  lament  his  loss,  I  am  convinced  ;  but 
I  hope  that  you  will  derive  some  consolation  from  the  reflection  that 
he  fell  in  the  performance  of  his  duty,  at  the  head  of  your  brave 
regiment,  loved  and  respected  by  all  that  knew  him, — in  an  action  in 
which   if  possible,  the  British  troops  surpassed  everything  they  had 


1811.]  THE  WOUNDED  AT  FUENTES.  lOY 

ever  done  before,  and  of  which  the  result  was  most  honourable  to  his 
Majesty's  arms. 

"  At  all  events,  Providence  having  deprived  you  of  your  son, 
I  cannot  conceive  a  string  of  circumstances  more  honourable  and 
glorious  than  those  under  which  he  lost  his  life,  in  the  cause  of  his 
country.  Believe  me,  however,  that,  although  I  am  fully  alive  to  all 
these  honourable  circumstances  attending  his  death,  I  most  sincerely 
condole  with  you  upon  your  loss." 

The  body  of  Colonel  Cameron  was  carried  from  the  spot  where  he 
fell,  at  Fuentes,  across  the  frontier,  into  Portugal,  and  interred  facing 
the  church  door  at  a  village  called  Villa  Formosa,  between  Almeida 
and  Fuentes.  The  Portuguese  refused  him  Christian  burial,  by  not 
suffering  his  remains  to  repose  within  the  walls  of  the  church  ;  but 
they  have,  nevertheless,  respected  the  monument  which  records  his 
fall.  It  was  raised  before  the  church  door  ;  and  the  Portuguese  look 
upon  it  as  identified  with  their  own  achievements. 

The  number  of  British  officers  and  men  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Fuentes  d'Onoro  was  only  235,  of  whom  11  were  officers;  but  the- 
amount  of  wounded  was  very  heavy ;  they  amounted  to  no  less  than 
1234.  Lord  Wellington  computed  the  enemy's  loss  at  between 
4000  an(J  5000,  of  whom  400  were  said  to  have  been  slain  in  the 
village  of  Fuentes.  This  latter  statement,  however,  has  been  contra- 
dicted by  Sir  W.  Napier,  who  having  had  charge  to  bring  the  carcases 
immediately  about  the  village,  "found  only  130,  one-third  being 
British." 

The  state  of  the  wounded  at  Fuentes  d'Onoro  was  fearful.  A 
tragically  picturesque  detail  of  the  scene  which  followed  upon  the 
battle  has  been  given  by  an  officer  who  was  an  actor  in  the  stirring 
event,  and  a  spectator  of  its  melancholy  sequel.  Unconsciously  he 
illustrates  the  advantage  derivable  to  the  medical  man  from  the  hours 
spent  in  the  dissecting-room.  No  surgeon  could  perform  such  duties 
as  unfortunately  devolve  upon  those  attached  to  regiments,  had  not 
"  custom  made  it  a  property  of  easiness  in  them."  It  is  a  wise  pro- 
vision of  Nature,  that  the  sense  of  sympathy  should  be  blunted,  the 
better  to  facilitate  the  operations  essential  to  the  relief  of  suffering 
humanity: — 

"  The  next  day,  the  6th,  we  had  no  fighting,  each  army  kept  its 
position,  and  Villa  Formosa  continued  to  be  the  receptacle  for  the 
wounded.  This  village  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  craggy  hill,  at  the 
foot  of  which  runs  the  little  stream  of  Onore.  Its  healthful  and 
tranquil  situation,  added  to  its  proximity  to  the  scene  of  action, 
rendered  it  a  most  desirable  place  for  our  wounded.     The  perfume  of 

I 


108  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

several  groves  of  forest  trees,  was  a  delightful  contrast  to  the  smell 
that  was  accumulating  in  the  plain  below,  and  the  change  of  scene, 
added  to  a  strong  desire  to  see  a  brother  officer  who  had  been 
wounded  in  the  action  of  the  5th,  led  me  thither.  On  reaching  the 
village,  I  had  little  difficulty  in  finding  out  the  hospitals,  as  every 
house  might  be  considered  one,  but  it  was  some  time  before  I  dis- 
covered that  which  I  wished  for.  At  last  I  found  it ;  it  consisted 
of  four  rooms ;  in  it  were  pent  up  twelve  officers,  all  badly  wounded. 
The  largest  room  was  twelve  feet  by  eight,  and  this  apartment  had 
for  its  occupants  four  officers.  Next  the  door,  on  a  bundle  of  straw, 
lay  two  of  the  79th  Highlanders  ;  one  of  them  shot  through  the 
spine.  He  told  me  he  had  been  wounded  in  the  streets  of  Fuentes 
on  the  5th,  and  that  although  he  had  felt  a  good  deal  of  pain  before, 
he  was  now  perfectly  easy,  and  free  from  sufi"ering.  I  was  but  ill 
skilled  in  surgery,  but  nevertheless  I  disliked  the  account  he  gave  of 
himself  I  passed  on  to  my  friend  ;  he  was  sitting  on  a  table,  his 
back  resting  against  a  wall.  A  musket  ball  had  penetrated  his 
right  breast,  and  passing  through  his  lungs,  came  out  at  his  back,  and 
be  owed  his  life  to  the  great  skill  and  attention  of  Drs.  Stewart  and 
Bell  of  the  3d  Division.  The  quantity  of  blood  taken  from  him  was 
astonishing :  three,  and  sometimes  four,  times  a  day  they  would  bleed 
him,  and  his  recovery  was  one  of  those  extraordinary  instances 
seldom  witnessed.  In  an  inner  room  was  a  young  officer,  shot 
through  the  head  ;  his  was  a  hopeless  case  :  he  was  quite  delirious, 
and  obliged  to  be  held  down  by  two  men  ;  his  strength  was  astonish- 
ing ;  and  more  than  once  while  I  remained  he  succeeded  in  escaping 
from  his  attendants.  The  Scotch  officer's  ^servant  soon  after  came  in, 
and  stooping  down  inquired  of  his  officer  how  he  felt,  but  received  no 
reply.  He  had  half  turned  on  his  face,  the  man  took  hold  of  his 
master's  hand ;  it  was  still  warm  but  the  pulse  had  ceased.  He  was 
dead.  The  suddenness  of  this  young  man's  death  sensibly  affected 
his  companions,  and  I  took  leave  of  my  friend  and  companion 
Owgan,  fully  impressed  with  the  idea  that  I  should  never  see  him 
again.  I  was  on  my  return  to  the  army  when  my  attention  was 
arrested  by  an  extraordinary  degree  of  bustle,  and  a  kind  of  half 
stifled  moaning  in  the  yard  of  a  quinta,  or  nobleman's  house.  I 
looked  through  the  grating,  and  saw  about  200  soldiers  wounded, 
waiting  to  have  their  limbs  amputated,  while  others  were  arriving 
every  moment.  It  would  be  difficult  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  frightful 
appearance  of  those  men  ;  they  had  been  wounded  on  the  5th,  and 
this  was  the  7th ;  the  limbs  were  swollen  to  an  enormous  size,  and  the 
smell  from  the  gun-shot  wounds  was  dreadful.     Some  were  sitting 


1811.]  SURGICAL   OPERATION'S.  109 

upright  against  a  wall,  under  a  shade  of  a  number  of  chesimt  trees, 
and  many  of  those  were  wounded  in  the  head,  as  well  as  limbs  ;  the 
ghastly  countenances  of  these  poor  fellows  presented  a  dismal  sight  ; 
the  streams  of  gore  which  had  trickled  down  their  cheeks  were  quite 
hardened  by  the  sun,  and  gave  their  faces  a  glazed  and  copper- 
coloured  hue  ;  their  eyes  were  sunk  and  fixed,  and  what  between  the 
effects  of  the  sun  and  exhaustion  of  despair,  they  resembled  more  a 
group  of  bronze  figures  than  anything  human ;  they  sat  silent  and 
statue-like  waiting  for  their  turn  t6  be  carried  to  the  amputating 
tables.  At  the  other  side  of  the  yard  lay  several  whose  state  was  too 
helpless  for  them  to  sit  up ;  a  feeble  cry  from  them  occasionally  to 
those  who  were  passing,  for  a  drink  of  water,  was  all  they  uttered. 
A  little  further  on,  in  an  upper  court,  were  the  surgeons  ;  they  were 
stripped  to  their  shirts,  and  bloody  ;  curiosity  led  me  forwards ;  a 
number  of  doors  placed  on  barrels,  served  as  temporary  tables,  and 
on  these  lay  the  different  subjects  upon  whom  the  surgeons  were 
operating;  to  the  right  and  left  were  arms  and  legs  flung  here  and 
there  without  distinction,  and  the  ground  was  dyed  with  blood. 
Dr.  Bell  was  going  to  take  ofi"  the  thigh  of  a  m.an  of  the  50th,  and 
he  requested  I  would  hold  down  the  man  for  him ;  he  was  one  of  the 
best-hearted  men  I  ever  met  with,  but  such  is  the  force  of  habit,  he 
seemed  insensible  to  the  scene  that  was  passing  around,  and  with 
much  composure  was  eating  almonds  out  of  his  waistcoat  pockets, 
which  he  oflfered  to  share  with  me,  but  if  I  got  the  universe  for  it 
I  could  not 'have  swallowed  a  morsel  of  any  thing.  The  operation 
upon  the  man  of  the  50th  was  the  most  shocking  sight  I  ever 
witnessed;  it  lasted  nearly  half  an  hour,  but  his  life  was  saved- 
Turning  out  of  this  place  towards  the  street  I  passed  hastily  on  near 
the  gate ;  an  assistant-surgeon  was  taking  off  the  leg  of  an  old  German 
sergeant  of  the  60th ;  the  doctor  was  evidently  a  young  practitioner, 
and  Bell,  our  staff-surgeon,  took  much  trouble  in  instructing  him. 
It  was  a  pretty  generally  received  opinion,  that  when  the  saw  passes 
through  the  marrow,  the  patient  suffers  most  pain  but  such  is  not 
the  case,  and  taking  up  the  arteries  is  the  worst ;  while  the  old 
German  was  undergoing  the  operation,  he  seemed  insensible  to  pain  ; 
when  the  saw  was  at  work,  now  and  then  he  would  exclaim  in  broken 
English,  if  wearied,  "  Oh  I  mine  Gott^  is  she  off  stilly"  but  he,  as  well 
as  all  those  I  noticed,  felt  much  when  the  knife  was  first  introduced, 
and  all  thought  that  red  hot  iron  was  applied  to  them  when  the 
arteries  were  being  taken  up." 

If    the   continual    presence    of    danger,   and    occasional    personal 
suffering,  did  not  really  beget  an   indifference  to  both,  it  certainly 


110 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1811 


imparted  to  the  oflBcers  and  naen  a  looseness  of  sentiment  that  was 
not  without  wholesome  influences  in  habituating  men  to  be  ready  for 
the  worst  that  could  befall.  An  officer  of  the  Adjutant-General's 
Department,  whose  love  of  fun  was  independent  of  circumstances  and 
situation,  is  known  to  have  describled  to  his  camarados  the  sensation 
of  being  wounded  (while  bullets  were  flying  about  the  group)  in 
these  terms : — 

"  Astonished  at  finding  oneself  overturned  by  a  sharp  blow  on  the 
breast,  and  on  evincing  an  inclination  to  rise,  being  convinced,  by 
the  total  diminution  of  your  strength,  that  some  very  unpleasant 
accident  has  occurred  to  you.  Thus  satisfied  as  to  your  incapacity 
of  movement,  you  lie  quietly  on  the  ground  with  certain  very  unplea- 
sant forebodings  in  your  mind,  till  one  of  your  friends  brings  you  a 
surgeon,  who,  opening  your  coat,  finds  you  are  shot  through  the  lungs, 
and  to  satisfy  himself  (not  you)  says  '  Spit,  sir,  spit.'  In  the  attempt 
your  mouth  fills  with  blood,  which  your  medical  friend  (no  longer, 
alas  !  your  adviser)  wished  to  ascertain,  who,  putting  a  bit  of  lint  on 
the  wound,  shrugs  up  his  shoulders,  and  leaves  you  to  be  sufi'ocated, 
while  he  goes  to  congratulate  your  juniors  on  their  promotion." 


1811.1 


ESCAPE  OF  THE  GARRISON  OF  ALMEIDA. 


in 


CHAPTER  VIL 

EfiC&pe  of  the  garrison  of  Almeida— CJontrast  between  Wellington  and  Napoleon — Caution  to 
Officers  to  repress  injudicious  zeal — Marshal  Beresford — Investment  of  Badajoz — B  attle  of 
Albuera — Abandonment  of  the  siege  of  Badajoz — ^The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  allies. 


HE  defeat  of  Massena  at  Fuentes 
d'Onoro  destroyed  the  hopes  of 
relief  entertained  by  the  garri- 
son of  Almeida.  Brennier,  who 
commanded  the  fortress,  heard 
the  firing  at  Fuentes,  and  cher- 
ished a  conviction  that  Massena 
would  repel  the  English,  and 
"  raise  the  blockade.  The  hopes 
of  his  sturdy  little  band  of  400 
men  rose  with  each  cannonade. 
and  they  almost  ventured  to 
name  the  very  hour  when  the 
cordon  of  red  coats,  which 
barred  their  egress,  should  be 
rent  asunder.  When  the  French  soldier  passed  the  line  of  sentries, 
and  making  his  way  into  the  fortress,  disclosed  the  intelligence  that 
the  English  remained  the  victors,  hope  gave  way  to  desperation.  To 
surrender  to  General  Campbell,  whose  divisions  carelessly  encircled 
the  fortress,  or  to  cut  away  through  and  join  Massena,  were  the 
only  alternatives  left  to  Brennier.  Napoleon  was  impatient  of  sur- 
render :  his  view  of  the  duty  of  the  governor  of  a  garrison  extended 
to  his  dying  at  his  post,  Brennier  elected  to  march  out  and  trust  to 
fortune  for  his  forcing  a  passage.  The  choice  was  happy  in  its  results. 
Fate  smiled  upon  the  courageous  enterprise.  Blowing  up  the  works 
and  cannon  with  so  ingenious  an  appearance  of  firing  upon  the 
blockading  party  that  his  proceedings  were  never  for  one  moment 


112  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

suspected,  he  availed  himself  of  the  brilliancy  of  the  moon-light  on 
the  second  night  succeeding  his  operations,  and  retired  with  his  men 
in  their  usual  order  of  march.  The  advanced  guards  bayoneted  the 
sentinels  of  the  besiegers.  The  garrison  made  for  Barba  de  Puerco 
on  the  Agueda.  The  bridge  at  this  place  was  totally  unguarded. 
Aware  of  the  certainty  of  their  escape  if  they  reached  this  spot  unop- 
posed, General  Campbell  and  Brigadier  Pack  hastened  thither  with 
the  3Gth  regiment  and  the  light  battalion  of  the  5th  Division. 
They  came  up  with  the  enemy,  but  were  unable  to  prevent  them 
effecting  the  passage  of  the  Agueda.  Some  fighting  took  place,  in 
which  the  French  suffered,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  of  the 
garri.son  effected  their  escape.  It  was  a  gallant  achievement,  and  it 
deserved  to  succeed.  Lord  Wellington  was  much  annoyed  at  the 
occurrence,  on  account  of  the  advantage  that  he  justly  thought 
would  be  taken  of  the  circumstance  by  Massena,  and  the  partisan 
press  at  home,  to  convey  erroneous  impressions  to  all  Europe.  Still 
we  do  not  find  him  giving  loose  to  temper  in  his  despatches  to  Lord 
Liverpool — he  was  always  more  ready  to  quarrel  with  himself  for  an 
oversight  than  blame  his  generals.' 

And  here  we  cannot  avoid  contrasting  the  generous  and  indulgent 
character  of  Wellington  with  the  unforgiving  and  uncharitable  dispo- 
sition of  his  great  rival.  Napoleon.  While  the  British  General 
seized  every  occasion  for  cordially  applauding  the  skill  of  his  com- 
panions in  arms,  and  palliating  errors  if  they  did  not  arise  from  a 
wilful  disobedience  of  orders,  Napoleon  gave  loose  to  the  violence  of 
his  rage  if  success  did  not  crown  the  efforts  of  his  Marshals,  and  in 
the  hurricane  of  passion  he  forgot  all  the  former  services  which  he 
had  recompensed  with  titles  and  commands.  Success  with  Napoleon 
hallowed  every  action  performed  by  his  own  troops,  though  he  could 
not  admit  the  same  excuse  for  the  achievements  of  his  enemies,  if 
they  were  founded  on  a  departure  from  the  acknowledged  principles 
of  war.     Failure,  on  the  other  hand — that  is  to  say  French  failure — 

1  The  escape  of  the  garrison  was  a  subject  of   bitter  mortification  willj  tlie  2nd  (Queen's 

Royals)  and  the  4lh  Foot,  who  happened  to  be  on   picquet  when  the  French  made  their  way 

through   the   investing  force.    Lampoons  and  pasquinades  were   composed    impromptu,   and 

levelled  at  the  devices  of  the  two  corps.    The  badge  of  the  Queen's  is  a  Lamb,  and  that  of 

the  4th  a  Lion.    In  Costello's  entertaining  "  Adventures  of  a  Soldier,"  one  of  these  squibs  ha» 

been  preserved : — 

"The  Lion  went  to  sleep, 

And  the  Lambs  were  at  play, 

The  Eagle  spread  his  wings 

And  from  Almeida  flew  away." 

rhe  Ck>lonel  of  the  4th,  stung  to  the  quick  with  sorrow  and  mortiflcatioa.  commiltod  suicide  shorU) 
after  the  Almeida  affair. 


1811.]  CHECKS  TO  IMPETUOSITY.  113 

could  only,  in  his  opinion,  result  frona  carelessness  and  ignorance. 
He  allowed  nothing  to  the  superiority  of  the  prowess  or  position  of 
the  English — they  always,  he  pretended,  gained  a  battle  by  an  acci- 
dent! What  Talleyrand  predicted  of  somebody  else.  Napoleon 
practically  affirmed  of  his  unlucky  Marshals — '■'•lis  sont  pires  que  les 
criminds — ils  out  commis  cles  erreurs  !  "  Witness  his  reproaches  of 
Dorsenne  for  the  fall  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo — his  acrimonious  reprehension 
of  Marmont  for  his  manner  of  conducting  the  war  in  1812 — his 
treatment  of  Suchet — his  temporary  withdrawal  of  all  confidence 
from  Soult  after  the  fight  at  Albuera.  All  of  these  Generals 
solicited  their  recall  on  the  ground  of  the  unworthy  censures  lavished 
upon  them  while  they  did  their  best.  A  more  accurate  and  impartial 
estimate  of  the  vast  military  genius  of  Wellington,  and  the  quality  of 
his  soldiers,  would  probably  have  made  the  French  Emperor  more 
tolerant  of  the  disasters  of  his  chosen  lieutenants. 

After  the  battle  of  Fuentes  d'  Onoro,  Lord  Wellington,  for  a  time, 
fixed  his  head-quarters  at  Villa  Formosa.  Massena,  retreating  with 
Ney,  Junot,  and  Loison,  who  got  tired  of  the  war  in  Spain  and 
Portugal,  and  of  one  another,  proceeded  towards  the  Pyrenees,  en 
route  to  France,  leaving  Marshal  Marmont,  Duke  de  Ragusa,  in 
command  of  the  army  of  Portugal,  on  the  river  Tormes. 

It  was  the  anxious  desire  of  the  British  troops  to  follow  the  enemy ; 
and  Lord  Wellington  found  it  necessay  to  check  their  impetuosity 
by  interposing  grave  remonstrances.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Major- 
General  Alexander  Campbell,  we  find  him  exercising  that  wonderful 
prudence  which,  if  it  sometimes  made  the  irreflective  and  impotent 
imagine  that  golden  oportunities  had  been  suifered  to  slip,  always 
proved,  in  the  long  run,  the  guarantee  of  future  permament  success. 
He  did  not  doubt,  he  said,  the  readiness  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  to 
advance  upon  the  enemy ;  but  he  held  it  to  be  his  duty  to  regulate 
that  spirit,  and  not  to  expose  the  soldiers  to  contend  with  unequal 
numbers  in  situations  disadvantageous  to  them.  He  would  not  allow 
them  to  follow  up  trifling  advantages  to  situations  in  which  they 
could  not  be  supported,  from  which  their  retreat  was  not  secure,  and 
in  which  they  incurred  the  risk  of  being  prisoners  to  the  enemy  they 
had  before  beaten.  He  was  most  anxious  to  see  the  officers  at  the 
head  of  the  troops  possess  a  cool,  discriminating  judgment  in  actions, 
which  would  enable  them  to  decide  with  promptitude  how  far  they 
could  and  ought  to  go  with  propriety,  and  to  convey  their  orders  and 
act  with  such  vigour  and  decision  that  the  soldiers  would  look  up  to 
them  with  confidence  in  the  moment  of  action,  and  obey  them  with 
alacrity.     Lord  Wellington  further  endeavoured  to  impress  upon  the 

VOL.  I.  9 


114  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON  [1811 

officers  that  the  enemy  to  whom  they  were  opposed  was  not  less 
prudent  than  powerful.  He  rejected,  upon  the  testimony  of  expe- 
rience, the  idea  that  small  bodies,  unsupported,  could  be  successfully 
opposed  to  large,  and  laughed  at  the  stories  current,  of  whole  armies 
being  driven  by  a  handful  of  light  infantry  or  dragoons.  After  the 
affair  at  Celorioo,  in  the  pursuit  of  Massena,  Lord  Wellington  found 
it  necessary  to  instruct  Marshal  Beresford  to  call  together  the  officers 
of  the  dragoons,  and  point  out  to  them  the  folly  and  danger  of 
following  the  enemy  with  "  undisciplined  ardofur."  He  compared 
the  conduct  of  some  cavalry  regiments  to  that  of  a  rabble  galloping 
as  fast  as  their  horses  could  carry  them,  over  a  plain,  after  an  enemy 
to  whom  they  could  do  no  mischief  after  they  were  broken,  and  the 
pursuit  had  continued  to  a  limited  distance  ;  and  sacrificing  substan- 
tial advantages,  and  all  the  objects  of  the  operation,  by  their  want  of 
discipline. 

That  no  time  might  be  lost  in  clearing  the  frontier  of  the  French, 
Lord  Wellington,  while  he  operated  upon  Almeida,  had  entrusted  to 
Marshal  Sir  William  Beresford  the  reduction  of  the  fortress  of 
Badajoz. 

Marshal  Beresford  was  an  officer  of  considerable  distinction,  earned 
by  bravery  and  professional  ability.  He  had  seen  much,  service  in 
many  parts  of  the  globe  :  as  a  Subaltern  at  Nova  Scotia  ;  as  Captain 
at  the  sieges  of  Toulon  and  Bastia ;  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  India 
and  in  Egypt  (under  Sir  David  Baird),  in  Ireland,  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  and  in  America.  Finally,  he  had  fought  under  Moore  at 
Coruila,  covering  the  embarkation  of  the  troops  with  distinguished 
firmness  and  skill.  His  merit  was  not  unperceived  by  Lord 
Wellington — always  prompt  to  discern  professional  superiority. 
When  the  Grovernment  had  determined  upon  carrying  out  the  plan 
for  the  defence  of  Portugal,  suggested  in  the  Memorandum  of 
9th  March,  1809,  Beresford  was  pointed  out  by  Wellington  as  the 
officer  most  adapted  to  the  serious  duty  of  organizing  and  drilling  the 
Portuguese  army.  Accordingly,  after  assisting  in  the  operations 
in  the  north  of  Portugal,  crossing  the  Douro  considerably  above 
Oporto,  in  sight  of  General  Loison's  division,  forcing  him  back  upon 
Amarante,  and  pursuing  him  in  his  retreat,  Beresford  entered  upon 
the  great  task  which  had  been  assigned  to  him.  To  facilitate  the 
execution  of  his  purposes,  the  Portuguese  Government  dignified  him 
with  the  title  and  rank  of  Field-Marshal,  and  appointed  him  General 
issimo,  the  British  Government,  through  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
naving  previously  brevetted  him  as  Lieutenant-General.  Marshal 
Beresford,  carrying  out  the  principle  of  selection  adopted  in  his  own 


1811.]  SIR  WILLIAM  BERESFORD.  115 

case  by  Lord  Wellington,  made  choice  of  many  excellent  oflScers  to 
aid  him  in  organizing  and  disciplining  the  Portuguese  army.  The 
names  of  Gough,  Pack,  Bradford,  and  Robert  Arbuthnot  attest  the 
lustioe  and  prudence  of  his  choice  ;  and  the  conduct  of  the  Portuguese 
Ca^adores,  at  the  battle  of  Busaco,  demonstrates  how  rapidly  the 
system  of  discipline  prospered.  Those  young  troops  had  never  before 
been  in  front  of  the  enemy. 

It  was  to  this  officer  (Beresford)  that  the  capture  of  Badajoz  was 
entrusted ;  and  in  order  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  raising  of  the 
siege  by  the  enemy,  Lord  Wellington  had  detached  the  3rd  and  7th 
divisions,  and  the  2nd  Hussars,  into  the  Alemtejo,  and  had  further 
directed  the  Spanish  troops,  under  General  Blake,  to  approach  the 
frontier  of  Estremadura. 

Sir  William  Beresford  invested  Badajoz  on  both  sides  of  the 
Guadiana,  on  the  8th  May,  1811,  and,  on  the  same  night,  broke 
ground  on  both  sides.  There  is  a  strong  outwork,  or  castle,  called 
San  Cristoval,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Guadiana,  against  which  the 
besiegers  were  to  direct  their  earliest  operations.  To  prevent  their 
occupying  the  ground  whence  the  attack  was  to  be  directed,  the 
garrison  made  a  sortie,  but  were  driven  in  with  loss.  On  the  10th 
May,  they  made  a  second  sortie,  and  were  a  second  time  driven  in, 
the  impetuosity  of  our  troops  carrying  them  to  the  very  glacis  of  San 
Cristoval,  and  to  a  situation  in  which  they  were  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  musketry  and  grape  from  the  outwork,  as  well  as  from  the  body  of 
the  place.  The  British  casualties  were  numerous.  On  the  1 1  th  of 
May,  Beresford  opened  his  fire  upon  the  fortress. 

While  these  operations  were  in  progress,  Marshal  Soult  was  at 
Seville,  and,  from  the  works  going  on  there,  it  was  supposed  that  he 
intended  occupying  the  place  for  a  considerable  time,  the  more  espe- 
cially as  he  was  using  every  exertion  to  assemble  a  large  body  of 
troops  around  him.  Soult  had  far  different  views.  The  relief  of 
Badajoz  was  his  ulterior  end.  And,  in  fulfilment  of  this  object,  he 
moved  away  on  the  1 0th  May  with  15,000  men,  forming  a  junction, 
in  his  descent  into  Estremadura,  with  General  Latour  Maubourg, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  5000  more. 

No  further  question  now  of  Badajoz.  To  hurl  back  Soult  became 
the  leading  object  of  Sir  William  Beresford.  Instantly  raising  the 
Biege,  he  proceeded  to  Valverde  with  the  infantry,  leaving  General  the 
Hon.  Lowry  Cole  to  follow  with  the  ordnance  and  stores,  convoyed 
by  2000  Spanish  troops.  But  as  the  occupation  of  Valverde  left 
Badajoz  open  to  the  enemy,  Beresford  changed  his  position  to 
Albuera,  south  of  Badajoz,  and  was  there  joined  by  the  corps  of 


116  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811 

General  Blake,  the  troops  under  Cole,  and  the  Spanish  Brigade  under 
Don  Carlos  de  Espana,  on  the  15th  of  May. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  Soult's  army  appeared  in  front 
The  British  force  was  immediately  placed  in  position.  On  the 
morning  of  the  16th  of  May,  Soult  commenced  his  movement  for 
breaking  through  the  obstacle  thus  suddenly  interposed  to  his  expe- 
dition. He  advanced  upon  the  right  of  the  English  with  the  full 
design  of  cutting  them  off  from  Valverde.  He  gained  the  heights 
occupied  by  the  Spanish  troops.  Major-General  the  Hon.  W.  Stewart 
rushed  with  his  division  to  retake  and  maintain  those  heights. 
Failing  to  shake  the  columns  of  the  enemy  with  fire,  the  division 
employed  the  bayonet.  A  body  of  Polish  Lancers  attacked  the 
division  in  the  rear,  broke  it,  and  inflicted  great  slaughter.  The  31st 
Foot  alone  remained  unshaken.  The  third  brigade,  under  General 
Houghton,  now  came  to  the  rescue,  and  Houghton  fell,  pierced  by 
wounds.  Soult  persevered  ;  his  artillery  committing  great  havoc  in 
the  British  ranks ;  the  French  infantry  showered  mitrailles  in  mur- 
derous succession ;  the  cavalry  was  held  in  check  by  General 
Lumley's  allied  dragoons.  The  battle  was  for  some  time  doubtful ; 
but  Cole  perceiving  the  danger  to  which  Stewart's  division  was 
exposed,  dashed  up  the  heights  with  the  Fusilier  Brigade.  Still  the 
cannon  spat  forth  their  deadly  opposition,  and  Soult  deemed  victory 
in  his  grasp.  Concentrating  its  terrific  energies,  bearing  itself  as 
only  British  infantry  ever  can  and  ever  did  in  the  midst  of  the  pitiless 
iron  storm,  the  brigade  came  to  the  charge,  and  in  spite  of  the 
terrible  obstructions  of  the  ground,  and  the  determined  attitude  of 
the  enemy,  bore  onward  with  the  force  of  a  hurricane.  Staggering 
beneath  the  irresistible  shock,  the  French  now  give  way,  they 
waver — they  break — they  fly.  The  Fusiliers  press  onwards — the 
British  huzza  mingling  with  the  discordant  cries  of  the  scattered  foe. 
Hundreds  still  fight  with  fierce  desperation,  but  fall  at  length  beneath 
the  terrific  pressure.  The  heights  are  cleared — the  enemy  are  in 
confusion — and  Soult,  discomfited  and  crest-fallen,  abandons  his 
attempt,  and  recrosses  the  Agueda. 

A  sanguinary  battle  was  the  battle  of  Albuera.  Fifteen  thousand 
men  fell  in  four  hours.  Of  these,  eight  thousand  were  Frenchmen, 
and  seven  thousand  English.'     The  loss  of  the  Spanish  and  Portu- 

1  "  About  six  o'clock,  a.  m^  we  came  in  sight  of  our  troops  on  the  field  of  battle,  at 
Albuera ;  the  French  were  discerned  near  a  wood  about  a  rnilo  and  a  half  in  their  front.  We 
now  advanced  in  subdivisions,  at  double  distance,  to  make  our  numbers  as  fonnidable  as 
pos.sible,  and,  arriving  on  the  field,  jjiled  our  arms,  and  were  permitted  to  move  about.  With 
awful  astonishment  we  gazod  on  the  terrific  sccuo  before  us;  a  total  suspension  took  place  of 


1811.]  BATTLE   OF   ALBUERA.  11 V 

guese  was  light,  though  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands  that  they  fought 
with  surprising  valour  when  called  upon  to  do  so.  Marshal  Beresford 
was  no  niggard  of  his  praises,  for  every  one  had  done  his  duty. 
He  had  reason  to  be  especially  pleased  with  the  7th  and  23rd 
Fusiliers,  the  31st  and  the  57th  regiments,  the  latter  of  which 
obtained  the  soubriquet  of  the  "  Die-hards,"  for  as  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  thinned  their  numbers,  and  utter  annihilation  seemed  inevi- 
table, the  colonel  called  out  to  them  "  57th,  let  us  die  hard  !"  Only 
eighteen  hundred  British  soldiers  of  the  nine  thousand  that  went 
into  battle  survived  the  encounter  on  Albuera's  heights.  Amongst 
the  officers  who  fell,  none  were  more  missed  and  lamented  than  Sir 
William  Myers,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Duckworth.  The  7th 
Fusiliers,  whom  Myers  commanded,  to  this  moment  preserve  a 
memento  of  his  worth  and  gallantry.  Beresford  bore  willing  testi- 
mony to  the  good  conduct  of  the  allies,  naming  especially  Generals 
Ballasteros,  Lagos,  and  Don  Carlos  de  Espaiia,  and  he  did  not  fail  to 
speak  well  of  Brigadier-General  d'Urban  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hardinge,  Deputy  Quarter-Master-General  to  the  Portuguese  troops. 
To  the  advice  of  the  latter  at  a  critical  moment  the  salvation  of  the 
battle  may  have  been  said  to  have  been  owing,  for  it  was  Hardinge 
who  urged  General  Cole  to  advance  with  the  fourth  division,  while 
Beresford,  agitated  by  the  peril  of  Stewart's  division,  was  on  the  point 
of  retiriner  his  forces  from  the  field.' 


that  noisy  gaiety  so  characteristic  of  Irish  soldiers ;  the  most  obdurate  or  risible  countenances 
sunli  at  once  into  a  pensive  sadness,  and  for  some  time  speech  was  supplanted  by  an  exchange 
of  sorrowful  looks  and  significant  nods.  Before  us  lay  the  appalling  sight  of  6000  men  dead, 
and  mostly  stark  naked,  having,  as  we  were  informed,  been  stripped  during  the  night  by  the 
Spaniards ;  their  bodies  disfigured  with  dirt  and  clotted  blood,  and  torn  by  the  deadly  gashes 
inflicted  by  the  bullet,  bayonet,  sword,  or  lance,  that  had  terminated  their  mortal  existence. 
Those  who  had  been  kiUed  outright  appeared  merely  in  the  pallid  sleep  of  death,  while  others, 
whose  wounds  had  been  less  suddenly  fatal,  from  the  agonies  of  their  last  struggle,  exhibited 
a  fearful  distortion  of  features.  Near  our  arms  was  a  small  streamlet,  almost  choked  with 
bodies  of  the  dcjfd,  and,  from  the  deep  traces  of  blood  in  its  miry  margin,  it  was  evident  that 
many  of  them  had  crawled  thither  to  allay  their  last  thirst.  The  waters  of  this  oozing  stream 
were  so  deeply  tinged,  that  it  seemed  actually  to  run  blood.  A  few  perches  distant  was  a 
draw-well,  about  which  were  collected  several  hundreds  of  those  severely  woimded,  who  had 
crept  or  been  carried  thither.  They  were  sitting  or  lying  in  the  puddle,  and  each  time  the 
bucket  reached  the  surface  with  its  scanty  supply,  there  was  a  clamorous  and  heartrending 
confusion ;  the  cries  for  water  resounding  in  at  least  ten  languages,  while  a  kindness  of  feeling 
was  visible  in  the  manner  this  beverage  was  passed  to  each  other." — Reminiscences  of  a  Subaltern. 
i  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hardinge's  judgment  in  this  instance  paved  the  way  to  his  subsequent 
advancement.  In  after  years  he  was  employed  with  the  Prussian  army  in  the  contest  with 
Napoleon,  and,  long  after  the  war,  became  successively  Secretary  at  War,  Governor  General 
of  India,  and  Master  General  of  the  Ordnance.  In  India  he  greatly  distinguished  himself  by 
aldmg  Lord  Gough  to  drive  the  invading  Sikhs  across  the  Sutlej,  and  take  from  them  a 
portion  of  their  territory.  This  earned  him  the  Peerage.  The  death  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  led  to  his  being  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  army. 


118  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811 

Marshal  Beresford  has  been  censured  by  some  writers,  first  for 
laying  siege  to  Badajoz  with  inadequate  means  ;  secondly,  for  not 
keeping  himself  accuratel}'  informed  of  the  movements  of  Soult ;  and 
thirdly,  for  receiving  battle  at  Albuera.'  It  is  not  worth  while  inter- 
rupting the  course  of  this  narrative  to  enter  upon  a  theme  foreign  to 
the  subject  in  hand,  and  which  has  been  productive  of  endless  con- 
troversy :  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  the  conduct  of  the  Marshal  and 
his  troops  had  the  approbation  of  Lord  Wellington.  He  regarded 
the  action  aa  one  of  the  most  glorious  and  honorable  to  the  character 
of  the  troops  of  any  that  had  been  fought  during  the  war;  he 
lauded  the  Jtbility,  firmness,  and  gallantry  of  Sir  William  Beresford, 
and  he  wuh  of  opinion  that  Sir  William  Beresford  would  have 
gained  a  c^implete  victory,  without  very  material  loss,  if  the  Spaniards 
could  have  manoeuvred. 

The  incapacity  of  the  Spanish  troops  to  manoeuvre  in  front  of  an 
enemy  wna  a  Subject  of  great  annoyance  to  Lord  Wellington.  They 
did  not  refuse  to  stand  firmly  as  targets  to  the  enemy,  but  could 
never  be  trusted  to  move.  At  Talavera  and  Barrossa,  as  well  as  at 
Albuera,  this  defect  in  their  discipline  occasioned  a  heavy  sacrifice 
of  life,  for  their  immobility  forced  English  soldiers  to  perform  the 
duty  which  otherwise  would  have  devolved  upon  the  Allies.  The 
Portuguese  levies  were  not  obnoxious  to  the  same  reproach.  "  We 
do  what  we  please  with  the  Portuguese  troops,"  writes  Lord 
Wellington  to  Mr.  Henry  Wellesley,  the  Minister  at  Madrid.  "  We 
manoeuvre  them  under  fire  equally  with  our  own,  and  have  some 
dependence  on  them ;  but  these  Spaniards  can  do  nothing  but  stand 
still,  and  we  consider  ourselves  fortunate  if  they  do  not  run  away." 

Marshal  Beresford  resumed  the  siege'*bf  Badajoz  on  the  19th  of 
May.  In  the  meanwhile.  Lord  Wellington,  to  be  nearer  the  scene 
of  operations,  had  removed  his  head  quarters  to  Elvas.  Here  his 
attention  was  much  engaged  by  the  condition  of  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  governments,  and  more  especially  the  latter.  They  were 
in  a  state  of  decrepitude.  Malversations  in  office,  neglect  of  duty, 
habitual  disobedience  of  orders,  inattention  to  regulations,  base 
intrigues  and  jobs  for  personal  ends,  vanities,  jealousies,  made  up  the 
sum  of  the  operations  of  the  Juntas.  All  complaints  and  remon- 
strances were  vain ;  the  authorities  were  inaccessible  alike  to  reason 


1  A  private  soldier,  doscribing  the  battle  of  Albucro,  says :  "  The  complaints  of  the  men  were 
loiid  and  general,  and  always  ended  with  some  expression  of  deep  regret  for  the  absence  of 
him  we  loolied  up  to  with  unlimited  confldenco,  whoso  presence  gave  us  additional  courage, 
and  under  whom  we  deemed  oursclvea  invincible  and  certain  of  success— need  I  add,  that 
person  was  Wellinoton?" 


1811.]  SIEGE  OF  BADAJOZ  RAISED.  119 

and  to  virtue.  In  addition  to  embarrassments  of  all  descriptions 
surrounding  him  on  every  side,  Lord  "Wellington  had  to  contend  with 
an  ancient  enmity  between  the  two  nations,  which  he  described  as 
more  like  cat  and  dog  than  anything  else.  Of  this  hereditary  feud 
no  sense  of  common  danger,  or  common  interest,  or  anything,  could 
get  the  better  even  in  individuals.  Nothing  but  the  firmness  of  his 
heart,  and  his  undeviating  sense  of  the  claims  of  duty,  could  have 
sustained  Wellington  when  so  perplexed. 

A  practical  proof  of  the  utter  helplessness  of  the  Portuguese 
departments  attached  to  the  army  was  now  to  be  supplied  with 
humiliating  results.  Two  attacks  upon  breaches  in  San  Cristoval 
having  failed.  Lord  Wellington  undertook  the  seige  of  Badajoz  in 
person,  under  the  persausion  that  the  means  at  his  command  at 
Elvas  would  have  enabled  him  to  reduce  the  place  before  the  15th 
of  June.  He  had  been  reinforced  by  battalions  from  the  frontiers 
of  Castillo,  and  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  the  ordnance,  and  abun- 
dance of  supplies  in  Elvas.  The  guns,  however,  were  found  to  be  of 
a.  calibre  larger  than  the  shot ;  the  carriages  were  so  decayed  that 
time  was  continually  lost  in  putting  them  into  order  after  a 
succession  of  discharges,  and  the  eflfect  of  these  combined  obstacles 
to  a  direct  and  effectual  fire  was  to  render  the  siege  operations 
perfectly  futile  even  at  the  small  distance  of  from  400  to  600  yards. 
To  add  to  this  great  source  of  vexation  the  magazines  of  Elvas  were 
drained  to  support  the  Portuguese  brigades,  for  the  government 
either  could  not  or  would  not  send  forward  provisions ;  and  by  the 
10th  of  June,  there  was  not  a  supply  for  the  garrison  calculated  to 
last  more  than  a  fortnight.  This  destitution  of  the  very  sinews  of 
war  would  have  furnished  a  sufficient  reason  for  raising  the  siege  of 
Badajoz  ;  but  a  new  cause  of  disquiet  now  arose.  By  an  intercepted 
despatch,  it  was  ascertained  that  Marshals  Soult  and  Marmont  were 
collecting  their  forces  in  Estremadura  for  a  movement  in  a  southerly 
direction.  An  altered  position  therefore  became  necessary ;  and  the 
British  army  retired  from  Badajoz.  Lord  Wellington,  in  reporting 
that  he  had  raised  the  siege,  made  honourable  mention  of  the  principal 
officers  who  had  assisted  him  in  the  execution  of  his  plans.  Major- 
Generals  Picton,  Houstone,  and  Hamilton ;  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Fletcher,  of  the  engineers ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Framlingham,  and 
Major  Dickson,  of  the  artillery,  were  particularly  noticed.  Of 
Dickson  (afterwards  Sir  Alexander)  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
forces  spoke  in  the  highest  terms.  His  activity,  zeal,  and  intelli- 
gence, had  conferred  great  advantage  in  the  different  operations 
against  Badajoz. 


120  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1811 

The  ensuing  three  months,  namely,  from  the  middle  of  June  to  the 
middle  of  September,  passed  away  -without  the  occurrence  of  any 
remarkable  events.  The  next  great  object  contemplated  by  Lord 
Wellington  was  the  siege  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  ;  and  to  this  end  rein- 
forcements, recruiting,  the  drilling  the  Allies,  and  the  accumulation 
of  stores  of  the  ordinary  appliances  of  war,  were  indispensable.  While 
the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  governments  continued  their  usual 
practices,  ample  occupation  was  provided  for  the  pen  of  the  British 
general  in  the  remonstrances  and  complaints  which  their  obstinacy 
suggested ;  and  if  the  correspondence  answered  no  other  purpose,  it 
at  least  served  as  a  good  safety-valve  for  the  indignation  of 
Wellington's  honest  heart.  Dumourier,  who  had  distinguished 
himself  in  the  early  campaigns  of  the  French  republic,  was  honoured 
with  the  confidence  and  communications  of  Lord  Wellington,  and  to 
that  good  soldier  the  complaints  of  the  British  general  were  unre- 
servedly expressed.  In  a  letter  dispatched  from  Quinta  de  St.  Joao. 
be  writes — 

"  Quoique  les  allies  soient  chez  eux,  et  que  tout  le  monde  (en 
Portugal  sans  exception  quelconque,  et  presque  sans  exception  en 
Espagne)  soit  ennemi  des  Franqais,  les  allies  ont  rarement  eu  plus 
que  la  moitie  de  la  force  de  I'ennemi,  et  jamais,  meme  a.  present, 
plus  que  les  deux  tiers.  A  ce  desavantage  il  faut  ajouter  que  nous 
sommes  allies  ;  que  nous  n'avons  pas  de  tete,  qu'il  n'y  a  ni  generaux, 
ni  officiers  d'etat  major,  ni  troupes  disciplinees,  et  point  de  cavalerie, 
parmi  les  Espagnols ;  que  ces  deux  gouvernemens  ont  commence  la 
guerre  sans  magasins  ou  ressource  militaire  d'aucune  espece,  et  sans 
argent  ou  ressource  de  finance  ;  et  que  ceux  qui  ont  ete  a  la  tete  des 
affaires  sont  des  individusaussi  faibles  que  les  ressources  a  leur  dis- 
position sont  pauvres ;  et  vous  serez  etonue  que  nous  puissions  con- 
tinuer  la  lutte.  meme  avec  esperance  de  succes  definitif." 

But  a  little  farther  on  after  this  painful  detail  of  disheartening 
obstacles  to  success,  the  unconquerable  spirit  of  the  man  discloses 
itself  The  fine  hopefulness  of  his  nature  revives  as  he  contemplates 
the  "  disgusting  tyranny  "  of  Napoleon,  and  remembers  what  Europe 
owes  to  herself : — 

"II  faut  de  la  patience — de  la  grande  patience ;  mais  j'attends  tout 
du  temps,  que  donncra  I'expericnce,  des  generaux  et  des  armees,  a 
mes  amis  les  Espagnols  :  et  il  n'est  pas  possible  que  I'Europe  puisse 
se  soumettre  bien  plus  long  temps  A  la  tyrannie  degoutanto  dont  elle 
est  opprimee." 

Amongst  the  subjects  connected  with  the  discipline  of  the  army 
which  at  this,  and  indeed  at  too  many  other  times,  engaged  the  serious 


1811.]  DRUNKEN  HABITS  OF  SOLDIERS.  121 

attention  of  Lord  Wellington,  was  the  "  accursed  thirst"  of  the  British 
soldier.  Every  opportunity  was  taken  by  the  men  of  procuring  wine 
and  spirits.  They  often  robbed  the  peasantry  and  innkeepers  ;  and 
knowing  that  considerable  quantities  were  concealed  in  convents, 
cottages,  and  even  in  caves,  they  would  wander  far  from  cantonments 
and  run  the  risk  of  being  taken  prisoners  in  their  avid  search  for  the 
coveted  beverages.  Repeated  orders  failed  to  check  the  marauding 
spirit,  and  punishment  was  at  length  resorted  to.' 

•  It  requires  a  very  Argus  to  prevent  English  soldiers  from  being  incapacitated  from  their  duty 
by  intemperance,  which  is  the  very  bane  of  the  British  service.  It  will  scarcely  be  believed  that, 
80  systematic  and  deliberate  were  the  men  in  procuring  spirits  or  wine  during  the  Peninsular  war, 
that  a  soldier  kept  an  itinerary  of  the  different  shops  where  these  were  sold,  between  Lisbon  and 
the  army,  for  the  benefit  of  one  of  his  comrades  who  was  to  come  after  him.  This  curious  docu- 
ment came  by  some  accident  into  the  hands  of  the  military  authorities  at  Lisbon,  and  was 
considered  so  unique,  as  to  be  forwarded  for  Lord  Wellington's  inspection.  Its  details  were 
similar  to  those  of  our  road-books. 

"Two  leagues  from  Lisbon,  on  R.  at  the  Casa  de  Pasto    .  good  vino. 

Half  a  league  beyond,  on  the  L strong  akedent  (aqua  ardiente.) 

At  Rio  Mayor,  at  the  end  of  the  town,  on  the  L.  a  small 

house. right  strong  vino. 

At  Lerida,  a  shop  going  up  to  the  Bishop's  palace,  on 

the  R. good  akedent 

Two  leagues  beyond  Pombal,  on  L horrid  rot-gut  stuff 

Half-a-league  further,  white  house  (without  a  bush)      .  right  good  stuff. 

On  entering  Coimbra  [which,  by-the-by,  our  soldiers 

pronounced  Quimborough],  on  the  R.      .       .       .  good  cheap  vino." 

And  this  precious  morceau,  so  justly  to  be  denominated  a  toper-graphical  account  of  the  route, 
was  thus  continued  to  head-quarters. 


122 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1811. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Position  at  Guinaldo— Affair  of  El  Bodon— Siege  of  Ciudad  Rodr^go— Surprise  of  the  French  at 
Arroyo  del  Molinos— Character  of  Sir  R.  Hill— Advice  to  Lord  W.  Bentinck— Winter  C!09- 
tumes— Defence  of  Tarifa. 


■^/ip^ssr^i  >^ 


OULT  and  Marmont  after  pouring 
supplies  into  Badajoz,  and  adding 
men  and  materiel  to  prepare  it 
for  future  attacks,  separated,  the 
Duke  of  Dalmatia  falling  back 
upon  Seville,  and  the  Duke  of 
Ragusa  taking  a  northerly  course. 
Lord  Wellington  now  deemed 
it  advisable  to  take  up  a  new 
position.  Getting  rid  of  the 
Spanish  general,  Blake,  whom  he 
advised  to  proceed  to  the  south 
and  endeavour  to  obtain  possession  of  Seville  (for  his  presence 
was  only  u  clog  and  an  embarrassment  to  the  British  general) 
he  changed  his  head  quarters  to  Fuente  Guinaldo,  a  height  which 
commanded  an  extensive  view  of  the  country  in  front,  across  which 
it  might  be  expected  the  French  would  come.  Leaving  General 
Hill  on  the  Alemtejo  to  observe  General  Girard,  Lord  Wellington 
occupied  the  line  of  the  river  Coa  with  the  allied  troops,  because  it 
enabled  him  at  any  time  to  blockade  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  on  the  possession 
of  which  fortress  his  expectations  now  rested.  To  attack  Ciudad 
Rodrigo  at  that  moment  would  have  been  madness.  Things  had  gone 
wrong  in  the  eastern  part  of  Spain,  where  Marshal  Suchet  had 
successfully  attacked  and  captured  Tarragona.  And  they  had  not 
prospered  in  the  south,  for  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia  was  too  much  for 
Blake,  who  was  driven  to  Cadiz  ;  while  in  the  north.  Count  Dorsenno 


1811.]  CIUDAD   RODRIGO  BLOCKADED.  123 

had  operated  so  successfully  against  the  Spanish  forces,  that  Abadea 
who  commanded  them,  had  been  obliged  to  fly  to  the  passes  of  Villa 
Franca.  Lord  Wellington,  therefore,  held  to  the  Fabian  policy  of 
delay,  strictly  blockading  the  fortress  he  could  not  take. 

Meanwhile,  the  French  generals  continued  to  receive  strong  rein- 
forcements, and  before  Wellington  had  been  a  month  at  Guinaldo 
not  fewer  than  50,000  fresh  troops  had  assembled  in  Spain.  Of  this 
number,  8,000  were  cavalry,  an  important  arm  of  the  French  service 
in  which  they  were  always  strong,  and  the  British  porportionately 
weak.  These  were  considerable  odds  against  Lord  Wellington,  but 
his  position  was  so  good  that  the  French  were  placed  on  the  horns 
of  a  dilemma  ;  their  power  was  for  the  moment  neutralised.  '■  If," 
said  his  lordship,  writing  to  Lord  Liverpool,  "  we  cannot  maintain 
this  blockade  [of  Ciudad  Rodrigo],  the  enemy  must  bring  50,000 
men  to  oblige  us  to  raise  it,  and  they  can  undertake  nothing  else  this 
year,  for  they  must  still  continue  to  watch  this  place,  and  we  shall  so 
far  save  the  cause.  In  the  mean  time  if  they  offer  me  a  favorable 
opportunity  of  bringing  any  of  them  to  action  I  shall  do  it." 

The  tenure  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  was  of  vital  consequence  to  the 
French  cause.  The  provisions  of  the  garrison  were  rapidly  wasting ; 
Burrender  was  inevitable  if  supplies  were  not  immediately  thrown  in. 
A  desperate  effort  to  effect  this  object  was  accordingly  resolved  upon, 
through  the  junction  of  the  forces  of  Marmont,  Souham,  and  Dorsenne, 
and  in  furtherance  of  the  object  large  convoys  were  collected  at  Pla- 
centia  and  Salamanca. 

To  convey  a  clear  idea  of  the  operations  which  followed,  we  must  go 
more  into  detail  than  usual. 

About  fifty  miles  to  the  north  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  is  the  river 
Douro.  flowing  east  and  west,  that  is  to  say,  across  the  country. 
From  the  south  bank  of  this  river  issues  the  river  Agueda,  which 
runs  southerly  towards  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  About  twenty  miles  from 
its  mouth  in  the  Douro,  *he  main  stream  of  the  Agueda  divides  itself 
into  two  branches,  an  easterly  one  towards  Portugal,  and  a  westerly 
one  in  Spain.  The  eastern  branch  is  the  river  Azava ;  the  westerly 
branch  is  the  continuation  of  the  Agueda.  The  plain,  therefore,  in 
which  Ciudad  Rodrigo  is  situated,  is  intersected  by  these  two  rivers. 
The  Agueda  runs  down  to  the  town,  which  is  situated  upon  it,  and 
the  Azava  flows  parallel  to  it,  and  about  eight  miles  distant,  on  the 
Portuguese  frontier.  Lord  Wellington  took  up  his  position  in  part 
between  these  two  rivers,  and  partly  on  a  ridge  of  hills  on  the 
Portuguese  side  of  the  Azava,  and  about  seven  miles  from  Ciudad 
Rodrigo,  so   as  to  have  the  latter  river  in  his  front;   and   in   this 


124  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

position  he  awaited  the  attack  of  the  enemy.  On  the  24th  of 
September  they  encamped  for  the  evening  on  the  heights  above 
Ciudad  Rodrigo.  On  the  25th  the  enemy  moved  forwards.  General 
Montbrun,  at  the  head  of  fourteen  squadrons,  amongst  which  were 
the  Lanciers  de  Berg,  moved  briskly  to  the  Azava,  and  having  passed 
that  river,  began  the  battle,  by  attacking  our  army  posted  on  the 
ridge.  General  Montbrun's  division  of  cavalry  consisted  of  two 
parts ;  the  one  under  himself,  and  the  other  under  General  Wattier. 
General  Wattier  took  the  charge  of  the  attack  of  the  ridge,  whilst 
Montbrun,  going  off  to  the  left,  took  the  road  to  Fuente  Guinaldo^ 
where  was  the  English  right.  It  was  seen,  at  the  same  time,  that 
the  greatest  part  of  the  enemy's  infantry  were  taking  the  same 
direction.  Lord  Wellington,  therefore,  having  thus  discovered  the 
object  of  their  principal  attack,  immediately  hastened  reinforcements 
to  his  divisions  in  that  quarter,  and  himself  rode  from  one  position  to 
the  other,  to  encourage  them  to  do  their  duty,  to  receive  the  enemy 
in  squares,  and  to  fall  back  when  necessary  without  disorder.  In  the 
mean  time  General  Wattier  had  commenced  the  feint  attack  on  the 
English  left.  Immediately,  however,  upon  his  crossing  the  Azava, 
he  was  charged  by  two  squadrons  of  the  16th  and  14th  Light 
Dragoons,  and,  for  the  moment,  was  compelled  to  give  way.  General 
Wattier  now  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  men,  and  rallied  them 
with  much  spirit.  They  made  a  second  charge  upon  the  English 
cavalry,  but,  as  they  were  advancing,  were  unexpectedly  saluted  by  a 
brisk  discharge  of  musketry  from  a  wood  on  their  left  flank.  Thip 
well-timed  fire  was  from  the  61st  regiment,  which,  with  the  most 
laudable  promptitude,  had  been  secretly  sent,  and  posted  there, 
during  the  first  attack.  The  effect  was  to  the  full  what  had  been 
anticipated.  The  impetuosity  of  the  enemy's  charge,  and  the  con- 
nection of  their  ranks,  were  broken ;  and  Major-Gcneral  Anson 
falling  upon  them  at  the  same  time,  converted  their  confusion  into 
a  rout.  They  hastily  recrossed  the  Azava,  a^jd  were  pursued  for  some 
distance  by  the  English.  Whilst  this  was  going  on,  upon  the  English 
left,  Montbrun,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  French  cavalry,  and  with 
the  French  infantry  following  up  immediately  behind  him,  advanced  to 
attack  the  extreme  part  of  the  English  right.  The  position  of  this 
right  was  on  a  ridge  of  heights,  in  front  of  Fuente  Guinaldo,  and 
crossing  the  road  to  that  town.  As  Lord  Wellington  could  not 
foresee  the  point  of  their  attack,  before  they  put  themselves  in 
march,  this  was  the  weakest  part  of  the  English  line.  The  object  of 
Montbrun  was  to  force  the  line,  and  thus,  by  turning  it,  and 
getting  into  its  rear,  to  shut  in  the  English  position  between  himself 


1811.]  Ajfi'Arn,  K.H!  Jiii  uoucra,  125 

and  the  Azava.  Montbrun  succeeded  so  far  as  to  reach  the  positioi: 
before  the  reinforcements  sent  up  by  Lord  Wellington.  The  small 
body  of  English  troops,  however,  sustained  the  onset  with  most 
distinguished  bravery.  One  regiment  of  French  Dragoons  succeeded 
in  taking  two  pieces  of  cannon,  which  had  been  posted  on  a  rising 
ground,  on  the  right  of  the  English  ;  but  they  were  charged  by  the  second 
battalion  of  the  5th  Regiment,  under  the  command  of  Major  Ridge 
and  the  guns  were  immediately  retaken.  The  77th  Regiment,  and  three 
squadrons  of  Major-General  Alton's  brigade,  also  distinguished 
themselves  eminently.  The  enemy  attacked  the  position  in  three 
columns;  the  5th  Regiment,  as  observed,  repulsed  their  left 
column  ;  the  77th  their  centre  column,  and  the  three  squadrons  of 
Major-General  Alten  their  right  column.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
great  body  of  the  enemy's  infantry  came  up,  and  Lord  Wellington, 
seeing  their  superiority,  and  that  the  continuance  of  the  contest  in 
that  quarter  would  lead  to  a  general  action,  ordered  their  retreat  on 
Fuente  Guinaldo.  This  was  accordingly  done  in  the  best  possible 
order.  The  troops  were  formed  into  several  squares,  and  marched 
in  this  shape.  The  French  cavalry  in  vain  rushed  upon  them.  The 
squares  halted,  and  repelled  them  with  the  most  distinguished 
steadiness.  One  of  the  squares  in  particular,  composed  of  the  5th 
and  77th  Regiments,  was  charged  on  three  sides  at  once  ;  it  halted 
on  the  instant,  and  assuming  a  determined  attitude,  received  the 
enemy  with  the  most  heroic  firmness.  Not  a  man  moved  from  the 
ranks,  except  when  his  corpse  filled  up  the  space  previously  occupied 
by  his  living  body.  Effecting  their  retreat,  the  whole  of  the  English 
line  entered  its  temporary  entrenchments  at  Fuente  Guinaldo  in  the 
course  of  the  same  evening,  and  of  the  following  morning.  The 
French  followed  this  movement  so  far  as  to  present  themselves  in 
front  of  Fuente  Guinaldo  on  the  morning  of  the  24th ;  Lord 
Wellington  declined  a  battle  ;  for  the  several  reasons  already  men- 
tioned, shortly  withdrew  again  behind  the  Agueda  ;  and,  a  few  days 
afterwards,  both  Marmont  and  Lord  Wellington  resumed  not  only 
their  former  positions,  but  almost  their  former  relations  and  views. 
Marmont  posted  himself  at  Placentia,  and  Lord  Wellington  took  up 
the  same  line  around  Ciudad  Rodrigo  as  before. 

It  was  generally  the  practice  of  Lord  Wellington,  after  an  engage- 
ment, to  publish  a  general  order,  announcing,  in  the  briefest  terms, 
his  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  the  troops,  and  his  admiration  of 
the  manner  in  which  they  did  "  their  duty."  The  details  of  the 
affairs  he  reserved  for  his  despatches.  The  army  sometimes  complained 
of  the  exceeding  brevity  of  his  encomiums,  and  attributed  to  a  coldness 


126  LIFE   bV  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

and  indifference  what  was  simply  the  result  of  an  anxiety  not  to 
diminish  the  value  of  praise  by  too  much  prodigality  of  expression 
on  ordinary  occasions.  In  reference  to  the  operation  above  detailed, 
Lord  Wellington  departed  from  his  ordinary  conciseness,  and  pub- 
lished the  following  gratifying  order. 

"RicHoso,  Sind  Oct.,  1811. 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  is  desirous  of  drawing  the  attention 
of  the  army  to  the  conduct  of  the  2nd  Battalion,  5th  and  77th 
Regiments,  and  the  21st  Portuguese  regiment,  and  Major  Arents- 
childt's  Portuguese  artillery,  under  the  command  of  the  Hon.  Major 
General  Colville,  and  of  the  II th  Light  Dragoons,  and  1st  Hussars, 
under  Major-General  V.  Alton,  in  the  affair  with  the  enemy  on  the 
16th  ult.  These  troops  were  attacked  by  between  thirty  and 
forty  sr^uadrons  of  cavalry,  with  six  pieces  of  cannon,  supported 
by  a  division  consisting  of  fourteen  battalions  of  infantry  with 
cannon. 

"  The  Portuguese  artillerymen  were  cut  down  at  their  guns  before 
they  quitted  them,  but  the  2nd  Battalion,  5th  Regiment,  attacked 
the  cavalry  which  had  taken  the  guns,  and  retook  them.  At  the 
same  time  the  77th  Regiment  were  attacked  in  front  by  another  body 
of  cavalry,  upon  which  body  they  advanced,  and  repulsed  them. 

"  While  these  actions  were  performed,  Major-General  V.  Alton's 
brigade,  of  which  there  were  only  three  squadrons  on  the  ground, 
were  engaged  on  the  left,  with  numbers  infinitely  superior  to  them- 
selves. These  squadrons  charged  repeatedly,  supporting  each  other, 
and  took  about  twenty  prisoners  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  immense 
superiority  of  the  enemy,  the  post  would  have  been  maintained,  if 
the  Commander  of  the  Forces  had  not  ordered  the  troops  to  withdraw 
from  it,  seeing  that  the  action  would  become  still  more  unequal,  as 
the  enemy's  infantry  were  likely  to  be  engaged  in  it,  before  the  rein- 
forcement ordered  to  the  support  of  the  post  could  arrive. 

"  The  troops  then  retired  with  the  same  determined  spirit,  and  in 
the  same  good  order,  with  which  they  had  maintained  their  posts, 
the  2nd  battalion,  5th  Regiment,  and  77th  in  one  square,  and  the 
21st  Portuguese  regiment  in  another,  supported  by  Major-General 
V.  Alton's  cavalry,  and  the  Portuguese  artillery.  The  enemy's 
cavalry  charged  three  faces  of  the  square  of  the  British  infantry,  but 
were  beaten  off ;  and  finding  from  their  repeated  fruitless  efforts, 
that  these  brave  troops  were  not  to  be  broken,  they  were  con- 
tented with  following  them  at  a  distance,  and  with  firing  upon  them 
with  their  artillery,  till  the  troops  joined  the  remainder  of  the  3rd 


1811.]  ORDER  ON  EL  BODON.  127 

division,  and  were  afterwards  supported  by  a  brigade  of  the  4tb 
division.  Although  the  21st  Portuguese  regiment  were  not  actually 
charged  by  the  cavalry,  their  steadiness  and  determination  were  con- 
spicuous ;  and  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  observed  with  pleasure 
the  order  and  regularity  with  which  they  made  all  their  movements, 
and  the  confidence  they  showed  in  their  officers, 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  has  been  particular  in  stating  the 
details  of  this  action,  in  the  general  orders,  as  in  his  opinion  it 
affords  a  memorable  example  of  what  can  be  effected  by  steadiness, 
discipline,  and  confidence.  It  is  impossible  that  any  troops  can,  at 
any  time,  be  exposed  to  the  attack  of  numbers  relatively  greater  than 
those  which  attacked  the  troops  under  Major-General  Colville,  and 
Major-General  V.  Alten,  on  the  25th  of  Sept.  ;  and  the  Commander 
of  the  Forces  recommends  the  conduct  of  those  troops  to  the  par- 
ticular attention  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army,  as  an  exam- 
ple to  be  followed  in  all  such  circumstances. 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  considers  Major-General  V.  Alten, 
and  Major-General  Colville,  and  the  commanding  officers  of  the 
regiments  under  their  command  respectively,  viz.,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Cummings,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Arentschildt,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Broomhead,  Major  Ridge,  and  Colonel  Bacellar  of  the  21st  Portu- 
guese regiment,  and  the  officers  and  soldiers  under  their  command, 
to  be  entitled  to  his  particular  thanks ;  and  he  assures  them  that  he 
has  not  failed  to  report  his  sense  of  their  conduct,  in  the  action  of 
the  25th  of  Sept.,  to  those  by  whom  he  trusts  that  it  will  be  duly 
appreciated  and  recollected." 

Following  the  incidents  of  Lord  Wellington's  career  in  their 
chronological  order,  we  may  here  mention  that  on  the  26th  of  October, 
1811,  one  month  following  the  events  at  El  Bodon,  and  Aldea  de 
Ponte,  he  received  a  license,  in  the  name  of  King  George  III.,  from 
the  Prince  Regent,  to  accept  the  title  of  Conde  de  Vimiero,  and  the 
insignia  of  Knight  Grand  Cross  of  the  Tower  and  Sword  from  the 
Prince  Regent  of  Portugal. 

We  must  now  advert  to  the  proceedings  of  Lieutenant-General 
Rowland  Hill,  who  was  commanding  a  corps  of  observation  at  Porta- 
legre,  watching  the  movements  of  General  Gerard. 

Gerard  had  crossed  the  Guadiana,  pressing  upon  the  Spanish 
General  Morillo,  who  had  advanced  towards  Caceres,  in  Spanish 
Estremadura,  for  the  double  purpose  of  procuring  supplies  and 
recruits.  Hill  was  now  instructed  by  Lord  Wellington  to  move 
against  Gerard  and  drive  him  behind  the  Guadiana. 

Quitting  his  cantonments  at  Portalegre  on  the  22nd  of  October, 


128  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1811 

Hill  accordingly  advanced  towards  the  frontier.  For  five  days  hia 
march  lay  through  a  difficult  country,  rendered  more  impracticable 
by  continued  heavy  falls  of  rain.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  the 
troops  reached  Alcuesca,  three  miles  from  Arroyo  del  Molinos,  where 
the  French  were  posted. 

Arroyo  del  Molinos  is  a  little  town  situated  at  the  foot  of  ono 
extremity  of  the  Sierra  de  Montanches ;  this  mountain,  which  is 
everywhere  steep,  and  appears  almost  inaccessible,  forms  a  cone  or 
crescent  behind  it,  the  two  points  of  which  are  about  two  miles 
asunder.  The  Truxillo  road  winds  under  the  eastern  point.  The 
road  to  Merida  runs  at  right  angles  with  that  to  Alcuesca,  and  that 
to  Medellin  between  the  Truxillo  and  Merida  roads.  The  ground 
between  Alcuesca  and  Arroyo  del  Molinos  is  a  plain,  thinly  scattered 
with  cork  trees  and  evergreen  oaks. 

Fully  resolved  to  attack  the  enemy  on  the  following  morning,  all 
the  troops,  save  the  71st,  were  placed  in  bivouac  in  rear  of  the 
village,  and  completely  out  of  the  enemy's  view.  No  fires  were  per- 
mitted, and  the  71st  Hegiment,  which  occupied  the  town  of  Alcuesca, 
placed  piquets  all  around  the  village,  to  intercept  any  spy  or  dis- 
afiectcd  person  that  might  attempt  to  carry  to  Gerard  any  intelli- 
gence of  Hill's  movements.  About  six  in  the  evening  the  rain 
again  descended  in  perfect  torrents,  and  continued  with  unabated 
violence  throughout  the  whole  of  the  ensuing  night.  On  being 
desired  to  make  themselves  as  comfortable  as  they  could,  without 
tne  aid  of  fires,  the  troops  without  a  murmur  consigned  themselves  to 
rest,  and  bore  their  allotted  portion  of  misery  like  men  and  soldiers. 
At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  28th,  the  sergeants  went  round 
their  respective  companies  and  in  a  whisper  bade  their  men  prepare 
for  action  ;  the  utmost  silence  being  absolutely  necessary  to  ensure 
the  success  which  the  general  anticipated.  A  few  minutes  were 
sufficient  to  put  the  column  in  motion,  and  a  few  more  to  show  it  the 
enemy's  fires,  at  the  appearance  of  which  our  poor  fellows  were  quite 
overjoyed,  being  to  them  a  sure  indication  that  the  birds  had  not 
flown.  Although  the  distance  between  the  belligerents  was  little  more 
than  three  miles,  yet  from  the  broken  state  of  the  road,  the  darkness 
of  the  morning,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  the  British  were 
fully  four  hours  in  traversing  that  space.  The  whole  moved  in  one 
column,  right  in  front,  until  they  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of  Arroyc 
del  Molinos,  when  the  various  battalions  closed  up,  and  under  cover 
of  a  little  eminence,  were  formed  into  three  columns  of  attack ;  the 
left  consisting  of  three  infantry  regiments,  and  three  field-pieces,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart;  the  right  of  three  English 


1811.]  SURPRISE  AT  ARROYO  DEL  MOLINOS.  129 

and  two  Portuguese  regiments,  two  field-pieces,  and  a  howitzer,  led  by 
Major-General  Howard ;  and  the  centre  of  two  regiments  of  English 
dragoons,  one  of  German  hussars,  and  another  of  Spanish  cavalry,  all 
commanded  by  Sir  William  Erskine.  The  left  column  moved  upon 
the  village,  the  right  column  crossed  the  plains  to  the  right  of  the 
town  in  order  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat  by  any  of  the  roads  lead- 
ing from  Arroyo  del  Molinos  to  Truxillo,  Medellin,  or  Merida ;  the 
centre  moved  between  the  other  two,  and  was  kept  in  readiness  to  act 
wherever  its  services  might  be  required. 

The  71st  and  92nd  Regiments,  belonging  to  the  left  column, 
entered  the  village  at  a  quick  pace,  and,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
soon  cleared  it  of  the  enemy,  who  were  quite  unprepared  for  such  an 
unceremonious  visit.  One  brigade  of  the  French  infantry  had 
moved  from  Arroyos  to  Medellin  before  the  arrival  of  General  Hill's 
force,  and  the  others  were  filing  out  of  the  village  for  a  similar 
purpose,  when  the  British  huzza  fell  on  their  ears,  and  arrested  their 
progress.  Finding  it  totally  impossible  to  escape  without  giving 
battle,  Gerard  faced  to  the  right-about,  and  made  the  best  disposition 
in  his  power  for  a  determined  resistance.  The  infantry  he  formed 
into  two  squares  on  the  roads  leading  to  Merida  and  Medellin.  The 
71st,  immediately  on  reaching  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  principal 
street,  moved  to  their  left,  lined  some  of  the  village  garden  walls,  and 
saluted  them  with  volleys  of  musketry.  The  92nd  Highlanders, 
following  closely  upon  the  heels  of  their  companions,  filed  to  the 
right,  formed  line,  and  prepared  to  charge,  but  were  not  permitted  to 
fire  a  single  shot,  although  the  enemy  vigorously  assailed  them.  This 
was  extremely  galling  to  the  soldiers,  who  saw  their  officers  and 
comrades  falling  wounded  around  them;  but,  knowing  that  the 
success  of  an  enterprise  frequently  depends  on  the  manner  in  which 
orders  of  this  description  are  attended  to,  the  Highlanders,  with 
praiseworthy  forbearance,  resisted  every  temptation  to  commit  a 
breach  of  their  orders,  and,  with  a  patience  not  very  peculiar  to  their 
countrymen,  waited  the  arrival  of  the  decisive  moment.  The  three 
field-pieces  attached  to  the  left  column  were  now  brought  forward, 
and  fired  with  terrible  effect  on  the  enemy's  masses,  carrying  death 
into  their  thickest  ranks.  At  this  moment  the  92nd  were  ordered  to 
charge.  The  bayonets  were  levelled — the  rush  had  received  its 
momentum,  when  the  French  suddenly  wheeled  to  the  right  about, 
and  retreated  to  a  steep  hill  in  their  rear.  Pending  these  operations 
against  the  enemy's  right,  General  Howard  manoeuvred  round  their 
left,  and  after  cutting  off  their  retreat  upon  Merida  and  Medellin, 
endeavoured  to  interpose  his  whole  force  between  the  enemy  and  the 

VOL.  I.  9 


130  LITE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [ISll. 

mountains  in  their  rear.  Nor  were  the  cavalry  idle.  On  perceiving 
it  to  be  General  Gerard's  intention  to  gain  the  rock  with  his  mixed 
force,  Sir  "W.  Erskine  advanced,  cut  oflF  the  French  cavalry  from  their 
infantry,  charged  them  repeatedly,  routed  them,  and  captured  all 
their  artillery.  These  movements  drove  Gerard  to  the  alternative  of 
unconditional  surrender,  or  a  hazardous  flight  across  the  mountains. 
He  adopted  the  latter ;  retiring  upon  the  most  inaccessible  point  of 
the  hill,  and  then  facing  about  to  fire  upon  the  British  columns  from 
behind  the  rocks  with  which  it  was  covered.  Howard  ascended  the 
hill  with  the  28th  and  34th,  sending  the  39th  and  Colonel  Ashworth's 
Portuguese  round  the  eastern  corner,  to  charge  the  fugitives  in  flank. 
These  movements  satisfied  Gerard  of  the  impossibility  of  continuing 
the  conflict  except  at  an  awful  sacrifice  of  human  life.  A  rapid  re- 
treat was  attempted — arms  and  ammunition  were  cast  away — and  fol- 
lowed by  the  left  column,  under  Stewart,  the  French,  disordered,  pre- 
cipitately fled.  But  the  greater  number,  seeing  that  escape  was 
impossible,  halted,  and  hoisted  a  white  flag  on  the  point  of  a  sword,  in 
token  of  submission.  The  remainder  continued  their  retrograde 
movement  across  the  mountains ;  and  the  British  troops  being  much 
in  want  of  repose.  General  Hill  gave  over  the  pursuit  of  the  fugitives 
to  General  Morillo,  who  followed  them  twenty  miles,  killing  many, 
and  making  a  number  of  prisoners. 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  this  well-conducted  afi"air  was  trifling, 
compared  with  that  of  the  enemy.  The  latter  lost  several  ofi&cers  of 
high  rank,  and  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  hundred  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates. 

Lord  Wellington  was  particularly  well  pleased  with  the  conduct 
of  General  Hill,  in  carrying  into  execution  the  operations  entrusted 
to  his  charge, — so  much  so,  indeed,  that  he  stated  to  Lord  Liverpool 
that  it  would  be  "  particularly  agreeable  "  to  him  if  some  mark  of  the 
favour  of  H.  R.  H.  the  Prince  Regent  were  conferred  upon  him. 
His  services  had  always  been  meritorious  and  very  distinguished,  and, 
added  Lord  Wellington  emphatically,  he  "  is  beloved  by  the  whole 
army." 

And  so  he  was.  And  the  foundation  of  the  aff"ection  borne  him 
was  his  great  personal  worth  and  his  heroic  spirit.  His  popularity 
increased  and  strengthened  the  moment  he  was  beheld.  It  is  written 
of  Hill  that  he  was  the  "  very  picture  of  a  country  gentlemen  "  (the 
portraits  extant  prove  this).  •'  To  those  soldiers  who  came  from  the 
rural  districts  of  Old  England  he  represented  home ;  his  fresh  com- 
plexion, placid  face,  kind  eyes,  kind  voice,  the  total  absence  of  all 
parade  or  noise  in  his  habits,  delighted  them.     The  displeasure  of 


1811.] 


SIR  ROWLAND  HILL. 


131 


General  Hill  was  worse  to  them  than  the  loudest  anger  of  other 
generals ;  and  when  they  saw  anxiety  in  his  face  that  all  should  be 
right,  they  doubly  wished  it  themselves  ;  and  when  they  saw  his 
countenance  bright,  with  the  expression  that  all  was  right,  why,  they 
were  glad  for  him  as  well  as  for  themselves." 


GENERAL    HILL. 


Hill  had  sought  no  royal  road  to  preferment.  He  had  gone 
through  all  the  regimental  grades  in  the  field.  He  distinguished  him- 
self when  a  captain  at  the  siege  of  Toulon,  and  nearly  lost  his  life. 
In  Egypt,  with  Abercrombie,  he  was  wounded.  He  exerted  himself 
greatly  with  Moore  on  the  retreat  to  Coruna,  and  went  to  the 
Peninsula  with  Wellington  in  1809.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add, 
that  the  recommendations  that  Hill  should  receive  some  mark  of 
royal  favour  received  all  proper  attention. 

In  winter  quarters  at  Freneda,  Lord  Wellington  continued  to  advise 


132  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOK  [1811, 

all  the  authorities  in  different  parts  of  Spain,  Portugal,  and  elsewhere, 
upon  the  subject  of  the  establishment  of  a  strong  government,  and 
the  creation  of  an  efficient  army.  He  was  strongly  impressed  with  a 
horror  of  Bonaparte's  tyranny,  which  he  never  hesitated  to  denounce 
as  fraudulent  and  disgusting.  To  Lord  William  Bentinck,  who  had 
been  entrusted  with  the  command  of  an  army  in  Sicily,  where  he  also 
held  the  post  of  British  Minister,  he  addressed  himself  energetically. 
A  number  of  passages  occur  in  his  communications,  illustrative  of  the 
deep  interest  he  took  in  the  questions  which  then  agitated  ten  million 
hearts,  and  of  the  rare  wisdom  with  which  he  was  endowed.  He  laid  it 
down  as  an  axiom  that  those  who  had  drawn  the  sword  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  Napoleon's  projects,  ought  not  to  return  it  to  the  scab- 
bard until  they  had  completely  accomplished  their  object.  "  They  must 
be  prepared  and  must  be  forced  to  make  all  sacrifices  to  the  cause. 
Submission  to  military  discipline  and  order  is  a  matter  of  course ;  but 
when  a  nation  determines  to  resist  the  authority,  and  to  shake  off  the 
government  of  Bonaparte,  they  must  be  prepared  and  forced  to  sacri- 
fice the  luxuries  and  comforts  of  life,  and  to  risk  all  in  a  contest  which, 
it  should  be  clearly  understood  before  it  is  undertaken,  has  for  its 
object,  to  save  all  or  nothing."  The  words  of  wisdom  which  follow 
should  be  engraven  on  the  minds  of  all  rulers  : — 

'•  The  first  measure  of  a  country  to  adopt,  is  to  form  an  army,  and 
to  raise  a  revenue  from  the  people  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  army. 
Above  all,  to  form  a  government  of  such  strength,  as  that  army  and 
people  can  be  forced  by  it  to  perform  their  duty.  This  is  the  rock 
upon  which  Spain  has  split ;  and  all  our  measures  in  any  other 
country  which  should  afford  hopes  of  resistance  to  Bonaparte  should 
be  directed  to  avoid  it.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  is  very  fine, 
and  looks  well  in  print ;  but  I  have  never  known  it  produce  any- 
thing but  confusion.  In  France,  what  was  called  enthusiasm  was 
power  and  tyranny  acting  through  the  medium  of  popular  societies, 
which  have  ended  by  overturning  Europe,  and  in  establishing  the 
most  powerful  and  dreadful  tyranny  that  ever  existed.  In  Spain,  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  spent  itself  in  vivas  and  vain  boasting.  The 
notion  of  its  existence  prevented  even  the  attempt  to  discipline  the 
armies ;  and  its  existence  has  been  alleged,  ever  since,  as  the  excuse 
for  the  rank  ignorance  of  the  officers,  and  the  indiscipline  and 
constant  misbehaviour  of  the  troops. 

"  I,  therefore,  earnestly  recommend  you,  wherever  you  go,  to  trust 
nothing  to  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  Give  them  a  strong  and  a 
just,  and,  if  possible,  a  good  government ;  but,  above  all,  a  strong  one, 
which  shall  enforce  upon  them  to  do  their  duty  by  themselves  and 


/811.]  WINTER  QUARTERS   IN   SPAIN.  133 

their  country ;  and  let  measures  of  finance  to  support  an  army  o'o 
hand-in-hand  with  measures  to  raise  it.  I  am  quite  certain  that  the 
finances  of  Great  Britain  are  more  than  a  match  for  Buonaparte,  and 
that  we  shall  have  the  means  of  aiding  any  country  that  may  be  dis- 
posed to  resist  his  tyranny.  But  those  means  are  necessarily  limited 
in  every  country  by  the  difficulty  of  procuring  specie.  This  necessary 
article  can  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quantities  only  by  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  people ;  and  although  Great  Britain  can  and  ought  to  as- 
sist with  money,  as  well  in  other  modes,  every  effort  of  this  descrip- 
tion, the  principal  financial  as  well  as  military  effort,  ought  to  be  by 
the  people  of  the  resisting  country." 

The  winter  of  1811  was  very  severe,  and  professional  inaction 
rendered  it  sometimes  a  difficult  matter  for  the  officers  to  kill  time 
and  to  keep  the  men  out  of  mischief  Neither  books  nor  female 
society  contributed  to  while  away  dull  hours.  This,  however,  only 
served  to  stimulate  all  parties  to  greater  efforts  in  chasing  away 
ennui.  Lord  Wellington  had  a  good  pack  of  hounds,  and  many  a 
morning  was  passed  at  cover  side  and  in  the  chase.  The  men  of  the 
Light  Division  turned  a  barn  into  a  theatre,  while  racing,  shooting, 
fishing,  coursing,  cricket,  smoking,  and  whist  (the  latter,  by-the-by, 
a  favourite  game  at  head-quarters),  aided  in  expelling  dull  care. 
Some  time  was  also  profitably  taken  up  in  rendering  quarters 
habitable.  The  greater  part  of  the  troops  were  located  in  and  about 
miserable  villages,  consisting  of  small  houses  of  the  most  wretched 
quality.  A  journal  kept  by  an  officer  of  the  Fourth  Division  about 
this  time  conveys  a  very  good  idea  of  the  shifts  to  which  he  and  his 
companions  were  put  to  render  their  domiciles  agreeable.  He  saya, 
speaking  of  the  inhabitants  of  several  places,  "  they  seldom  had 
chimneys  but  in  their  kitchens,  and  our  officers,  with  or  without  their 
leave,  considerably,  at  least  to  their  own  ideas,  improved  them  by  adding 
this  sine  qua  non  to  an  Englishman's  comfort.  The  windows  few  of 
which  had  anything  to  exclude  the  weather  but  shutters,  put  on  quite 
a  new  appearance,  their  closings  being  perforated,  and  the  sashes 
filled  with  oiled  paper  instead  of  glass.  Useful  articles  of  furniture 
were  often  required,  particularly  in  villages  from  whence  the  enemy 
had  expelled  the  population,  and  the  handicraft  men  in  the  regiment 
were  in  requisition.  The  number  of  all  kinds  of  workmen  '  who 
turned  out,'  to  use  a  military  term,  on  these  occasions,  was  truly 
wonderful,  and  not  only  carpenters,  masons,  smiths,  &c.,  but  individ- 
uals of  '  callings'  little  to  be  expected  in  military  life.  When  it 
was  wished  to  make  some  portable  telegraphs  a  doubt  was  expressed 
if  men  could  be  found  to  arrange  the  pulleys  and  cords.     However, 


134  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811 

the  attempt  was  made  by  '  calling  these  spirits,'  and  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  all,  they  not  only  came,  but  in  such  numbers  that  one  regi- 
ment, I  think  in  the  Fourth  Division,  produced  fifteen  sail-makers 
and  eighteen  riggers.  The  astonishment  of  the  patro?is,  on  returning 
to  their  houses,  if  we  had  occupied  them  between  the  retreat  of  tho 
enemy  and  their  arrival,  was  considerable ;  they  hardly  knew  their 
improved  tenements  from  these  little  additions  to  the  comforts  of 
their  guest  of  another  climate." 

Before  proceeding  to  notice  the  next  great  operation  conducted  by 
Lord  Wellington  in  person,  we  must  glance  at  the  proceedings  of  the 
armies  in  the  South  and  East  during  the  winter  of  1811.  In  the 
East,  Generals  Blake  and  Maby  moved  out  from  Valencia  on  the 
24th  October,  and  attacked  Suchet,  who  had  invested  Saguntum,  but 
had  hitherto  failed  to  take  the  place  although  several  attempts 
were  made  to  carry  the  breach  by  storm.  Suchet  defeated  Blake  and 
his  colleague  on  the  25th  October,  taking  from  them  many  prisoners 
and  eight  pieces  of  cannon.  The  French  then  summoned  the  garri- 
son of  Saguntum  to  surrender,  which  they  did  upon  capitulation. 
Suchet  subsequently  advanced  upon  Valencia,  receiving  a  good  deal 
of  stout  opposition.  In  the  mean  time  the  Guerillas  were  active  and 
interfering  in  Arragon  and  Navarre.  Mina  defeated  a  detachment  of 
1100  men  sent  against  him,  only  three  of  whom  escaped.  In  con- 
junction with  the  Empecinado  and  Duran  he  took  the  garrison  of 
Daroci,  consisting  of  2400  men. 

General  Ballasteros,  who  commanded  a  large  Spanish  force,  waa, 
in  the  autumn  of  1811,  very  successful  by  his  light  operations  against 
the  rear  of  the  French  army  blockading  Cadiz.  In  order  to  aid 
Ballasteros,  and  to  give  additional  security  to  Tarifa,'  Colonel 
Skerritt,  with  about  1200  men,  including  the  47th  and  87th  Regi- 
ments, was  detached  thither  from  Cadiz  on  the  10th  October.  Not 
many  weeks  afterwards  the  place  was  invested  by  the  French  under 
Victor's  command,  and  a  breach,  25  yards  in  breadth,  was  eflfected 
in  the  walls  of  the  ancient  town.  The  French  commander,  Laval, 
summoned  the  governor  to  surrender ;  but  Coupon  replied  that  he 
would  be  found  upon  the  breach.  On  the  29th  December  the  enemy 
opened  upon  the  town;  and  on  the  31st  the  attack  was  made  by  a 
stream  of  French  Grenadiers,  who,  in  the  assurance  of  victory, 
arrived  without  shouting  within  a  few   yards  of   the  walls.      Here 

1  Founded,  in  all  probability,  by  the  Moorish  General,  EI  Tarik.  It  stands  west  of  Gibraltar, 
on  a  bold  headland.  The  place  was  very  weak,  and  uj)on  the  eastern  side,  where  the  French  at- 
tacked it,  only  two  24-poimder8  and  two  mortars,  with  two  or  tliree  flcld-pieces,  could  be  em- 
ployed in  the  defence. 


1811.]  ATTACK  AT  TARIFA.  135 

they  were  received  with  a  crushing  volley  from  the  British  infantry 
regiments.  The  houses  and  streets  behind  the  breach  had  been 
strongly  fortified  with  palisades,  gabions,  sand-bags — everything,  in 
short,  of  which  an  ingenious  garrison  could  avail  itself  Although 
numbers  fell  at  the  first  volley  of  the  defenders  the  French  penetrated 
the  works  and  spread  themselves  along  the  slopes  of  ground  (for  the 
town  is  built  upon  a  slope  rising  from  the  sea),  under  the  ramparts, 
to  the  right  and  left,  and  opened  a  quick  irregular  fire.  Additional 
attacking  parties  at  the  same  time  issued  from  the  trenches  ;  but  the 
47th  and  87th,  with  the  Spanish  infantry,  kept  up  a  tremendous  fire, 
and  committed  such  terrific  havoc  among  the  assailants  that  not  less 
than  500  bodies  were  strewed  along  the  slopes  and  ramparts.  Never 
was  resistance  more  determined.  Laval,  seeing  the  impossibility  of 
capturing  the  place,  ordered  a  retreat  to  be  sounded,  and  as  the 
remnant  of  the  storming  party  retired  into  a  hollow  near  Tarifa,  a 
shout  of  victory,  mingled  with  the  sound  of  musical  instruments, 
passed  round  the  wall  of  the  town.  Gough,  who  commanded  the 
87th,  was  not,  however,  merely  satisfied  with  resistance.  When  the 
enemy,  scared,  ran  from  the  walls,  he  drew  his  sword,  made  the  band 
strike  up  "  Garry  Owen,"  and  followed  the  fugitives  for  two  or  three 
hundred  yards.' 

The  comment  of  Lord  Wellington  upon  this  gallant  exploit  was 
characteristic.  He  wrote  to  General  Cooke,  who  commanded  at 
Cadiz, — 

"  We  have  a  right  to  expect  that  his  Majesty's  officers  and  troops 
will  perform  their  duty  upon  every  occasion,  but  we  had  no  right  to 
expect  that  comparatively  a  small  number  would  be  able  to  hold  the 
town  of  Tarifa,  commanded  as  it  is  at  short  distances,  enfiladed  on 
every  direction,  unprovided  with  artillery,  and  the  walls  scarcely 
cannon-proof.  The  enemy,  however,  retired  with  disgrace,  infinitely 
to  the  honour  of  the  brave  troops  who  defended  Tarifa." 

It  is  evident  that  Lord  Wellington  considered  so  small  a  body  of 
troops  should  not  have  been  exposed  to  the  risk  attending  the  defence 
of  such  a  place. 

Lord  Wellington  was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  up  a  "  Memorandum 
of  his  Operations"  in  the  shape  of  a  brief  history  at  intervals  of  a 
few  months.     The  conclusion  he  came  to,  and  to  which  any  one  who 

I  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Royal  Irish  Fusileers— the  heroes  of  Barossa— was  so  great,  that  some 
of  the  men  almost  ran  into  the  French  lines.  When  Sir  H.  Gough,  overtaliing  and  bringing  one 
of  them  back,  reproached  him  for  hia  impetuosity,  the  man  answered,  "  Oh,  I  was  only  teaching 
them  what  it  is  to  attack  the  JligUrs !"  The  87th,  after  capturing  the  French  eagle  at  Barossa, 
always  called  themselves  the  Eaglers. 


136 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1811. 


patiently  reads  his  clear  and  comprehensive  summaries,  closing  in 
December,  1811,  must  come,  was  that  if  the  Spaniards  had  behaved 
with  common  prudence,  or  if  their  conduct  had  been  even  tolerably 
good,  the  result  of  Massena's  campaign  in  Portugal  must  have  been 
the  relief  of  the  south  of  the  Peninsula.  Wellington  did  not  think 
his  success  had  been  what  it  might  and  ought  to  have  been,  but  he 
had  the  satisfation  of  feeling  that  he  had  lost  no  ground  and  with 
a  handful  of  British  troops  fit  for  service  had  kept  the  enemy  in 
check  in  all  quarters  for  nine  months,  namely,  from  March  until 
December. 


1S1«.1 


CAPTURE  OF  CIUDAD  RODRIGO. 


137 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Capture  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo — Plunder  and  Conflagration— Death  and  Burial  of  General  Craufurd— 
General  Mackinnon — The  Napiers. 

ARSHAL  MARMONT 

having  moved  towards 
Toledo,  with  the  view, 
as  was  supposed,  of  aid- 
ing Suchet,  it  became 
necessary  to  make  pre- 
parations for  the  siege 
of  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 
There  was  a  double 
motive  for  this  —  the 
capture  of  the  place  would  be  easy,  and  a  capital  base  of  operations 
provided  for  a  spring  campaign — or  Marmont  would  retrace  his 
steps,  and  Valencia  would  be  safe. 

Ciudad  Rodrigo  was  not  a  place  of  very  great  strength  preparatory 
to  its  occupation  by  the  French.  They  had  done  everything  to  ren- 
der it  impregnable,  and  it  now  had  the  advantage  of  formidable  out- 
works. There  was  a  palisaded  redoubt  on  a  hill  (San  Francisco)  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  three  convents  in  the  suburbs  were  also 
fortified  and  connected  with  the  redoubt.  Still,  even  in  its  original 
condition  it  was  capable  of  a  stout  resistance.  In  1809,  Marshal 
Massena  had  spent  twenty-five  days  in  the  summer  tiyne  in  trying  to 
capture  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  though  only  garrisoned  by  a  few  Spaniards. 
It  was  of  course  more  likely  to  offer  a  stout  resistance  now,  when 
the  garrison  was  strong,  and  the  operations  rendered  difiicult  by 
the  season.  Yet  Lord  Wellington  felt  confident  of  success,  and  hia 
anticipations  were  strengthened  by  the  spirit  of  his  troops.  They 
burned  with  impatience  to  wipe  away  the  blot  of  the  former  year  in 
the  unfortunate  siege  of  San  Cristoval  at  Badajoz,  and  had  become 


138  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1819 

SO  impressed  with  notions  of  their  own  invincibility,  that  "  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  persuade  the  men  that  they  could  not  beat  the 
French  under  any  odds." 

As  a  preliminary  to  the  investment  of  the  town,  it  was  essential 
that  the  redoubt  on  the  hill  of  San  Francisco  should  be  captured. 
This  work  was  entrusted  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Colborne  of  the  52ni 
His  force  consisted  of  200  men  of  the  43rd,  52nd,  and  Rifles.  Im 
mediately  after  dark  they  proceeded  to  the  redoubt,  and  carried  it  by 
a  coup  de  main,  making  prisoners  two  captains  and  forty-seven  men, 
capturing  three  pieces  of  cannon,  and  putting  the  rest  of  the  garrison 
to  the  sword.  Our  loss  was  six  men  killed  and  four  officers  and 
fourteen  men  wounded. 

Ground  was  now  broken  within  GOO  yards  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  not- 
withstanding that  the  enemy  still  held  the  fortified  convents.  That 
which  had  been  a  defence  had  now  become  a  means  of  attack.  The 
enemy's  work  on  the  hill  was  turned  into  a  part  of  the  first  parallel ' 
of  the  besiegers. 

Numerically,  the  corps  of  engineers  with  Lord  Wellington's  army 
was  very  inefficient.  To  remedy  this  defect,  a  proportion  of  the  most 
intelligent  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  infantry  had  been  selected 
during  the  autumn  months,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of  Colonel 
Fletcher,  the  chief  engineer.  They  were  soon  taught  how  to  make 
fascines^  and  gabions,'  and  what  was  of  more  consequence,  how  to 
use  them.  They  likewise  learned  the  manner  of  working  by  sap, 
and  by  this  means,  that  branch  of  the  army,  which  was  before  the 
weakest,  had  now  become  very  efficient.  Provided  with  a  pickaxe 
and  shovel,  and  distributed  in  files,  the  men  went  to  work,  "  digging 
with  a  vengeance  into  the  frozen  mould  under  a  continual  fire  from 
the  garrison."  They  toiled  with  alacrity,  but  they  did  not  like  it.  In 
fact,  there  is  no  duty  which  a  British  soldier  performs  before  an 
enemy  that  he  does  with  so  much  reluctance — a  retreat  always  ex- 
cepted— as  working  in  trenches.  Although  essentially  necessary  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  most  gallant  achievement  a  soldier  can 
aspire  to — "  the  storming  the  imminent  deadly  breach  " — it  is  felt  to 
be  an  inglorious  calling,  one  full  of  danger,  attended  with  great  labour 
and  annoyance,  and  for  this  reason,  that  the  soldiers  are  not  only 

1  Parallels,  in  the  attack  of  a  place,  are  wide  trenches  affording  the  besieging  troops  a  free 
covered  communication  between  their  various  batteries  and  approaches.  The  first  parallel  is  th«' 
first  work  of  an  attack  which  is  laid  down.  .Approaches  is  a  general  name  given  to  the  trenches, 
&Ct  fonned  to  cover  the  attack  of  a  fortress. 

s  Fascines.— Bundles  of  twigs,  six  feet  in  length,  tied  together  and  used,  when  intermixed  witll 
earth,  to  construct  artificial  walls,  or  batteries. 

3  Gaiionx.— CylindricAl  baskets,  also  used,  with  earth,  to  construct  batteriea  and  panpeUt 


1812.]  DUTY  IN  THE  TRENCHES.  139 

taken  out  of  their  natural  line  of  action,  but  they  are  partially,  if  not 
entirely,  at  least  practically,  commanded  by  officers  of  engineers, 
whose  habits  are  totally  different  from  those  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed.  No  two  classes  ever  differed  more  completely  in  their 
propensities  than  the  British  engineer  and  the  British  infantry 
soldier.  The  latter  delights  in  an  open  field  and  a  fair  "  stand-up" 
fight.  If  he  falls  there,  he  falls  in  the  opinion  of  his  comrades  with 
credit  to  himself ;  but  a  life  lost  in  the  trenches  is  looked  upon  as 
thrown  away,  and  lost  ingloriously.  The  engineer,  on  the  contrary, 
braves  all  the  dangers  of  a  siege  with  a  cheerful  countenance  :  he 
even  courts  them,*  and  no  mole  ever  took  greater  delight  in  burrow- 
ing through  a  sand  hill,  than  an  engineer  does  in  mining  a  covert  way,* 
or  blowing  up  a  counterscarp.'  Not  so  with  the  infantry  soldier,  who 
is  obliged  to  stand  to  be  shot  at,  with  a  pickaxe  and  shovel  in  his 
hand,  instead  of  his  firelock  and  bayonet. 

The  duty  in  the  trenches  was  carried  on  by  the  1st,  3rd,  4th,  and 
Light  Divisions,  each  taking  its  separate  turn  every  twenty-four 
hours.  They  had  neither  coats  nor  hats  of  any  description,  and  the 
ground  was  covered  with  snow.  Nevertheless,  the  men  used  every 
exertion  to  forward  the  work,  so  fully  were  all  impressed  with  its 
necessity.  The  garrison  made  many  sorties,  each  of  which  was 
gallantly  repulsed  :  in  some  instances  the  men  pursued  the  French  to 


1  At  the  attack  on  San  Cristoval  (Badajoz)  in  the  previous  summer,  a  striking  instance  of 
this  occurred.  Colonel  Fletcher,  the  chief  engineer,  went  into  a  battery,  to  observe  some 
work  that  had  been  thrown  up  by  the  enemy  near  the  foot  of  the  castle,  the  preceding  night. 
The  battery  was  more  than  usually  full  of  workmen,  repairing  the  effects  of  the  morning'* 
fire,  and  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  against  this  part  of  the  works  was  excessively  animated.  A 
number  of  men  had  fallen,  and  were  falling,  but  Colonel  Fletcher,  apparently  disregarding  the 
circumstance,  walked  out  to  the  right  of  the  battery,  and  taking  his  stand  upon  the  level 
ground,  put  his  glass  to  his  eye,  and  commenced  his  observations  with  much  composure. 
Shot  and  shell  flew  thicldy  about  him,  and  one  of  the  former  tore  up  the  ground  by  his  side, 
and  covered  him  with  clay ;  but,  not  in  the  least  regarding  this,  he  remained  steadily  observing 
the  enemy.  Wlien  at  length  he  had  satisfied  himself,  he  quietly  put  up  his  glass,  and  turning  to 
a  man  who  was  sitting  outside  of  an  embrasure,  pegging  iu  a  fascine,  said,  "  My  fine  fellow,  you 
are  too  much  exposed ;  get  inside  the  embrasure,  you  will  do  your  work  nearly  as  well."  "  I'm 
almost  finished,  Colonel,"  replied  the  soldier,  "  and  it  isn't  worth  while  to  move  now ;  those 
fellow's  canH  hit  me,  for  they  have  been  trying  it  these  fifteen  minutes."  It  was  the  last  word 
he  ever  spoke  1  He  had  scarcely  uttered  the  final  syllable,  when  a  round  shot  cut  him  in  two, 
and  knocked  half  of  his  body  across  the  breech  of  a  gun.  The  name  of  this  soldier  waa 
Edmond  Man ;  he  was  an  Englishman,  although  he  belonged  to  the  88th  Regiment.  When  he 
fell,  the  French  cannoniers,  as  was  usual  with  them,  set  up  a  shout,  denoting  how  well  satisfied 
they  were  with  their  practice. 

5  Cuvert  way,  or  Covered  way,  a  protected  communication  all  round  the  works  of  a  fortrees,  or 
the  outer  edge  of  the  ditch. 

3  Counttrseary,  the  outer  twundary  of  the  ditch  of  a  fortress. 


140  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [181i 

the  very  glacis,^  and  many  a  fine  fellow,  carried  away  by  his  enthu- 
siasm, died  at  the  muzzles  of  their  cannon. 

On  the  l4th  of  January,  1812,  Lord  Wellington  commenced  be- 
sieging Ciudad  Rodrigo  from  the  first  parallel,  with  twenty-three 
pieces  of  ordnance,  and  on  the  night  of  the  1 4th  he  opened  an  ap- 
proach 150  yards  from  the  place.  By  the  18th  of  the  month  breaches 
had  been  made  which  were  considered  practicable.  Lord  Wellington 
therefore  summoned  the  garrison  to  surrender. 

The  answer  which  he  received  to  this  brave  appeal  was  worthy  of  a 
brave  Frenchman : — 

"  D  Emjjereur  mo7i  ma  it  re  ni'a  confie  Ic  commandement  de  Ciudad 
Rodrigo ;  je  7te  puis  pas  le  rendre.  A%i  contraire^  moi  et  le  brave 
garnisoii  queje  commande  s' enseveliront  sous  les  mines.'''' 

During  the  Peninsular  war  the  French  and  Spaniards  gloried  in 
imitating  the  brief  expressions  of  resolute  resistance  common  to  the 
heroes  of  antiquity.  The  "  conie  aiul  take  theni'^  of  the  ancients, 
when  summoned  to  surrender  their  arms,  found  imitations  in  the 
reply  of  "  war  to  tlie  knife  /"  when  the  French  called  upon  the  gar- 
rison of  Saragoza  to  capitulate.  Coupon,  Phillippon,  and  others  were 
equally  terse  in  their  communications  with  a  besieging  enemy. 

The  moment  the  answer  was  i-eceived  from  the  Governor  of 
Ciudad  Rodrigo,  Lord  Wellington  issued  orders  for  the  attack. 
These  orders  were  precise.  In  their  tone  the  General  evinced  his 
perfect  confidence  in  his  troops  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  resolved  to 
leave  nothing  to  chance.     The  General  Order  began — 

"  The  attack  upon  Ciudad  Rodrigo  must  be  made  this  evening  at 
seven  o'clock." 

While  this  indicated  the  stern  resolution  of  the  Commander  of  the 
besieging  army,  what  followed  demonstrates  how  carefully  he  had 
considered  every  measure  essential  to  success.  The  positions  and  the 
duties  of  each  regiment  were  pointed  out — the  very  minute  of  attack 
was  indicated.  The  provision  of  ladders  and  axes  was  ordered,  and 
their  special  use  mentioned.  The  Sappers  were  directed  to  take  bags 
of  hay  to  assist  the  descent  of  the  counterscarp  of  the  ditch  ;  and  it 
was  particularly  directed  that  those  who  carried  the  axes,  ladders, 
and  bags  should  be  without  their  arms,  and  that  those  who  stormed 
should  not  fire. 

A  description  of  the  manner  in  which  the  orders  were  carried  out 


1  Glacis,  the  parapet  of  Ihe  covered  way,  extending  in  a  long  elope  to  meet  the  natural 
surface  of  tlio  ground.  It  connects  the  ditch  of  a  fortress,  and  protects  the  masonry  •(  the 
e8o«u> 


\\'^^ '  '^■'^■^s^^ 


wm. 


1812.]  STORM   OF   CIUDAD   RODRIGO.  141 

will  serve  to  show  especially  what  those  instructions  were.  In  fact 
the  details  of  the  attack  might  have  been  described  in  the  very  words 
of  the  order — the  past  tense  being  substituted  for  the  present. 

The  issue  of  the  order  was  followed,  as  usual,  by  an  invitation  to 
the  men  to  volunteer  for  the  duties  of  the  "forlorn  hope" — an 
encouraging  term  for  the  parties  who  are  to  lead  the  attack  upon  the 
breaches.  The  52nd  Regiment,  which  formed  part  of  the  Light  Divi- 
sions, destined  to  attack  the  lesser  breach,  volunteered  to  a  man — 
a  display  of  zeal  which  would  have  been  rewarded  by  its  acceptance 
did  it  not  involve  injustice  to  the  other  regiments,  each  of  which  con- 
tained scores  of  men  who  were  equally  eager  to  be  foremost.  When 
the  Captains  of  companies  intimated,  as  usual,  to  the  men  that  volun- 
teers were  required,  there  was  no  hesitation.  The  43rd,  the  95th,  the 
88  th,  all  burned  with  desire  to  be  the  first  to  confront  the  enemy  on 
the  ramparts. 

The  whole  of  the  storming  part  of  the  Light  Division,  placed  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Major  George  Napier,  having  fallen  in  at 
the  hour  indicated  by  Lord  Wellington  (before  seven  in  the  evening), 
Major-General  Craufurd  addressed  them  in  his  usually  clear  and  dis- 
tinct tones : — 

"Soldiers  ! — The  eyes  of  your  country  are  upon  you.  Be  steady — 
be  cool — be  firm  in  the  assault.  The  town  must  be  yours  this  night. 
Once  masters  of  the  wall,  let  your  first  duty  be  to  clear  the  ramparts, 
and,  in  doing  this,  keep  together." 

Major-General  McKinnon  commanded  the  third  division,  on  whom 
devolved  the  attack  upon  the  great  breach.  The  scene  that  passed  in 
that  division,  preparatory  to  the  storm,  is  described  with  interesting 
minuteness  by  a  surviving  participator  in  the  drama  of  the  night  of 
the  19th  of  January,  1812  :— 

"  It  was  now  five  o'clook  in  the  afternoon,  and  darkness  was  ap- 
proaching fast,  yet  no  order  had  arrived  intimating  that  we  were  to 
take  a  part  in  the  contest  about  to  be  decided :  we  were  in  this  state 
of  suspense,  when  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the  sound  of  music: 
we  all  stood  up,  and  pressed  forward  to  a  ridge,  a  little  in  our  front, 
and  which  separated  us  from  the  cause  of  our  movement,  but  it  would 
be  impossible  for  me  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  our  feelings  when 
we  beheld  the  43rd  Regiment,  preceded  by  their  band  !  going  to  storm 
the  left  breach.  They  were  in  the  highest  spirits,  but  without  the 
slightest  appearance  of  levity  in  their  demeanour;  on  the  contrary, 
there  was  a  cast  of  determined  severity  thrown  over  their  counte- 
nances, that  expressed  in  legible  characters  that  they  knew  the  sort 
of  service  they  were  about  to  perform,  and  had  made  up  their  minds  to 


142  LIFF   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINOTOK  [1812. 

Oie  issue.  In  passing  us,  each  officer  and  soldier  stepped  out  of  the 
ranks  for  an  instant,  as  he  recognised  a  friend,  to  press  his  hand ; 
many  for  the  last  time :  yet,  notwithstanding  this  animating  scene, 
there  was  no  shouting  or  huzzaing,  no  boisterous  bravadoing,  no 
unbecoming  language.  In  short,  every  one  seemed  to  be  impressed 
with  the  seriousness  of  the  affair  entrusted  to  his  charge,  and  any 
interchange  of  words  was  to  this  effect :  '  Well,  lads,  mind  what  you're 
about  to-night;'  or,  'We'll  meet  in  the  town  by  and  by;'  and  other 
little  familiar  phrases,  all  expressive  of  confidence.  The  regiment 
at  length  passed  us,  and  we  stood  gazing  after  it  as  long  as  the 
rear  platoon  continued  in  sight;  the  music  grew  fainter  every 
moment,  until  at  last  it  died  away  altogether.  They  had  no  drums, 
and  there  was  a  melting  sweetness  in  the  sounds  that  touched  the 
heart. 

"  The  first  syllable  uttered  after  this  scene  was,  '  And  are  we  to  be 
left  behind?'  The  interrogatory  was  scarcely  put  when  the  word, 
*  Stand  to  your  arms  V  answered  it.  The  order  was  promptly  obeyed, 
and  a  breathless  silence  prevailed,  when  our  commanding  officer,  in 
a  few  words,  announced  to  us  that  Lord  Wellington  had  directed  our 
division  to  carry  the  grand  breach.  The  sd'ldiers  listened  to  the  com- 
munication with  silent  earnestness,  and  immediately  began  to  disen- 
cumber themselves  of  their  knapsacks,  which  were  placed  in  order 
by  companies,  and  a  guard  set  over  them.  Each  man  then  began  to 
arrange  himaelf  for  the  combat  in  such  a  manner  as  his  fancy  or 
the  moment  would  admit  of:  some  by  lowering  their  cartridge-boxes, 
others  by  turning  theirs  to  the  front,  in  order  that  they  might  the 
more  conveniently  make  use  of  them ;  others  unclasping  their  stocks 
or  opening  their  shirt-collars,  and  others  oiling  their  bayonets ;  then, 
again,  some  screwing  in  flints,  to  make  '  assurance  doubly  sure ;'  and 
more  taking  leave  of  their  wives  and  children  !  This  last  was  an 
affecting  sight,  but  not  so  much  as  might  be  expected,  because  the 
women,  from  long  habit,  were  accustomed  to  scenes  of  danger,  and 
the  order  for  their  husbands  to  march  against  the  enemy  was  in 
their  eyes  tantamount  to  a  victory ;  and  as  the  soldier  seldom  re 
turned  without  plunder  of  some  sort,  the  painful  suspense  which  his 
absence  caused  was  made  up  by  the  gaiety  of  which  his  return  was 
certain  to  be  productive ;  or,  if  unfortunately  he  happened  to  fall, 
his  place  was  sure  to  be  supplied  by  some  one  of  the  company  to 
which  he  belonged,  so  that  the  women  of  our  army  had  little  cause 
of  alarm  on  this  head.  The  worst  that  could  happen  to  them  was 
the  chance  of  being  in  a  state  of  widowhood /or  a  week  I 

"  It  was  by  this  time  half-past  six  o'clock  j  the  evening  was  piercingly 


1812.]  THE  FORLORN  HOPK  143 

cold,  and  the  frost  was  crisp  on  the  grass  ;  there  was  a  keenness  in 
the  air  that  braced  our  nerves  at  least  as  high  as  coyicert  pitch.  We 
stood  quietly  to  our  arms,  and  told  our  companies  off  by  files,  sec- 
tions, and  sub-divisions  ;  the  sergeants  called  over  the  rolls ;  not  a  man 
was  absent. 

"It  appears  it  was  the  wish  of  General  Mackinnon  to  confer  a 
mark  of  distinction  upon  the  88th  regiment,  and  as  it  was  one  of 
the  last  acts  of  his  life,  I  shall  mention  it.  He  sent  for  Major 
Thomson,  who  commanded  the  battalion,  and  told  him  it  was  his  wish 
to  have  the  '  forlorn  hope'  of  the  grand  breach  led  on  by  a  subaltern 
of  the  88th  Regiment,  adding,  at  the  same  time,  t^t,  in  the  event  of 
his  surviving,  he  should  be  recommended  for  a  company.  The  Major 
acknowledged  this  mark  of  the  General's  favour,  and  left  him  folding 
up  some  letters  that  he  had  been  writing  to  his  friends  in  England. 
This  was  about  twenty  minutes  before  the  attack  of  the  breaches. 
Major  Thomson,  having  called  his  officers  together,  briefly  told  them 
the  wishes  of  their  General ;  he  was  about  to  proceed,  when  Lieu- 
tenant William  Mackie  (then  senior  Lieutenant)  immediately  stepped 
forward,  and  dropping  his  sword,  said,  '  Major  Thomson,  I  am  ready 
for  that  service.'  For  once  in  his  life,  poor  old  Thomson  was  affected. 
Mackie  was  his  own  townsman ;  they  had  fought  together  for  many 
years,  and  when  he  took  hold  of  his  hand  and  pronounced  the  words, 
'  God  bless  you,  my  boy,'  his  eye  filled,  his  lip  quivered,  and  there  was 
a  faltering  in  his  voice  which  was  evidently  perceptible  to  himself, 
for  he  instantly  resumed  his  former  composure,  drew  himself  up,  and 
gave  the  word,  '  Gentlemen,  fall  in,'  and  at  this  moment  Generals 
Picton  and  Mackinnon,  accompanied  by  their  respective  staff,  made 
their  appearance  amongst  us. 

"  Long  harangues  are  not  necessary  to  British  soldiers,  and  on  this 
occasion  but  few  words  were  made  use  of  General  Picton  said  some- 
thing animating  to  the  different  regiments  as  he  passed  them,  and 
those  of  my  readers  who  recollect  his  deliberate  and  strong  utterance, 
will  say  with  me  that  his  mode  of  speaking  was  indeed  very  im- 
pressive. The  address  to  each  was  nearly  the  same,  but  that  delivered 
by  him  to  the  88th  was  so  characteristic  of  the  General,  and  so  ap- 
plicable to  the  men  he  spoke  to,  that  I  shall  give  it,  word  for  word ;  it 
was  this — 

" '  Rangers  of  Connaught !  It  is  not  my  intention  to  expend  any 
powder  this  evening.     We'll  do  this  business  with  the  could  iron  ." 

"  I  before  said  the  soldiers  were  silent — so  they  were,  but  the  man 
who  could  be  silent  after  such  an  address,  made  in  such  a  way,  and  in 
Buch  a  place,  had  better  have  stayed  at  home.     It  may  be  asked  what 


144  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1811 

did  they  do  ?     Why,  what  would  they  do,  or  would  any  one  do,  but 
give  the  loudest  hurrah  he  was  able?" 

The  signal  for  the  assault  was  the  discharge  of  a  rocket.  It  rose 
with  rapidity  from  one  of  the  batteries.  "  Now,  lads,  for  the  breach  !' 
cried  Craufurd  ;  and  off  started  the  Light  Division  in  double  quick 
time.  A  tremendous  jBre  from  the  ramparts  of  canister,  grape,  round 
shot,  shell,  musketry,  and  fire-balls,  saluted  the  advancing  column — still 
"  forward  !"  was  the  word — Craufurd  fell  at  the  very  first  discharge. 
Pausing  not,  for  safety  only  lay  in  suddenness  and  expedition,  the 
divisions  pressed  onward,  springing  into  the  ditch,  clambering  up  the 
escarp,  and  boldly  facing  terrific  showers  of  bullets.  No  impediment 
was  respected  for  a  moment — men  and  officers  dashed  forward,  con- 
fronting danger  with  intrepid  indifference,  and  driving  the  garrison 
before  them.  The  great  breach  is  won — the  curtain  is  assaulted — an 
explosion  takes  place,  and  Mackinnon  is  killed.  The  lesser  breach  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  Light  Division — Napier  is  cheering  on  the  men — 
a  shot  shatters  his  arm — he  falls,  but,  a  hero  in  his  agony,  he  calls  out, 
"  Never  mind  me — push  on  my  lads — the  town  is  ours  !"  Abandon- 
ing the  breach,  the  French  spring  the  mines,  fall  back,  and  keep  up  a 
tremendous  fire  from  the  houses.  While  this  was  going  on.  Brigadier 
Pack  entered,  with  a  feint  attack,  another  part  of  the  town,  and  had 
converted  it  into  a  real  assault ;  and  the  French  finding  themselves 
threatened  in  the  rear,  gave  way — were  pursued  into  the  city — flew 
from  street  to  street — and  seeing  further  resistance  hopeless,  surren- 
dered. The  regiments  of  the  different  divisions,  hitherto  scattered 
by  the  storm,  now  entered  the  principal  square  of  the  town,  and 
planted  the  British  colours  amid  loud  cheers. 

Their  task  performed,  and  in  the  incredibly  short  space  of  thirty-five 
minutes,  the  men  of  the  different  regiments  now  rushed  about  the 
town  in  the  greatest  disorder,  firing  indiscriminately  upon  all  they 
met — plundering  houses  for  the  wine  and  spirits  in  the  cellars — 
drinking  to  excess,  and,  in  the  madness  of  intoxication,  committing 
the  wildest  atrocities.  Recklessly  or  carelessly,  they  set  houses  on 
fire  by  bringing  lights  into  contact  with  spirits ;  they  plundered  right 
and  left,  wantonly  discharged  their  firelocks  from  the  windows, 
wounding  friend  and  foe  alike,  and  sparing,  in  their  frenzy,  neither 
age  nor  sex.  Flushed  with  drink,  and  desperate  for  mischief,  these 
fellows,  so  cool  in  action — so  steady  before  the  storm — passed  half 
the  night  in  reeling  through  the  streets.  Some  fell  by  the  knife  of 
the  assassin,  several  were  drowned  in  butts  of  spirits,  and  many  were 
turned  upon  and  shot  by  the  very  Frenchmen  to  whom  they  had 
jielded  quarter.     It  was  in  vain  the  bugles  sounded  and  the  drums 


1812.1  THE  TOWN  AFTER  THE   SIEGE.  145 

beat  tlie  assembly ;  futile  were  the  eflforts  of  the  officers  to  recall  the 
men  to  their  duty.  It  was  not  until  worn  out  with  excitement,  or 
rendered  incapable  of  motion  from  deep  potations,  the  stormers  fell 
prostrate  on  the  earth,  or  crept  into  the  dwellings  of  the  Spaniards  to 
eleep  away  their  toil  and  intoxication.  The  scene  exhibited  on  the 
following  morning  was  most  dreary ;  the  fires  were  going  out,  and 
about  the  streets  were  lying  the  corpses  of  many  men  who  had  met 
their  death  hours  after  the  town  had  been  taken. 

A  very  small  proportion  of  the  troops  who  had  taken  Rodrigo  were 
permitted  to  remain  in  the  city.  The  Rifles  (95th)  were  marched 
back  to  their  former  quarters,  and  as  they  crossed  the  bridge,  they 
presented  in  their  motley  gear  the  evidences  of  the  whimsical 
character  of  the  plunder  during  the  orgies  of  the  previous  night. 
"  Some  had  jack-boots  on,  others  frock-coats  and  epaulets,  and  some 
carried  monkeys  on  their  shoulders."  As  they  filed  out  they  met  the 
Fifth  Division  on  their  way  to  repair  the  breach  ;  and  the  division 
formed  on  the  left  of  the  road,  presented  arms,  and  cheered  them  as 
they  went  along.' 

The  loss  of  the  allies  in  the  taking  Ciudad  Rodrigo  was  considera- 
ble. Three  officers  and  seventy-seven  men  had  been  killed  during  the 
siege  ;  six  officers  and  140  men  were  killed,  and  508  men  wounded  in 
the  storm  of  the  town. 

Major-Greneral  Craufurd  died  of  his  wounds  on  the  fifth  day  after 
the  capture.  He  was  borne  to  his  grave  upon  the  ramparts  by  four 
sergeant-majors  of  the  Light  (his  own)  Division,  Lord  Wellington 
attending  the  funeral  of  the  gallant  veteran.' 

1  "  1  was  afterwards  told  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  saw  us  on  our  march,  inquired  of 
his  stafi;  '  W^ho  the  devil  are  those  fellows  ?' " — Adventures  of  a  Soldier. 

J  A  minute  account  is  given  of  Craufurd's  last  hours  in  a  letter  from  General  Sir  Charles  Stewart 
to  Craufurd's  brother,  Sir  Charles.    Its  publication  is  here  permitted : — 

"To  General  Sir  C.  Craufurd. 

«Mt  dear  Friend,  Galegos,  Jan.  26«A,  1812. 

"  I  have  to  entreat  you  to  summon  to  your  aid  all  that  resignation  to  (he  will  of 
Heaven  and  manly  fortitude  which  I  know  you  possess,  to  bear  with  composure  the  sad 
tidings  this  letter  is  doomed  to  convey.  I  think  you  must  have  discovered  that,  from  the 
first  moment,  I  did  not  encourage  sanguine  hopes  of  your  beloved  brother,  whose  loss  we  have 
alas !  now  to  deplore.  But,  my  dear  friend,  as  we  all  must  pass  through  this  transitory 
existence  sooner  or  later,  to  be  translated  to  a  better,  surely  there  is  no  mode  of  terminating 
life  equal  to  that  which  Providence  ordained  should  be  his.  Like  Nelson,  Abercroml)ie, 
Moore,  and  inferior  to  none  (had  his  sphere  been  equally  extensive),  your  much-loved  brother 
fell ;  the  shouts  of  victory  were  the  last  he  heard  from  the  gallant  troops  he  led,  and  his  last 
moments  were  full  of  anxiety  as  to  the  events  of  the  army,  and  consideration  for  his  Light 
Division.  If  his  friends  permit  themselves  to  give  way  to  mibounded  grief  under  this  heavy 
calamity,  they  are  considering  themselves  rather  than  the  departed  hero     The  array  and  his 

VOL.  I.  10 


146  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

Crauford  was  one  of  the  best  aud  bravest  soldiers  in  the  British 
army.  He  had  embraced  the  profession  of  arms  when  in  only  his 
fifteenth  year,  and  before  he  was  twenty  had  obtained  his  company. 

country  have  the  most  reason  to  deplore  his  loss ;  for,  as  his  military  talents  were  of  the  first 
calibre,  so  was  his  spirit  of  the  most  intrepid  gallantry. 

"There  is  but  one  universal  sentiment  throughout  all  ranks  of  the  profession  on  this  subject, 
and  if  you,  and  those  who  loved  him  dearly  (among  whom,  God  knows!  I  pity  most  his  angel 
wife  and  children),  could  but  have  witnessed  the  manner  in  which  the  last  duties  were  paid  to 
his  memory  by  the  whole  army,  your  tears  would  have  been  arrested  by  the  contemplation  of 
what  his  merits  must  have  been  to  have  secured  such  a  general  sensation,  and  they  would  have 
ecased  to  flow  by  the  feelings  of  envy  such  an  end  irresistibly  excited. 

"  As  I  fervently  trust  that,  by  the  time  you  receive  this  letter,  you  may  be  so  far  prepared 
tor  this  afllicting  stroke  as  to  derive  consolation  even  from  sad  details,  and  as  I  really  am 
unequal  to  address  Mrs.  Craufurd  at  present,  I  think  it  best  to  enter  at  large  into  everything 
with  you,  leaving  it  to  your  affectionate  and  prudent  judgment  to  unfold  events  by  degrees  in 
the  manner  you  deem  best.  You  will  perceive,  by  Staff-Surgeon  Gunning's  report  (Lord 
Wellington's  own  surgeon),  upon  an  examination  of  the  wound  (which  I  enclose),  that,  from  the 
nature  of  it,  it  was  impossible  Robert  should  have  recovered.  The  direction  the  ball  had  taken, 
Ihc  extreme  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  the  blood  he  brought  up,  gave  great  grounds  of  alarm  ; 
but  still  it  was  conceived  the  ball  might  have  dropped  lower  than  the  lungs,  and  as  there  have 
been  instimces  of  recovery  from  woimds  in  the  same  place,  we  were  suffered  to  entertain  a  hope, 
but  alas !  that  was  all.  Staff-Surgeons  Robb  and  Gumiing,  who  were  his  constant  attendants,  and 
from  whose  anxiety,  zeal,  and  professional  ability  everything  was  to  be  expected,  were  unremitr 
ting  in  their  exertions ;  his  Aide-de-Camp,  young  Wood,  aud  Lieutenant  Shawe  of  the  43rd, 
showed  all  that  affectionate  attention  which  even  his  own  family  could  have  done  to  him ;  the 
former,  I  must  say,  evinced  a  feeling  as  honourable  to  his  heart  as  it  must  have  been  gratifying 
to  its  object ;  to  these  I  must  add  Captain  William  Campbell,  whose  long  friendship  for  Robert 
induced  him  never  to  leave  him,  and  he  manifested  in  an  extraordinary  manner  his  attachment 
on  this  occasion. 

"  If  my  own  duties  had  permitted  me,  you  may  believe  I  never  should  have  absented  myself 
from  his  bedside ;  as  it  was,  feeling  like  a  brother  towards  him,  my  heart  led  me  to  act  as 
Buch  to  the  utmost  of  my  poor  abilities.  The  three  officers  I  have  above  named,  and  his 
Burgeon,  alternately  watched  and  attended  him,  from  the  evening  of  the  19th  until  ten  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  i24th,  when  he  breathed  his  last ;  on  the  i!2nd,  he  was  considered  easier 
and  bettor,  llie  medicines  administered  had  all  the  effects  desired.  He  conversed  some  lime  with 
me,  principally  about  the  assault,  and  he  was  most  anxious  as  to  news  of  tlie  enemy.  IIo  was  so 
cheerful  tlial  his  mind  did  not  revert,  as  it  had  done  before,  to  his  wife  and  childreti,  and  I  was 
snxious  to  keep  every  subject  from  him  that  might  awaken  keen  sensations.  I  know  well,  from 
many  conversiilions  I  have  had  with  him,  the  unbounded  influence  and  affection  Mrs  Craufurd's 
Mea  was  attended  with,  and  his  ardent  anxiety  as  to  the  education  and  bringing-up  of  hU 
children. 

"These  thoughts  I  was  anxious,  while  a  ray  of  hope  existed,  not  to  awaken,  it  being  of  the 
ntmost  consequence  he  sliould  be  kept  free  from  agitation  ;  and  I  trust  tliis  will  be  a  sufllcient 
reason  to  Mrs.  Craufurd  and  yourself  for  my  being  unable  to  give  you  those  last  sentiments  of 
his  heart  which  ho  no  doubt  would  have  expressed,  had  we  felt  authorised  to  acquaint  him  he 
was  near  his  end.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  lie  was  ignorant  of  his  situation,  for  when  he  first 
sent  to  me,  he  said  he  felt  his  wound  was  mortal,  and  that  ho  was  fully  prepared  for  the  will 
of  Heaven.  But  I  think  subsequently  he  cherished  hopes.  He  obtained  some  sleep  on  the 
night  of  the  22nd,  and  on  the  i23rd  he  was,  to  all  appearance,  better ;  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  William  Campbell  wrote  me  a  most  cheering  account  of  him  ;  he  had  been  talking 
of  his  recovery,  and  every  pleasing  prospect,  and  he  fell  into  a  comfortable  sleep,  as  those 
&bout  him  imagined.    But  alas !  from  that  sleep  he  never  awoke  again.    His  pulse  gradually 


1812.]  GENERAL   CRAUFURD.  147 

In  the  absence  of  any  means  of  effectually  studying  Iiis  profession  in 
England,  he  repaired  to  Prussia  and  other  theatres  of  war  on  the 
European  Continent.  He  subsequently  served  two  campaigns  ia 
India  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  occasionally  commanding  the  75th 
Regiment.  Returning  home,  he  was  employed  on  a  mission  to  the 
Austrian  armies,  and  participated  in  the  war  with  revolutionary 
France.  His  next  field  was  Ireland,  where  he  served  as  Deputy 
Quartermaster-General.  In  1799,  he  was  again  with  the  Austrian 
army  in  Switzerland,  and  at  a  later  period  was  under  the  Duke  of 
York  in  Holland.  The  year  1807  saw  Craufurd  a  Brigadier-General 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  under  General  Whitelocke  ;  and  in  1808  he  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Peninsula.  He  first  distinguished  himself  in  actions 
with  the  French  under  Massena,  upon  the  river  Coa.  This  was  in 
1810.  The  Light  Division,  with  three  regiments  of  Cavalry,  a  troop 
of  Horse  Artillery,  and  two  regiments  of  Cacadores  (Portuguese 
Light  Infantry),  were  attacked  by  24,000  French  ;  but  Craufurd  did 
not  retire  from  his  post  until  a  most  gallant  defence  had  been  made, 
and  the  enemy  had  three  times  been  repulsed  in  his  attempt  to  cross 
a  bridge  of  the  Coa  in  pursuit.  We  next  find  Craufurd  at  Busaco, 
driving  back  the  infantry  cohorts  of  Ney  and  Simon.  What  ensued 
has  been  recited  in  preceding  pages. 

The  character   of  General    Craufurd   has   been   variously  drawn. 

ceased  to  beat,  his  breath  grew  shorter,  aud  his  spirit  fled  before  those  near  him  were  conscious 
he  was  no  more.    So  easy  was  his  passport  to  Heaven ! 

"  If,  in  detailing  so  mournful  a  recital,  I  can  derive  the  smallest  consolation,  it  arises  from 
knowing  his  last  words  united  his  aflection  for  his  wife,  and  his  friendship  for  mc,  in  one 
train  of  thought,  in  which  he  closed  his  eyes.  Having  thus  acquainted  yoii,  as  well  as  my 
present  feelings  enable  me,  with  the  last  scene,  I  shall  now  assure  you  that  no  exertion  waa 
wanting  to  prepare  everything  for  the  mournful  ceremony  that  was  to  follow,  with  the  utmost 
possible  regard  and  respect  to  his  memory.  Lord  W'ellington  decided  he  sliould  bo  interred  by 
his  own  Division,  near  the  breach  which  he  had  so  gallantly  carried.  The  Light  Divisiot 
assembled  before  his  house  in  the  suburbs  of  the  San  Francisco  Convent,  at  twelve  o'clock  on  the 
25th  ;  the  5th  Division  lined  the  road  from  his  quarters  to  the  breach  ;  the  officers  of  the  brigade 
of  Guards  Cavalry,  3rd,  4th,  and  5th  Divisions,  together  with  General  Caatanos  and  all  his  siaS, 
Marshal  Beresford  and  all  the  Portuguese,  Lord  Wellington  and  the  whole  of  head-quarters, 
moved  in  the  mournful  procession. 

"  He  was  borne  to  his  place  of  rest  on  the  shoulders  of  the  brave  lads  ho  led  on,  the  Field 
Officers  of  the  Light  Division  officiating  as  pall-bearers,  and  the  whole  ceremony  was  conducted 
in  the  most  gratifying  manner,  if  I  may  be  permitted  such  an  epithet  on  such  a  heart-breaking 
occasion.  I  assigned  to  myself  the  mournful  task  of  being  chief  motimer,  and  I  was  attended  by 
Captain  Campbell,  Lieutenants  Wood  and  Shawe,  and  the  Staff  of  the  Light  Division.  Care  haa 
been  taken  that  his  gallant  remains  can  never  be  disturbed,  and  he  lies  where  posterity  will 

commemorate  his  deeds ! 

"  Believe  me,  as  ever, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  and  ever  obliged 

"Charles  Stewart." 


148  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

Napier  speaks  of  him  as  of  a  fiery  temper,  harsh,  rigid  in  command, 
prone  to  disobedience,  yet  exacting  entire  submission  from  inferiors  ; 
ambitious,  and  avid  of  glory  ;  possessed  of  military  talents,  enter- 
prising and  intrepid,  yet  not  remarkable  for  skill  in  handling  troops 
under  fire.  Nevertheless  Wellington  mourned  him  as  an  "  oSicer  of 
tried  talents  and  experience,  v?ho  was  an  ornament  to  his  profession, 
and  calculated  to  render  the  most  important  services  to  his  country,'' 
and  amongst  the  men  whom  he  commanded,  Craufurd  was  beloved  for 
his  justice  and  care  of  them.  He  had  been  absent  on  leave  to  Eng- 
land (much  against  the  will  of  the  Commander  of  the  Forces,  who  re- 
monstrated with  him  on  his  application),  and  on  his  return  he  was 
welcomed  with  enthusiasm.  The  Portuguese  Ca^adores,  who  found 
fighting  a  hard  matter  if  they  did  not  receive  their  rations  regularly, 
shouted  out  when  they  saw  him,  "  Long  live  General  Craufurd,  who 
takes  care  of  our  bellies  !"  Though  a  strict  disciplinarian,  Craufurd 
was  averse  to  punishment,'  and  always  experienced  great  pain  when 
compelled  to  superintend  a  flogging  parade. 

1  Take  the  following  incident  from  Costello's  Adventures,  page  102 : — 

"  The  second  day  after  the  storming  of  Rodrigo  our  brave  General  Craxif urd  died  of  hi3  wound, 
and  the  chief  part  of  the  officers  of  the  Rifles  went  to  pay  the  last  tribute  to  his  remains.  He  was 
borne  to  the  grave  by  four  Sergeant-Majors  of  his  own  Division,  and  was  buried  in  the  breach 
where  he  fell.  The  following  incident,  of  which  I  was  an  eye-witness,  will  serve  to  show  Crau- 
furd'a  character. 

"  I  happened  to  be  on  guard  one  day,  when  General  Craufurd  came  riding  in  from  the  front 
with  his  orderly  dragoon,  as  was  his  usual  custom,  when  two  of  our  men,  one  of  them  a  corporaU 
came  ruiming  out  of  a  house  with  some  bread  which  they  had  stolen  from  the  Spaniards  ;  they 
were  pursued  by  a  Spanish  woman,  crying  lustily,  ^  Ladrune  !  Ladrone." — 'Thief!  Thief!' 
They  were  immediately  pursued  by  the  General  and  his  orderly ;  the  bread  was  given  back  to 
the  woman,  and  the  men  were  placed  in  the  guard-house.  The  next  day  they  were  tried  by  a 
Brigade  Ck)urt-martial,  and  brought  out  to  a  wood  near  the  town  for  punishment.  When  the 
brigade  was  formed,  and  the  Brigade-Major  had  finished  reading  the  proceedings  of  the  courlr 
martial,  General  Craufurd  commenced  lecturing  both  men  and  officers  on  the  nature  of  their 
cruelly  to  the  harmless  inhabitants,  as  he  called  the  Spaniards.  He  laid  particular  stress  on  our 
regiment,  who,  he  said,  committed  more  crimes  than  the  whole  of  the  British  army.  '  Besides, 
you  think,'  said  he,  'because  you  are  riflemen,  and  more  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire  than  other 
regiments,  that  you  are  to  rob  the  inhabitants  with  impunity ;  but  while  I  command  you,  you 
shall  not ;'  then,  turning  round  to  the  corporal,  who  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  square,  he  said, 
with  a  stem  voice,  '  Strip,  sir !' 

"Tlio  corporal,  whose  name  was  Miles,  never  said  a  word  until  tied  up  to  a  tree,  when 
turning  his  head  round  as  far  as  his  situation  would  allow,  and  seeing  the  General  pacing  up 
and  down  the  square,  he  said,  'General  Craufurd,  I  hope  you  will  forgive  me.'  The  General 
replied,  'No,  sir,  your  crime  is  too  great.'  The  poor  corporal,  whoso  sentence  was,  to  be 
reduced  to  the  pay  and  rank  of  a  private  soldier,  and  to  receive  a  punishment  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  lashes,  and  the  other  man  two  hundred,  then  addressed  the  General  to  the  following 
eflect : 

'"Do  you  recollect,  sir,  when  you  and  I  were  taken  prisoners,  when  under  the  command 
of  General  Whitelocke,  in  Buenos  Ayres?  Wo  were  marched,  prisoners,  with  a  number  of 
others,  to  a  sort  of  pound,  surrounded  with  a  wall.    There  was  a  well  in  the  centre,  out  of 


1812.]  GENERAL  MACKINNON.  149 

In  figure  Craufurd  was  short  and  thick  ;  his  countenance  was  intel- 
ligent ;  and  his  eyes,  full  of  fire,  denoted  the  energetic  qualities  of  his 
mind.  Though  the  field  was  his  element,  he  was  fond  of  the  theory 
of  his  profession,  and  so  sensible  of  the  importance  of  rule  and  order, 
that  he  drew  up  a  code  of  instructions  for  the  British  light  troops, 
which,  even  to  this  day,  is  their  text-book  and  guide. 

Major-General  Mackinnon,  who,  by  a  strange  fatality,  fell  within 
a  few.  minutes  of  Craufurd,  at  the  head  of  the  division  he  commanded, 
was  scarcely  less  valued  by  the  army  and  Lord  Wellington.  He 
possessed  a  remarkably  fine  person  and  brilliant  talents.  Highly 
educated  (chiefly  in  France),  he  also  entered  the  army  when  but 
fifteen  years  of  age.  and  saw  service  on  the  Helder,  in  Egypt,  and  at 
Copenhagen.  But  the  Peninsula  was  his  chief  theatre  of  distinction, 
and  his  humanity,  next  to  his  courage,  the  quality  which  secured  to 
him  the  largest  amount  of  admiration  and  afi'ection.  It  has  been 
stated,  that  upon  retiring  from  Talavera  after  the  battle.  Lord 
Wellington  was  under  the  necessity  of  leaving  some  hundreds  of 
wounded  men  behind  him,  whom  General  Cuesta  would  not  afi"ord 
him  the  means  of  transporting.  Major-General  Mackinnon  had 
charge  of  the  sick  and  wounded  on  this  occasion.  They  were  5,000  in 
number.  Only  seven  carts  were  available,  with  some  mules  and  asses. 
They  had  to  march  one  hundred  miles  to  Elvas,  over  a  mountainous 
and  inhospitable  district,  exposed  to  a  scorching  sun  by  day  and 
heavy  dews  by  night.  With  all  the  good  management  Mackinnon 
could  employ,  it  was  impossible  to  convey  the  whole  of  the  unfor- 
tunate men  away.  From  1,500  to  2,000  were  therefore  consigned  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  the  French  marshals,  and  there  is  no  doubt 

which  I  drew  water  with  my  mess-tin,  by  means  of  canteen  straps  I  collected  from  the  men,  who 
were  prisoners  like  myself.  You  sat  on  my  knapsack ;  I  parted  my  last  biscuit  with  you.  You 
then  told  me  you  would  never  forget  my  kindness  to  you.  It  is  now  in  your  power,  sir.  You 
know  how  short  we  have  been  of  rations  for  some  time.' 

"These  words  were  spoken  by  the  corporal  in  a  mild  and  respectful  accent,  which  not  only 
affected  the  General,  but  the  whole  square.  The  bugler,  who  stood  waiting  to  commence  the 
punishment,  close  to  the  corporal,  received  the  usu.il  nod  from  the  Bugle-Major  to  begin. 

"  The  first  lash  the  corporal  received,  the  General  started,  and  turning  hurriedly  round,  said, 
'  What's  that,  what's  that— who  taught  that  bugler  to  flog  ?  'Send  him  to  drill— send  him  to  drill ! 
He  cannot  flog— he  cannot  flog !  Stop !  stop  !  Take  him  down !  take  him  down !  I  remember 
it  well — I  remember  it  well!'  while  he  paced  up  and  down  the  square,  muttering  to  himself  words 
that  I  could  not  catch ;  at  the  same  time  blowing  his  nose,  and  wiping  his  face  with  bis  handker- 
chief, trying  to  hide  the  emotion  that  was  so  evident  to  the  whole  square.  While  untying  the 
corporal,  a  dead  silence  prevailed  for  some  time,  until  our  gallant  General  recovered  a  little  his 
noble  feeling,  when  he  uttered,  with  a  broken  accent, '  Why  does  a  brave  soldier  like  you  commit 
these  crimes?'  Then,  beckoning  to  his  orderly  to  bring  his  horse,  he  mounted  and  rode  off.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  the  other  man  also  was  pardoned,  and  in  a  few  days  the  corporal  wai 
reetored  to  his  rank." 


150  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

that  Mackinnon's  acquaintance  with  the  French  character  and 
language  enabled  him,  by  his  correspondence  with  their  officers,  to 
propitiate  their  care  and  humanity. 

The  nation  voted  a  monument  to  Mackinnon,  and  the  government 
of  the  day  bestowed  an  honourable  pension  on  his  widow  and  three 
sons. 

The  wound  which  Major  George  Napier  received  rendered  amputa- 
tion necessary ;  but  happily  it  did  not  deprive  his  country  of  his 
services.  He  lived  to  distinguish  himself  at  a  later  period,  reaching 
high  rank,  and  exercising  administrative  talents  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  A  member  of  a  family  of  good  soldiers,'  he  courted  danger 
upon  every  occasion,  and  rarely  escaped  the  consequences  of  his  daring. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  hip  at  Busaco  ;  had  his  right  arm  broken  in 
following  Massena's  retreat ;  was  struck  on  the  shoulder  by  the 
splinter  of  a  shell  at  the  siege  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  ;  and  was  again 
badly  wounded  in  the  storm  of  the  town.  Lord  Wellington,  who, 
amidst  his  manifold  official  cares  and  labour,  always  found  time  for 
private  correspondence,  wrote  most  acceptable  letters  of  condolence 
to  Lady  Sarah  Napier,  the  honoured  mother  of  the  triad  of  heroes. 
A  Spartan  general  writing  to  a  Spartan  matron  could  not  have  better 
interpreted  the  exalted  woman's  feelings,  or  more  gracefully  borne 
tribute  to  the  devotion  of  her  sons  : — • 

"  Your  Ladyship  has  so  often  received  accounts  of  the  same 
description  with  that  which  I  am .  now  writing  to  you,  and  your 
feelings  upon  the  subject  are  so  just  and  proper,  that  it  is  needless 
for  me  to  trouble  you  further.  Your  sons  are  brave  fellows,  and  a 
terror  to  the  enemy  ;  and  I  hope  that  God  will  preserve  them  to  you 
and  their  country." 

Thus  he  writes  after  the  affiiir  of  the  I-ith  of  March,  1811.  And 
again  on  the  morrow  of  the  capture  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  ; — 

1  William,  Charles,  and  George.  William  was  at  first  in  the  artillcr)-,  then  the  cavalry, 
then  the  infantry.  In  the  Peninsula  he  was  one  of  the  43rd  Light  Infantry  (part  of  the  Light 
Division) ;  fought  at  Busaco,  Almeida,  and  Casal  Nova,  in  the  two  last  of  which  actions  he 
was  wounded.  Some  time  after  the  Peace,  ho  devoted  himself  to  the  noble  task  of  writing 
the  history  of  the  war  in  which  he  had  been  honourably  engaged.  In  this  great  work,  to  use  the 
words  of  a  liberal  and  able  commentator,  "the  monotonous  labours  of  deep  historic  investiga- 
tion are  relieved  by  the  brilliance  of  poetic  imagery,  and  the  passing  scene  is  made  to  burst  upon 
the  view,  glowing  with  the  warmest  colours  of  the  painter,"  The  "History  of  the  Peninsular 
War"  is  a  series  of  charming  descriptions,  at  once  technically  professional  and  familiarly 
descriptive  ;  and  it  has  the  further  great  merit  of  being  just  and  generous  towards  the  French 
armies  and  their  leaders.  Charles  Napier  was  at  Coruiia  with  Sir  John  JNIoore,  was  wounded, 
and  a  prisoner  to  Soult,  who  treated  him  with  distinguished  consideration.  In  after  years  ho 
became  Commander-in-Chief  in  India,  and  rendered  vast  service  to  the  army,  by  purging  it  of 
manifold  abuses. 


ISli. 


LETTERS  OF  CONDOLENCE— THE  NAPIERS. 


151 


"  Having  such  sons,  I  am  sure  that  you  expect  to  hear  of  their 
misfortunes,  which  I  have  more  than  once  had  to  communicate  to 
you ;  and,  notwithstanding  your  affection  for  them,  you  have  so  just 
a  notion  of  the  value  of  the  distinction  they  are  daily  acquiring  for 
themselves  by  their  gallantry  and  good  conduct,  that  their  misfortunes 
do  not  make  so  great  an  impression  upon  you." 


m 


152 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


ri81« 


CHAPTER  X. 


Honours  and  rewards— Capture  of  Badajoz— Sir  R.  Hill  at  Almarez— Capture  of  Almarez. 


HE  moment  Ciudad  Rodrigo 
had  ceased  to  be  formidable  to 
Lord  Wellington,  he  set  to 
work  to  render  it  formidable 
to  the  enemy.  One  hundred 
and  fifty-three  pieces  of  ord- 
nance found  in  the  place  con- 
=  stituted  a  good  supply  of 
Tnateriel,  offensive  to  a  besieg- 
ing force,  and  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  repair  the  breaches  and 
strengthen  the  outworks.  This 
latter  procedure,  under  skilful 
engineers,  did  not  occupy  more 
than  seven  weeks,  although  all  the  work  was  done  by  the  British 
soldiers  ;  the  Spaniards  affording  no  aid.  By  the  end  of  February, 
Ciudad  Rourigo  was  in  a  state  to  resist  a  disciplined  and  scientific 
enemy  for  a  considerable  time.' 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  created  great  delight  in 
Spain,  Portugal,  and  Great  Britain,  and  insured  to  the  conqueror  an 
accession  of  honorary  distinctions,  and  an  increase  of  sterling  recom- 
pense. A  vote  of  parliamentary  thanks,  the  fortnu/a  which  expresses 
national  acknowledgment,  was  the  first  recognition  of  the  splendid 


^=G^ 


1  The  engineers  who  have  devised  systems  of  fortification,  seldom  have  dreamt  of  establishing 
an  Impregnable  defence.  There  is  not  a  fortified  town  which  has  not  been,  or  may  not  be, 
carried  in  a  given  number  of  days,  with  a.  certain  amount  of  artillery.  The  thing  has  been 
roduce<l  to  a  mathematical  certainty.  The  only  unconquerable  system  is  that  recently  invented 
by  Mr.  James  Ferguson,  which  has  not  yot  boon  adopted  anywhere ! 


1812.]  CAUSES   OF   WELLINGTON'S   SUCCESS.  153 

service  rendered  by  the  capture  :  the  Prince  Regent  followed  this  up 
by  creating  Viscount  Wellington  an  Earl ;  and  Parliament,  that  the 
title  might  be  more  than  an  empty  dignity,  bestowed  upon  the  Earl 
a  further  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds  per  annum.  Spain,  in  the 
fulness  of  her  gratitude,  had  anticipated  these  honours  and  rewards 
by  creating  Lord  Wellington  a  grandee  of  Spain,  with  the  title  of 
the  Duque  de  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  But  there  was  not  unanimity  in  tho 
matter  of  the  pecuniary  reward.  The  Common  Council  of  London, 
influenced  by  the  angry  speeches  of  the  Opposition,  who  continued  to 
denounce  the  war  (to  Napoleon's  great  joy),  not  merely  petitioned 
against  the  annuity,  but  even  prayed  the  King  for  an  inquiry  into 
Lord  Wellington's  conduct ! 

One  of  the  many  causes  of  Lord  Wellington's  success  in  war,  was 
the  secrecy  with  which  he  made  his  preparations.  So  early  as  1804 
he  enjoined  a  perfect  silence  among  officers  upon  the  subject  of  the 
business  of  the  army.  He  observed,  in  a  communication  to  Colonel 
Wallace,  that  though  out  of  every  hundred  cases,  ninety-nine  might 
be  posted  up  at  the  market-cross  without  injury  to  the  public  interests, 
yet  that  of  the  public  business  ought  to  be  kept  secret ;  it  always 
suffered  when  exposed  to  public  view.  "  For  this  reason,"  said  he, 
"  secrecy  is  always  best,  and  those  who  have  been  long  trusted  with 
the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  are  in  the  habit  of  never  making  public 
business  of  any  description,  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  public 
should  know."  Acting  upon  this  principle  Lord  Wellington  never 
communicated  his  purposes  even  to  his  most  confidential  officers  and 
aides  until  the  moment  of  action  had  arrived.  That  everything  might 
be  in  readiness,  however,  when  his  plans  were  to  be  carried  into  effect, 
the  Earl  caused  each  department  of  the  army  to  be  kept  in  as  perfect 
a  state  of  efficiency  as  the  supineness  of  the  ministry  and  the  Span- 
iards would  permit.  His  park  of  artillery,  his  ammunition,  and  com- 
missariat supplies,  were  always  at  hand,  and  ready  to  move  at  an  hour's 
notice. 

Lord  Wellington's  object  after  the  reduction  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo 
was  to  attack  Badajoz,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Estremadura. 
[ts  situation  has  been  described  (page  99,  ante).  As  a  fortress  it  is 
»f  great  strength.  Long  lines  of  walls  descend  to  the  river  Guadiana, 
on  which  the  town  stands,  while  most  formidable  bastions,  glacis,  and 
counterscarp  defend  the  land  side.  It  is  strengthened  by  a  tcte  de 
•poM^  and  the  fortified  height  San  Cristoval.' 

1  Ttit  de  poni,  a  work  or  works  thrown  up  at  the  head  of  a  bridge  to  co?er  a  reireat,  or  oppose 
the  passage  of  a  river  by  the  enemy, 
S  Ford's  "  Hand-book  of  Spain." 


164  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812 

On  the  29th  of  January,  1812,  Lord  Wellington  intimated  to  the 
Earl  of  Liverpool  his  intentions  to  attack  Badajoz  by  the  second  week 
in  March.  Ilis  reasons  for  seizing  upon  so  early  a  moment,  were, 
firstly,  that  the  torrents  in  Estremadura  being  then  full,  the  whole 
army  might  assemble  on  the  Guadiana  without  risk  to  the  positions 
near  Ciudad  Rodrigo  ;  secondly,  the  green  forage,  which  comes  in 
earlier  in  the  south  than  the  central  provinces,  would  be  readily 
procurable,  giving  the  allies  an  advantage  over  the  enemy  in  point  of 
eubsistencc ;  and,  thirdly,  that  the  operations  of  the  French  would 
necessarily  be  confined  by  the  swelling  of  the  rivers.     In  the  interval 


"Between  the  acting  of  the  drcadrul  tbiog, 
And  the  first  motion," 


Lord  Wellington  gave  his  attention  to  various  matters  concerning 
discipline  and  the  state  of  the  Peninsula.  The  irregular  habits  of  the 
soldiers  continued,  as  before,  a  subject  of  extreme  anxiety.  They  would 
wander  about  in  search  of  liquor  ;  they  were  not  to  be  prevented 
plundering ;  they  constantly  pulled  down  the  beams  and  other 
timbers  of  houses  to  convert  them  into  fire-wood,  and  perpetrated  all 
manner  of  robberies  and  outrages  to  attain  any  temporary  object. 
The  General  continually  invoked  the  assistance  of  ofBcers  and  non- 
commissioned officers  to  check  their  improprieties,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  punished  crime  with  severity.  But  appeals  were  often  made 
to  his  clemency,  and  he  readily  yielded  when  the  ofi'enders  belonged 
to  a  corps  which  had  greatly  distinguished  itself  in  the  Peninsula. 
The  "  Connaught  Rangers,"  as  the  88th  were  called,  were  great 
ofi'enders.  but  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  remitted  the  corporal 
punishment  to  which  two  of  them  had  been  sentenced  in  consideration 
of  the  good  conduct  of  the  regiment  before  the  enemy.  There  was 
not  a  better  fighting,  or,  literally,  marching,  regiment  in  the  whole 
army  than  the  88th :  being  composed  of  the  dregs  of  Irish  society, 
the  great  majority  of  the  men  had  been  totally  unacquainted  before 
their  enlistment  with  the  luxury  of  shoes  and  rations.  They  therefore 
bore,  better  tlian  most  other  regiments,  the  annoyance  of  bare  feet  and 
short  commons,  and  marched  and  fought  under  their  privations  as 
readily  as  if  victory  had  not  promised  an  adequate  supply  of  covering 
for  the  feet,  and  consolation  for  the  stomach. 

On  the  15th  and  16th  of  March,  Lord  Wellington  broke  up 
his  cantonments  and  invested  Badajoz  with  the  3rd,  4th,  and 
Light  Divisions  of  infantry,  and  a  brigade  of  Lieutcnant-General 
Hamilton's  division.     The  troops  were  placed  under  the  command  of 


1812.]  CAPTURE  OF  LA  PICURINA.  155 

Marshal  Sir  W.  Beresford,  and  Lieutenant-General  Picton.  On  the 
17th  of  March,  ground  was  broken  and  a  parallel  established  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  an  outwork  called  La  Picurlna,  which  embraced 
the  whole  of  the  south-east  angle  of  the  fort.  The  weather  was  most 
inclement,  the  rain  falling  heavily,  and  the  enemy  making  sorties  and 
keeping  up  a  lively  fire  upon  the  working  parties,  but  without  much 
damage.  To  animate  the  men  Lord  Wellington  was  constantly  in  the 
trenches,  where  they  laboured  up  to  their  waists  in  water,  cheerfully 
and  manfully.  Worn  down  as  he  was  with  fatigue  of  body  and.  anx- 
iety of  mind,  with  a  noble  perseverance  the  Commander  of  the  Forces 
nevertheless  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  the  operations,  for  he  felt  it  to 
be  of  momentous  consequence,  not  to  his  own  country  only,  but  to 
Europe  generally. 

By  the  25th  of  March  the  British  besieging  force  opened  its  fire 
from  twenty-eight  pieces  of  ordnance,  in  six  batteries,  in  the  first 
parallel.  On  the  night  of  the  25th,  Major-General  Kempt  was 
directed  to  attack  La  Picurina  by  storm,  a  duty  which  was  effected 
"  in  the  most  judicious  and  gallant  manner."  The  attack  was  made 
by  five  hundred  men  of  the  3rd  Division,  in  three  detachments,  sever- 
ally commanded  by  Major  Shaw,  of  the  74th,  Captain  the  Hon.  H. 
Powys,  of  the  83rd,  and  Major  Rudd,  of  the  77th.  La  Picurina  was 
found  strongly  defended  by  three  rows  of  palisades,  and  musket- 
proof  places  of  arms  loop-holed  throughout.  The  garrison,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Thiery,  was  on  the  alert,  and  made  a  good  defence,  but 
nothing  could  stop  the  ardour  of  the  attacking  party.  Captain  Powys 
was  the  first  to  mount  the  parapet  of  the  work,  in  which  daring  feat 
he  was  mortally  wounded.  The  two  Majors  were  likewise  wounded. 
With  the  exception  of  Colonel  Thiery,  three  other  ofl&cers  and  eighty- 
six  men.  who  were  made  prisoners,  the  garrison  was  put  to  the  sword, 
or  drowned  in  the  inundations  of  the  river  Rivellas.  Seven  pieces  of 
artillery  fell  to  the  victors.  The  garrison  of  Badajoz  made  a  sortie, 
either  with  the  view  of  recovering  La  Picurina,  or  of  protecting  the 
retreat  of  the  garrison,  but  they  were  driven  in  by  the  reserve  sta- 
tioned to  protect  the  attack. 

The  capture  of  the  outwork  materially  aided  Lord  Wellington's 
further  operations.  Still,  the  rain  fell  heavily — the  civil  authorities 
of  the  province  of  Alemtejo  neglected  to  supply  the  army  with  the 
means  of  transporting  stores,  and  the  Spanish  people  withheld  all  co- 
operation in  the  trenches  and  other  works.*     The  powder  for  the 

1  "  Is  it  possible,"  writes  Lord  Wellington  to  Don  Carlos  de  Espana,  "  that  jour  Excellency 
dan  be  in  earnest?  Is  it  possible  that  Castille  cannot  furnish  fifteen  or  twenty  stonecutters, 
masons,  aad  carpenters  1    How  have  all  the  great  works  been  performed  that  we  see  in  thia 


156  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON,  [1812. 

siege  and  much  of  the  shot  and  engineers'  stores  had  not  arrived  at 
Elvas  by  the  27th  of  March. 

With  wonderful  patience  and  laborious  industry  all  difficulties  were 
at  length  overcome.  By  the  5th  of  April  three  breaches  had  been 
effected  in  the  walls — one  on  the  bastion  '  of  Trinidad — a  second  on 
the  bastion  of  Santa  Maria— and  a  third  on  the  curtain."  The  time 
had  consequently  arrived  for  making  the  attempt  to  carry  the  place 
by  storm.  Yet  was  success  doubtful.  The  garrison  was  5,000  strong 
— brave  and  determined  ;  the  governor,  Phillippon,  a  resolute  man, 
who  would  hold  out  to  the  last  extremity.  Every  artificial  means  had 
also  been  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the  assailants.  A 
double  hedge  of  cJievaux-de-frise  of  the  most  formidable  character  op- 
posed an  obstacle  at  the  summit  of  each  breach. 

The  preparations  for  the  attack  corresponded  with  the  magnitude 
of  the  attempt  and  the  prospect  of  resistance.  Never  had  Lord 
Wellington  so  many  able  soldiers  about  him — men  so  capable  of 
carrying  out  the  behests  of  their  chief  Marshal  Sir  W.  Beresford, 
Lieutenants-General  Graham,  Leith,  and  Picton ;  Majors-General 
Colville,  Bowes,  Kempt,  and  Walker,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bar- 
nard, were  all  at  his  side,  and  had  exerted  themselves  most  zealously 
in  all  the  operations  of  the  siege.  The  troops  were  full  of  courage 
and  enthusiasm,  and  burned  to  be  within  the  walls  they  had  so  long 
surrounded.  To  the  last,  Lord  Wellington  was  almost  disposed  to 
have  taken  another  day  to  make  his  arrangements  ;  but  there  was  no 
time  to  lose,  Marmont  was  advancing  from  Castillo,  and  Soult  was 
hastening  up  from  Seville :  it  was  necessary  that  the  prize  should  be 
grasped  before  they  could  meet. 

The  story  of  the  storm  is  best  told  in  the  familiar  language  of  the 
participators  in  the  deadly  work. 

An  officer  of  the  88th  thus  writes : — "  So  soon  as  each  division  had 
formed  on  its  ground  in  open  column  of  companies,  the  arms  were 
piled,  and  the  officeis  and  soldiers  either  walked  about  in  groups  of 
five  or  six  together,  or  sat  down  under  an  olive  tree,  to  observe,  at 
their  ease,  the  arrangements  of  the  different  brigades  which  were  to 
take  a  part  in  the  contest.  Then,  again,  might  be  seen  some  writing 
to  their  friends,  a  hasty  scrawl,  no  doubt,  and,  in  my  opinion,  an  ill- 
timed  one.  It  is  a  bad  time — at  the  moment  of  entering  a  breach — 
to  write  to  a  man's  father  or   mother — much  less  his  wife — to  tell 

country  ?  •  •  •  Everything,  aa  well  of  a  military  as  a  labouring  nature,  must  be  performed 
by  British  soldiers." 

1  Bastion,  an  angular  projection  in  any  fortress,  well  flanked. 

2  Curtain,  a  straight  wall  connecting  Uie  bastion*. 


1812.]  THE  EVE  OF  THE  STORMING.  157 

them  so  ;  and,  besides,  it  has  an  unseasonable  appearance  in  the  eyes 
of  the  soldiers,  who  are  decidedly  the  most  competent  judges  of  what 
their  officers  should  be,  or,  at  least,  what  they  would  wish  them  to  be 
— which  is  tantamount  at  such  a  crisis. 

"  There  is  a  solemnity  of  feeling  which  accompanies  the  expectation 
of  every  great  event  in  our  lives,  and  the  man  who  can  altogether  be 
dead  to  such  feeling  is  little,  if  anything,  better  than  a  brute.  The 
present  moment  was  one  that  was  well  calculated  to  fill  every  bosom 
throughout  the  army ;  for  mixed  with  expectation,  suspense,  and 
hope,  it  was  rendered  still  more  touching  to  the  heart  by  the  music 
of  some  of  the  regiments,  which  played  at  the  head  of  each  battalion, 
as  the  soldiers  sauntered  about  to  beguile  the  last  hour  many  of 
them  were  destined  to  live.  The  band  of  my  corps,  the  88th,  all 
Irish,  played  several  tunes  which  exclusively  belong  to  their  country, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  effect  it  had  upon  us  all ;  such  an 
air  as  "  Savourneen  Deelish"  is  sufficient,  at  any  time,  to  inspire  a 
feeling  of  melancholy,  but  on  an  occasion  like  the  present  it  acted 
powerfully  on  the  feelings  of  the  men  ;  they  thought  of  their  distant 
homes — of  their  friends,  and  of  bygone  days.  It  was  Easter  Sunday, 
and  the  contrast  which  their  present  position  presented  to  what  it 
would  have  been  were  they  in  their  native  land,  afforded  ample  food 
for  the  occupation  of  their  minds  ;  but  they  were  not  allowed  time 
for  much  longer  i-eflection.  The  approach  of  Generals  Picton  and 
Kempt,  accompanied  by  their  staff,  was  the  signal  for  the  formation 
of  the  column  of  attack  ;  and  almost  immediately  the  men  were 
ordered  to  stand  to  their  arms.  Little,  if  any  directions  were  given 
— indeed  they  were  unnecessary,  because  the  men,  from  long  service, 
were  so  conversant  with  the  duty  they  had  to  perform,  that  it  would 
have  been  but  a  waste  of  words  and  time  to  say  what  was  required  of 
them.  All  was  now  in  readiness.  It  was  9  25  :  the  soldiers,  unen- 
cumbered with  their  knapsacks,  their  stocks  off — their  shirt  collars 
unbuttoned — their  trowsers  tucked  up  to  their  knees — their  tattered 
jackets,  so  worn  out  as  to  render  the  regiment  they  belonged  to 
barely  recognisable — their  huge  whiskers  and  bronzed  faces,  which 
several  hard-fought  campaigns  had  changed  from  their  native  hue — 
but,  above  all,  their  self-confidence,  devoid  of  boast  or  bravado,  gave 
them  the  appearance  of  what  they,  in  reality  were — an  invincible 
host." 

One  of  the  Light  Division  contributes  the  following  sketch  : — 
"  Soon  after  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  April,  a  little 
whispering  announced  that  the  '  forlorn  hope'  were  stealing  forward, 
followed  by  the  storming  parties,  composed  of  three  hundred  men 


158  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1312. 

(one  hundred  from  each  regiment  of  the  brigade)  ;  in  two  minutes 
the  Light  Division  followed  ;  one  musket  shot,  no  more,  was  fired 
near  the  breaches  by  a  French  soldier,  who  was  on  the  look-out ;  we 
gained  ground  leisurely  but  silently  ;  there  were  no  obstacles.  The 
52nd,  43rd,  and  95th  closed  gradually  up  to  column  of  quarter  dis- 
tance, left  in  front ;  all  was  hushed,  and  the  town  lay  buried  in  gloom  ; 
the  ladders  were  placed  on  the  edge  of  the  ditch,  when  suddenly  an 
explosion  took  place  at  the  foot  of  the  breaches,  and  a  burst  of  light 
disclosed  the  whole  scene — the  earth  seemed  to  rock  under  us — what 
a  sight !  The  ramparts  crowded  with  the  enemy — the  French  soldiers 
standing  on  the  parapets — the  fourth  division  advancing  rapidly  in 
column  of  companies  on  a  half  circle  to  our  right,  while  the  short- 
lived glare  from  the  barrels  of  powder  and  combustibles  flying  into 
the  air.  gave  to  friends  and  foes  a  look  as  if  both  bodies  of  troops 
were  laughing  at  each  other. 

"  A  tremendous  firing  now  opened  on  us,  and  for  an  instant  we  were 
stationary  ;  but  the  troops  were  7io  loai/s  dauntal.  The  ladders  were 
found  exactly  opposite  the  centre  breach,  and  the  whole  division 
rushed  to  the  assault  with  amazing  resolution.  There  was  no  check. 
The  soldiers  flew  down  the  ladders,  and  the  cheering  from  both  sides 
was  loud  and  full  of  confidence. 

"  Furious  blows  were  actually  exchanged  amongst  the  troops  in 
their  eagerness  to  get  forward  ;  while  the  grape-shot  and  musketry 
tore  open  their  ranks.  The  first  ofiicer  vi^ho  fell  was  Captain  Fer- 
gusson,  who  had  led  on  a  storming  party  here  and  at  Rodrigo  ;  he  was 
lying  to  the  right  of  the  ladders,  with  a  wound  on  the  head  and  hold- 
ing a  bloody  nandkerchief  in  his  grasp  ;  when  a  brother  ofiicer  snatched 
it  out  of  his  hand,  and  tied  it  round  his  head.  The  French  were 
then  handing  over  fire-balls,  which  produced  a  sort  of  revolving  light. 
The  ditch  was  very  wide.  When  eighty  or  ninety  men  had  arrived 
at  the  foot  of  the  centre  breach,  one  cried  out,  '  AVho  will  lead?' 
This  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  Death  and  the  most  frightful  sounds 
and  cries  encompassed  them.  It  was  a  volcano  !  Up  they  went ; 
some  killed,  and  others  impaled  on  the  bayonets  of  their  own  com- 
rades, or  hurled  headlong  amongst  the  outrageous  crowd.  The 
cJievaux-de-frise  looked  like  innumerable  bayonets.  The  wood  work 
was  ponderous,  bristling  with  short,  stout  sword-blades  fastened  in  it 
and  chained  together.  Fire-balls  were  in  plenty,  and  the  French 
troops  stood  upon  the  walls,  taunting,  and  inviting  our  men  to  come 
up  and  try  it  again.  What  a  crisis  !  what  a  military  misery  !  Some 
of  the  finest  troops  in  the  world  prostrate ;  humbled  to  the  dust. 

"  Colonel  McLeod  was  killed  while  trying  to  force  the  left  corner 


1812.]  THE  STORMING  OF  BADAJOZ.  I59 

of  the  large  breach.  He  received  his  mortal  wound  within  three 
yards  of  the  enemy,  just  at  the  bottom  of  some  nine-feet  planks,  stud- 
ded with  nails,  and  hanging  down  the  breach  from  under  the  clievauxr 
de-frise.  A  few  moments  before  he  fell,  he  had  been  wounded  in  the 
back  by  a  bayonet  of  one  of  his  own  soldiers,  who  slipped. 

'•  At  half-past  eleven  the  firing  slackened,  and  the  French  detached 
men  from  the  breaches  to  repulse  the  other  attacks,  and  to  endeavour 
to  retake  the  castle.  I  heard  the  enemy  calling  out  on  the  ramparts 
in  German,  '  All  is  well  in  Badajoz  ! '  It  sounded  very  like  English. 
"  But  this  repulse  may  be  called  a  victory.  The  British  soldiers 
did  as  much  as  men  could  do^ 

A  third  journal  gives  a  detail  of  the  proceedings  under  G-eneral 
Kempt : — 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  April,  1812,  as  soon  as  it  was  suffi- 
ciently dark  to  prevent  observation  from  the  garrison,  the  two  British 
brigades  of  the  third  division,  composed  as  follows  : — The  right,  of  the 
45th,  74th,  and  38th,  under  Major-General  J.  Kempt ;  the  left,  of  the 
2nd  battalion,  5th,  77th,  83rd,  and  94th,  under  Colonel  Campbell  of 
the  94th,  their  light  companies,  and  three  companies  of  the  5th  bat- 
talion, 60th, — the  whole  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Williams  of  the 
60th,  forming  the  advance, — moved  from  the  ground  on  which  they 
were  encamped,  in  columns  right  in  front.  The  division  took  a  cir- 
cuitous direction,  towards  the  river,  and,  according  to  a  preconcerted 
plan,  halted  on  the  ground  which  had  been  pointed  out  to  them,  there 
to  await  the  arrival  of  the  several  divisions  and  corps  at  the  points 
allotted  to  each  previous  to  the  general  attack.  During  this  halt,  the 
brigades  were  earnestly  addressed  by  their  respective  commanders,  on 
the  duty  they  had  to  perform. 

"On  the  signal  for  the  general  attack,  the  brigades  advanced  in  the 
order  already  mentioned.  The  enemy  appeared  fully  aware  of  the 
attack,  having  commenced  and  continuing  to  throw  fire-balls,  which 
completely  exposed  the  advance  of  the  troops,  particularly  on  their 
arrival  at  the  wet  ditch  which  covered  the  approach  to  the  castle- 
wall.  This  was  passed  by  wading,  or  going  along  the  top  of  the  dam 
which  terminated  the  ditch,  and  which  was  so  narrow  as  only  to 
admit  of  our  passing  in  single  files,  while  the  enemy  continued  to 
keep  up  a  destructive  fire  at  this  point.  As  soon  as  this  obstacle  was 
surmounted,  the  light  companies  and  the  right  brigade,  under  General 
Kempt,  moved  to  the  left,  towards  the  principal  gate  of  the  town; 
the  left,  led  by  Colonel  Campbell,  advanced  direct  to  that  part  of  the 
castle-wall  which  had  been  bombarded  the  preceding  year.  At  this 
point  some  ladders  were  reared  against  the  wall  by  the  grenadiers 


160  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1812 

of  the  5th,  at  one  of  which  was  Colonel  Campbell  and  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Ridge,  who  commanded  the  5th  regiment,  and,  at  another, 
the  officers  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  5th.  Colonel  Ridge  called  to 
Ensign  Canch  of  the  latter  to  lead  at  his  ladder  ;  and  immediately 
both,  at  their  respective  ladders,  pushed  up,  followed  by  their  men  ; 
and  having  succeeded  in  gaining  the  top  of  the  wall,  they  joined,  and 
found  that  they  mustered  strong  enough  to  beat  off  whatever  was  im- 
mediately opposed  to  them.  The  gallant  Ridge  called  out,  '  Come  on, 
my  lads  ! — let  us  be  the  first  to  seize  the  Governor  ;'  and  dashed  on, 
making  his  way,  with  those  along  with  him,  over  the  works  which 
had  been  raised  during  the  siege,  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire,  by  which 
numbers  fell,  who  were  soon  replaced  by  those  who  followed. 

"  As  the  5th  advanced,  the  enemy  retired,  leaving  in  the  works  a 
few  men,  who  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  Retiring  from  the 
ramparts,  the  French  formed  in  an  open  space,  near  the  Castle-gate. 
For  a  short  time  the  firing  ceased,  and  the  regiment  headed  by  their 
commander,  continued  to  feel  their  way  in  the  dark,  following  the 
ramparts  until  they  came  to  a  passage  leading  to  the  centre  of  the 
Castle,  and,  on  advancing  a  short  way,  a  column  was  observed,  which 
caused  a  momentary  hesitation  in  our  advance.  Colonel  Ridge,  who, 
at  the  time,  was  reconnoitring  another  opening,  called  out,  '  Why  do 
you  hesitate  ?  Forward  !'  We  again,  and  with  the  greatest  caution, 
and  without  firing,  continued  to  advance,  and,  on  proceeding  a  little 
farther,  the  enemy  were  observed.  We  then  commenced  firing,  which 
was  returned  by  a  volley.  At  this  moment  our  beloved  and  heroic 
commander  fell,  having  receiving  a  wound  in  the  breast,  which  imme- 
diately proved  fatal.  The  writer  of  this  was  so  near  as  to  be  in  con- 
tact with  him  at  the  instant  of  his  fall.  We  left  a  guard  by  his 
honoured  remains. 

The  regiment  continued  to  advance,  keeping  up  a  fire,  and  being 
now  supported  by  the  other  corps  who  were  following  thcra  up,  the 
enemy  retiring,  ahd  shutting  the  gates.  The  inner  gate  was  forced 
without  much  difficulty,  but  the  outer  one  was  found  strongly 
secured.  The  French,  however,  had  left  the  wicket  open,  and  kept 
up  a  heavy  fire  on  those  who  attempted  to  pass  it.  Colonel  Campbell 
now  ordered  the  men  to  retire  within  the  inner  gate  of  the  Castle, 
and  directed  the  5th  to  form  in  column,  facing  the  gates,  and  that 
the  other  regiments  should  imitate  that  formation  as  they  collected. 
The  command  of  the  whole  had  devolved  upon  Colonel  Campbell, 
General  J.  Kempt  having,  as  well  as  General  Picton,  been  wounded 
in  the  assault." 

In  fewer  words,  the  attack  upon  the  breachers  bad  failed,  from  the 


1812.]  THE  SACK  OF  BADAJOZ.  161 

Btubborn  resistance  of  the  French,  but  the  escalade  of  the  Castle  had 
Bucceeded.  For  two  hours  did  the  Light  and  the  Fourth  Divisions 
endeavour  to  establish  themselves  within  the  place  ;  and  it  was  not 
until  they  had  been  nearly  decimated  by  the  fire  of  the  garrison,  and 
the  formidable  obstacles  presented  upon  the  walls,  that  the  remnants 
were  recalled  to  the  ground  on  which  they  had  assembled  for  the 
attack.  Meanwhile  the  divisions  commanded  by  Lieutenant-General 
Picton,  supported  by  Lieutenant-General  Leith's  troops,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  the  Castle,  after  which  all  resistance  ceased/ 

Never  was  conquest  so  dearly  purchased.  The  loss  of  the  British 
in  this  seige  amounted  to  about  6000  men,  among  whom  were  many 
officers ;  for  the  officers  of  the  highest  rank  led  the  men  to  the 
deadly  breaches,  setting  a  noble  example  of  gallantry.  Among  the 
officers  slain  Lord  Wellington  had  to  lament  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Macleod,  of  the  43rdj  Major  O'Hare,  of  the  95th,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gray,  of  the  30th,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eidge,  of  the  5th.  Almost 
every  officer  of  rank  was  wounded :  Lieutenant-Colonel  Picton,  Major- 
Generals  Kempt,  Walker,  and  Bowes,  and  Brigadier-General  Harvey, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Gibbs,  of  the  52nd,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Harcourt, 
of  the  40th,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ellis,  of  the  23rd  Fusiliers,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fletcher,  bore  away  honourable  scars  from  the 
"terrible  business."  The  French  garrison,* according  to  the  state- 
ment of  the  governor,  Phillippon,  after  his  surrender,  amounted  to 
5000  men,  1200  of  whom  were  killed  or  wounded  during  the  siege, 
independently  of  the  number  slain  in  the  assault. 

Following  the  usages  of  war,  Badajoz  was  given  over  to  sack  and 
pillage,  and  lust  and  rapine.  Let  us  draw  a  veil  over  the  dreadful 
Bcenes  which  ensued ;  they  proved  but  too  clearly  that  the  best 
disciplined  soldiers  are  incapable  of  restraining  the  evil  passions  of 
their  nature  when  weeks  and  months  of  toil,  and  hours  of  sanguinary 
contention,  have  whetted  their  furious  appetites.'     The  reader  who 

1  That  the  capture  of  the  Castle  might  be  consummated  in  due  form,  a  curious,  though  char- 
acteristic emblem,  was  substituted  for  the  French  flag.    Lieutenant  Macpherson,  of  the  45th, 
having  got  possession  of  the  latter,  immediately  doffed  his  own  jacket,  and  hoialed  it  on  the 
fl&g-staff.    The  gallant  Lieutenant  presented  the  French  flag  to  Sir  Thomas  Picton. 
8  Byron's  description  of  the  capture  of  Ismail  is  forcibly  called  to  mind : — 
"  The  city's  taken — only  part  by  part — 

And  Death  is  drunk  with  gore ;  there's  not  a  street 
Where  fights  not  to  the  last  some  desperate  heart. 

For  those  for  whom  it  soon  will  cease  to  beat. 
Here  War  forgot  his  own  destructive  Art 

In  more  destroying  Nature ;  and  the  heat 
Of  carnage,  like  the  Nile's  sun-sodden  slime. 
Engendered  monstrous  shapes  of  every  crime." 
VOL.  I.  ^11 


162  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [18la 

delights  to  dwell  upon  the  details  of  the  sack  of  Badajoz  maj  turn 
to  the  glowing  pages  of  Napier,  and  the  author  of  "  The  Victories  of 
the  British  armies,"  sharing  at  once  their  pourtrayal  and  their 
indignation.  Be  it  our  task  to  hold  to  the  excellent  subject  of  this 
history,  who,  albeit  of  a  stern  and  unyielding  nature,  was  deeply 
aflFected  by  the  loss  of  so  many  good  soldiers,  and  shocked  at  the 
licentiousness  of  the  survivors.  To  check  the  course  of  rapine  he,  on 
the  second  day,  ordered  the  rolls  to  be  called  every  hour,  at  which 
every  person  was  directed  to  attend ;  one  brigade  was  ordered  to  be 
put  under  arms  at  daybreak  and  continued  so  for  an  indefinite  term ; 
the  Provost-Marshal  and  his  aides  were  sent  into  the  town  to  exercise 
their  awful  vocation  of  summary  chastisement,  and  all  commu- 
nication with  Badajoz  was  prohibited  to  the  troops  beyond  the 
walls.  But  some  days  had  elapsed  before  order  was  completely 
restored,  and  by  that  time  vast,  irreparable  personal  injury  had 
been  inflicted. 

Parliament,  deeply  estimating  the  importance  of  the  conquest  of 
Badajoz,  again  tendered  its  thanks  to  Lord  "Wellington,  his  generals 
and  troops. 

The  repair  of  the  works  of  Badajoz  next  engaged  the  attention  of 
the  Commander  of  the  Forces,  who  planting  his  head-quarters  again 
at  Fuentes  Guinaldo,  opened  a  communication  with  the  Spanish 
authorities  upon  the  subject  of  their  supplying  garrisons  for  the 
captured  fortresses  when  his  back  should  be  turned.  Looking  upon 
the  British  troops  as  the  best  in  the  Peninsula,  and  the  Portuguese 
as  second  only  to  them,  his  lordship  was  averse  to  putting  them  in 
garrisons  when  they  were  calculated  to  be  serviceable  in  the  field. 
As  for  the  Spaniards,  they  were  kept  without  food  and  without  pay, 
two  conditions  indispensable  to  discipline,  and  he  had  already  had 
painful  experience  of  their  incapability  of  manoeuvring  in  front  of  an 
enemy.  As  occupants  of  a  fortress,  well  disciplined,  paid  and  fed,  he 
thought  they  might  be  useful,  and  to  this  point  he  urgently  directed 
the  attention  of  the  Junta. 

Having  secured  the  frontier  fortresses  Lord  Wellington  next 
prepared  to  move  forward  into  Castille  and  to  endeavour  to  bring 
Marmont  to  a  general  action.  His  motives  for  this  movement,  and 
his  confidence  in  its  issue,  the  result  of  a  rare  prescience,  are  set 
forth  in  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  of  the  2Gth  of  May,  1812 
(Despatches). 

He  did  not  believe  that  there  was  a  man  in  his  army  who 
had  any  doubt  of  the  result  of  an  action,  and  that  sentiment 
alone  was  a  guarantee  of  success.     "  But,"  said  he,  "  we  possess  solid 


1812.]  SOULT   CHECIiED  BY  HILL.  16S 

physical  advantages  over  the  enemy  besides  those  resulting  from 
recent  successes.  Our  infantry  are  not  in  bad  order ;  our  cavalry 
arc  numerous  in  relation  to  the  enemy,  and  our  horses  in  better 
condition  than  I  have  ever  known  them  since  I  have  commanded  the 
army,  and  the  horses  of  the  artillery  in  the  same  good  condition,  and 
complete  in  numbers,  whereas  the  enemy  are  terribly  deficient  in  that 
aquipraent."  Lord  Wellington  believed,  however,  that  after  the 
harvest,  and  the  close  of  Napoleon's  operations  in  the  north  of 
Europe,  the  French  would  be  reinforced,  and  he  therefore  felt  him- 
self in  a  better  condition  to  reap  success  than  he  would  be  at  a  later 
season  ;  and,  indeed,  added  his  lordship,  in  a  spirit  of  prediction, 
"success  obtained  tiow  (28th  May,  1812)  would  prodnce  results  not 
to  be  expected  from  any  success  over  any  single  French  army  in  the 
Peninsula  upon  any  other  occasion."  But  still  he  qualified  the 
assertion  in  a  similar  prophetic  tone,  by  declaring  that  money  would 
be  wanted  in  the  interior  of  Spain.  He  "  shuddered  "  at  the  proba- 
bility of  the  army  being  distressed  by  the  absence  of  this  invaluable 
commodity. 

During  the  period  that  was  employed  by  Lord  Wellington  in  the 
siege  of  Badajoz,  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  who  had 
been  honoured  with  the  distinction  of  the  Bath  for  his  previous  ser- 
vices, was  detached  to  watch  the  movements  of  Marshal  Soult,  and 
impede  his  junction  with  Marshal  Marmont.  He  accordingly  advanced 
to  Medellin,  where,  in  1810,  Victor  and  Cuesta  had  contended  for 
victory,  who  alighted  on  the  standard  of  the  French  Marshal.  From 
this  place  several  marches  and  counter-marches  took  place,  in  order 
that  the  force  under  Hill  might  be  exactly  at  the  point  of  interrup- 
tion should  Soult  attempt  the  relief  of  Badajoz.  Soult  had  actually 
reached  Zafra,  Los  Santos,  &c.,  when  the  first  intelligence  reached 
him  of  the  fall  of  the  fortress.  It  is  said  that  he  became  frantic  with 
rage  at  the  news,  destroying  everything  within  his  reach,  and  invoking 
all  imaginable  penalties  on  the  heads  of  "  the  Leopards,"  as  he  and 
Napoleon  were  wont  to  designate  the  English,  in  reference  to  the 
devices  on  their  ancient  coat  of  arms.  He  at  once  gave  orders  to  his 
troops  to  move  to  the  right  about,  and  retrace  their  steps  into 
Andalusia.  This  retrograde  movement  was  the  signal  for  cavalry 
operations  ;  Sir  Stapleton  Cotton,  at  the  head  of  the  allied  cavalry,  fell 
upon  Soult's  rear,  and.  coming  up  with  a  strong  body  of  his  dragoons  at 
Villa  Errica,  a  sharp  conflict  eusued,  which  terminated  in  the  defeat 
of  the  French  with  a  loss  of  300  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 
After  this  aff"air,  Sir  Rowland  Hill  went  into  cantonment  in 
Almendralejo,  where  he  remained  from  the  11th  of  April  to  the  12th 


161  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [ISII 

of  May.  At  day-light  on  the  latter  day,  he  moved  out  with  one  regi- 
ment of  British  dragoons  (the  13th)  and  about  eight  regiments  of 
infantry,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  a  link  or  two  of  the  enemy's 
chain  of  communication  between  the  French  army  under  Marmont, 
and  that  of  the  South,  commanded  by  Soult.  The  point  to  which 
Hill  directed  his  attention  was  Almaraz,  a  little  village  on  the  Tagus, 
over  which  the  French  had  thrown  a  pontoon  bridge,  defended  by  a 
tete  cle  pont,^  strongly  entrenched.  On  a  height  above  the  bridge 
was  a  large  and  well-constructed  fort,  called  "  Napoleon,"  mounting 
nine  guns,  and  having  a  garrison  of  500  men  ;  and  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  another  fort  of  a  more  complete  and  formidable 
character. 

Sir  Rowland  Hill  approached  Almaraz  cautiously,  encountering 
many  obstacles,  and  being  nearly  destitute  of  artillery.  He  had 
approached  sufficiently  near  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  May  to 
make  an  attempt,  and  the  troops  being  full  of  courage,  and  anxious 
to  contribute  to  the  attainment  of  any  object  he  had  at  heart,  Hill 
directed  the  attack  upon  the  works.  The  regiments  with  him  at  this 
moment  were  the  18th  Royal  Irish,  the  50th  Queen's  own,  the  71st 
and  92nd  Highlanders,  two  companies  of  the  60th  rifles,  and  the  6th 
Portuguese  infantry. 

Formed  ready  for  the  assault,  behind  a  little  height,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  from  the  fort,  the  50th,  on  a  given  signal,  moved  from 
their  hiding-place,  and  covered  by  the  71st  light  infantry,  advanced 
with  great  firmness  to  the  attack,  the  enemy  all  the  while  pouring  in 
their  grape,  round  shot,  and  musketry.  On  descending  into  the 
ditch  of  the  fort,  some  of  the  ladders  were  discovered  to  be  too  short. 
This  unfortunate  obstacle  was  soon  removed  by  the  presence  of  mind 
of  General  Howard,  who  led  the  assault,  and  whose  cool  and  intrepid 
conduct  on  the  occasion  was  the  subject  of  general  admiration.  This 
little  check,  however,  instead  of  blunting  the  courage  of  the  assailants, 
tended  rather  to  increase  their  ardour  in  the  pursuit  of  victory. 
The  first  who  ascended  the  ladders  met  with  a  warm  reception,  and 
not  a  few  were  thrown  from  the  head  of  the  ladders  into  the  ditch, 
desperately  wounded.  The  French  for  a  few  minutes  made  an 
energetic  resistance ;  but  the  artillery  officers  in  command  retreating 
from  the  rampart,  the  men  were  seized  with  a  panic.  The  50th  and 
71st  pushed  their  advantage,  and  fairly  established  themselves  in  Fort 
Napoleon. 

1  Tete  de  pont,  literally,  "  head  of  a  bridge."  The  term,  in  fortification,  signifies  works  so 
placed  aa  to  command  the  approach  to  a  bridge,  thereby  covering  troops  as  they  escape  across  e 
river,  or  serving  as  an  outwork  to  protect  a  town  on  the  opposite  bank. 


181 2.J  CAPTURE  OF  ALSIARAZ.  165 

Pending  these  operations  the  second  column  was  moved  forward 
in  a  zig-zag  manner  round  every  little  knoll  which  afforded  them  pro- 
tection from  the  fire  of  Fort  Ragusa,  until  they  arrived  at  a  point 
nearly  opposite  to  the  left  flank  of  the  face  of  Fort  Napoleon,  when, 
turning  to  the  left,  they  advanced  direct  upon  the  tete  de  pont  at  a 
quick  pace.  Perceiving  that  the  object  of  the  British  was  to  cut  off 
their  retreat,  the  enemy,  on  retiring  from  Fort  Napoleon,  rushed 
towards  the  bridge  in  order  to  escape.  But  those  on  the  opposite 
side  having  cut  away  a  part  of  the  bridge  to  oppose  Hill's  advance, 
many  of  the  fugitives  found  a  watery  grave — the  rest  surrendered  at 
discretion.  The  impression  thus  made  upon  the  enemy's  troops  com- 
municated itself  to  those  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  Fort 
Kagusa  was  instantly  abandoned,  the  garrison  flying  in  the  greatest 
confusion  towards  Noval  Moral. 

Almaraz  having  thus  fallen  into  Sir  R.  Hill's  hands,  the  troops 
were  allowed,  as  usual,  to  help  themselves  to  whatever  they  could  lay 
their  hands  upon,'  and  were  then  moved  back  half  a  mile  to  bivouac. 

The  loss  of  the  victors  on  this  occasion  was  slight,  considering  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  attack  was  made.  It  amounted  to 
177  officers  and  men  killed  and  wounded — only  one  officer  being 
killed.  The  enemy  had  450  killed,  wounded,  and  made  prisoners. 
It  was  evident  that  the  French  considered  the  place  of  importance, 
for  Sir  R.  Hill  found  in  it  large  quantities  of  ordnance  and  stores. 
The  works  were  immediately  destroyed  ;  the  towers  of  masonry  levelled, 
and  the  whole  apparatus  of  the  bridge,  together  with  the  workshops, 
magazines,  and  every  piece  of  timber  that  could  be  found,  broken 
into  pieces. 

Lord  Wellington  praises  the  capture  of  Almaraz  in  his  character- 
istic manner.  Duty  and  obedience  being  always  the  finest  recom- 
mendations in  his  eyes,  he  lauds  the  qualities  displayed  in  Lieutenant- 
General  Sir  R.  Hill  in  persevering  in  the  line,  and  confining  himself 
to  tlie  objects  chalked  out  by  his  instructions^  notwithstanding  the 
various  obstacles  opposed  to  his  pia^gress. 

1  "  In  a  few  minutes,  wine,  brandy,  and  rum  flowed  in  abundance,  while  bacon,  hams,  and 
pieces  of  picliled  pork  and  beef  decorated  hundreds  of  bayonets,  many  of  which  were  still  tar- 
nished with  the  blood  of  the  enemy.  Some  men  obtained  valuable  prizes  from  the  officers' 
mess-room,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  men  were  amply  satisfied  with  a  havresack  well  stuffed 
with  bread,  or  a  canteen  filled  to  an  overflow  with  heart-moving  liquids." — Military  Mempim. 


106 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


riS12 


CHAPTER  XL 

BeeoIatioD  to  advance  into  Spain — March  towards  Salamanca — Reception  at  Salamanca- 
Capture  of  the  Fortresses — Battle  of  Salamanca— Character  of  Marshal  Marmont — Retreat 
of  the  French. 


F  Lord  Wellington,  urged  by  the 
impatience  of  his  own  army,  and 
the  irritating  taunts  of  the  Opposi 
tion  in  Parliament,  had  moved  befor*» 
he  had  heard  of  Hill's  success,  oj 
before  that  success  had  been  achieved 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  bril 
liant  triumphs  which  followed  would 
not  have  adorned  his  history.  Mar- 
shal Marmont  was  not  a  soldier  to 
be  despised,  and  up  to  this  time 
he  had  every  prospect  of  effecting 
a  junction  with  Marshal  Soult,  which 
would  have  given  to  the  French 
forces  a  vastly  preponderating  supe- 
riority. 

The  works  of  Badajoz  had  been 
repaired  ;  the  garrison  placed  on  a  reliable  footing,  and  its  approaches 
sufficiently  guarded.  The  hour  had  arrived  for  attempting  to  pene- 
trate Spain.  Salamanca  was  the  point  on  which  Lord  Wellington 
advanced. 

Salamanca  is  a  town  in  the  kingdom  of  Leon,  once  famous  for  its 
colleges  of  learning.  "  The  town  is  dull,  cheerless,  and  cold  ;  the  air 
bites  shrewdly ;  and  as  fuel  is  very  scarce,  the  sun  is  the  fire  place  of 
the  poor ;  hence  '  the  South '  takes  precedence  in  the  three  marvels 
of  Salamanca — '  Medio  dia,  medio  piiente,  y  medio  claustro  de  San 
Vicente.^     The  city  has  an  anti(j[ue,  old-fashioned  look.     The  beautiful 


1812.]  MARCH  TO  SALAMANCA.  167 

creamy  stone  of  which  it  is  built  comes  from  the  quarries  of  Vella 
Franca,  distant  about  a  league.  The  town  is  built  on  three  hills, 
in  a  horse-shoe  shape.  The  dingy  Tormes  forms  the  base,  and  the 
walls  which  overlook  it  are  very  ancient,  especially  near  the  Puerto 
del  Rio.  This  river  (Tormes)  rises  in  the  Sierra  de  Gudos,  near 
Formelles,  and  after  a  course  of  forty-five  leagues,  flows  into  the 
Douro,  near  Fermosella." '  The  ancient  name  of  Salamanca  was 
Salmantica ;  and  it  is  spoken  of  by  Plutarch  in  describing  the  siege 
of  the  place  by  Hannibal. 

The  march  to  Salamanca  was  extremely  well  conducted.  The 
march  of  the  Light  Division  was  especially  worthy  of  notice.  The 
men  were  very  fine,  and  well  seasoned  to  endure  fatigue,  having 
served  in  many  campaigns.  The  discipline  was  most  exact ;  the  men 
were  not  tormented  by  unnecessary  parades — tlie  march  was  their 
parade.  That  over,  the  soldiers  (excepting  those  on  duty)  made  them- 
selves happy,  and  procured  wholesome  rest.  Their  equipment  was 
regularly  examined,  nor  were  the  men  on  any  pretence  permitted  to 
overload  themselves — one  of  the  most  serious  afflictions  to  an  army. 
A  general  may  be  endowed  with  transcendent  abilities,  and,  by  a 
forced  march,  place  himself  in  a  situation  to  overthrow  his  enemies : 
he  may  possess  the  number  of  divisions  and  the  number  of  regiments, 
but,  by  internal  bad  management  of  regimental  officers,  half  his  army 
may  be  straggling  in  the  rear.  The  men  of  the  Light  Division 
carried  about  eighty  pounds  weight,  including  musket,  bayonet, 
accoutrements,  knapsack,  havresack,  sixty  rounds  of  ball  cartridge,  and, 
by  turns,  a  bill  hook  of  seven  pounds  weight,  to  cut  away  impedi- 
ments. To  this  they  would  often  have  added  articles  plundered  after 
a  siege,  but  it  was  not  permitted.  The  baggage  followed  the  line  of 
march  in  succession.  The  mules  of  each  company  were  tied  together, 
and  conducted  by  two  batmen  in  rotation.  Each  regiment  found  an 
officer,  and  each  brigade  a  captain,  to  superintend  the  baggage. 
When  the  enemy  were  reported  to  be  at  hand,  the  baggage  was 
ordered  to  the  rear — the  distance  according  to  circumstances. 

The  army  was  four  days  in  clearing  a  forest  (lying  on  the  march), 
which  was  clothed  with  verdure,  and  supplied  delightful  bivouacs. 
The  Sierra  de  Gata  lay  on  its  right  hand,  covered  with  snow,  while 
a  cloudless  sky  formed  its  canopy,  with  the  sunshine  of  hope  beaming 
on  every  countenance. 

On  the  16th  of  June  Lord  Wellington  reached  Salamanca  unop- 
posed— the  German  hussars  having  merely  had  an  affair  with  some 
French   cavalry   picquets.^   which   they   drove   in,   without,  however, 

1  Ford's  admirable  "  Hand-Book." 
N 


168  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON".  [1812. 

following  the  unwise  course  of  racing  at  their  heels.  The  ardour  of 
our  cavalry  in  pursuit  had,  as  already  observed,  been  extremely 
injurious  to  them ;  and  about  this  time  intelligence  reached  Lord 
Wellington  of  an  affair  under  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  which  much  dis- 
tressed him.  It  appears  that  a  severe  but  gallant  action  was  fought 
near  Llerena,  between  the  French  cavalry,  under  General  L' AUemand, 
and  our  heavy  dragoons,  commanded  by  General  Slade.  The  advan- 
tage at  first  was  to  the  English ;  but  their  impetuous  valour  carrying 
them  beyond  the  limits  of  prudence,  the  French  beat  them  back  with 
great  loss  to  themselves,  besides  the  loss  of  all  the  prisoners  they  had 
previously  taken.  The  news  of  this  rash  and  unfortunate  affair 
elicited  the  following  remarks  from  Lord  Wellington,  in  a  letter  to 
Sir  Rowland  Hill ; 

"  I  have  never  been  more  annoyed  than  by  this  affair.  It  is  occa- 
sioned entirely  by  the  trick  our  officers  of  cavalry  have  acquired,  of 
galloping  at  everything,  and  then  galloping  back  as  fast  as  they  gallop 
on  the  enemy.  They  never  consider  their  situations — never  think  of 
manoeuvring  before  an  enemy — so  little,  that  one  would  think  they 
cannot  manceuvre,  excepting  on  Wimbledon  Common ;  and  when 
they  use  their  arm  as  it  ought  to  be  used,  viz.,  offensively,  they  never 
keep  nor  provide  for  a  reserve.  All  cavalry  should  charge  in  two 
lines,  of  which  one  should  be  in  reserve ;  if  obliged  to  charge  in  one 
line,  part  of  the  line — at  least  one-third — should  be  ordered,  before- 
hand, to  pull  up  and  form  in  second  line  as  soon  as  the  charge  should 
be  given,  and  the  enemy  has  been  broken  and  has  retired.  The 
Royals  and  the  3rd  Dragoon  Guards  are  the  best  regiments  in  the 
cavalry  in  this  country;  and  it  annoys  me  particularly  that  the 
misfortune  has  happened  to  them.  I  do  not  wonder  at  the  French 
boasting  of  it :  it  is  the  greatest  blow  they  have  struck." 

The  joy  and  delight  of  the  people  of  Salamanca  upon  the  entrance 
of  the  British  was  beyond  all  expression.  The  women  were  particu- 
larly demonstrative  in  their  enthusiasm.  They  offered  their  houses 
freely  to  officers  and  men,  and  tendered  them  all  the  worldly  wealth 
they  possessed.  In  the  evening  the  town  was  brilliantly  illuminated, 
and  resounded  with  music,  while  the  merry  Spanish  mudiacJias  danced 
boleros,  and  struck  their  castanets  in  the  streets.  The  glow  of  light 
reflected  upon  the  bright  arms  of  the  soldiery  piled  in  the  streets,  and 
the  scarlet  coats  of  the  men,  diversified  by  the  yellow,  red,  and  blue 
petticoats  of  the  lively  peasantry,  imparted  a  singular  fascination  to 
the  whole  scene. 

Nor — supine  as  were  the  Spanish  Grandees  who  conducted  the 
Provisional  Government — could  all  these  manifestations  of  a  hearty 


1    jv-  i»  J  unu    \i  L 


1812.]  CAPTURE  OF  THE  FORTS   OF  SALAMANCA.  169 

welcome  be  wondered  at.  Salamanca  had  grievously  suffered  under 
French  domination  and  occupation.  In  the  three  years  of  their 
unjustifiable  occupation  of  the  town,  they  had  plundered  and  destroyed 
thirteen  convents  and  twenty  colleges,  and  had  trampled  alike  upon 
civil  rights  and  domestic  peace.  Lord  Wellington  and  his  friends 
were  therefore  hailed  by  the  people  as  deliverers,  and  their  arrival 
aroused  all  the  generous  feelings  of  the  Spaniards. 

Previous  to  his  evacuation  of  Salamanca,  Marshal  Marmont  had 
thrown  garrisons  into  the  forts  of  the  town,  and  the  Castle  of  Alba 
de  Tormes,  to  the  extent  of  eight  hundred  men.  These  forts  were 
respectively  called  San  Vicente,  San  Caetano,  and  La  Merced.  Five 
days  after  his  arrival,  Lord  Wellington  cannonaded  them,  and  fol- 
lowed up  the  cannonade  by  a  storm,  which,  however,  did  not  succeed, 
and  Major-General  Bowes,  who  led  the  assault,  was  killed.  The 
forts  were  found  to  be  much  stronger,  and  offering  a  more  effective 
reciprocal  defence  than  was  expected  by  the  Commander  of  the 
Forces.  A  delay  of  three  days  now  took  place,  until  fresh  supplies 
of  ammunition  could  be  received.  On  the  20th  of  June  the  siege 
recommenced,  and  Marshal  Marmont  advanced  with  35,000  men  to 
raise  it.  He  was  just  in  time  to  see  the  forts  fall  to  Major- 
General  Clinton,  who  stormed  Caetano  and  Merced,  San  Vicente 
capitulating  on  honorable  terms. 

The  fall  of  the  forts  induced  Marshal  Marmont  to  withdraw  the 
garrison  of  Alba  de  Tormes,  and  fall  back  behind  the  Douro. 
Here  he  was  joined  by  General  Borret,  from  the  Asturias,  which 
raised  his  force  to  45,000  men,  and  General  Caffarelli  approached 
with  12,000  men,  while  Joseph  Buonaparte  moved  from  Madrid 
with  the  army  of  the  centre  to  fall  on  the  flank  of  the  British. 

The  position  of  Lord  Wellington  was  critical  in  the  extreme.  He 
was  very  badly  off  for  money,  and  his  communications  between 
Salamanca  and  Ciudad  Rodrigo  were  in  hourly  danger  of  being  cut 
off  by  the  French.  Intrigue  was  at  work  among  the  Cortes  to  favour 
the  French,  and  Lord  W.  Bentinck,  instead  of  landing  with  an  army 
on  the  east  coast  of  Spain,  as  he  was  expected  to  have  done,  had  made 
a  descent  on  Italy.  But  no  important  movements  were  made  by  the 
enemy  until  the  15th  of  July,  when  they  passed  the  Douro  and  concen- 
trated themselves  between  Toro  and  San  Roman.  Corresponding 
movements  were  made  by  Lord  Wellington,  so  as  to  retreat  if  occasion 
rendered  it  necessary,  or  to  come  to  a  general  action  in  a  favour- 
able position.  On  the  18th  of  July,  the  enemy  attacked  the  troops 
at  Castrejon.  Sir  Stapleton  Cotton  maintained  the  post  with- 
out suffering  any  loss  until  joined  by  the  cavalry.     From  this  time 


no  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812 

until  the  22nd,  continual  attempts  were  made  by  Marmont  upon 
different  parts  of  the  British  line.  The  object  of  the  Duke  of  Ragusa 
was  to  cut  off  the  British  in  detail,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
deprive  them  of  all  means  of  communicating  with  the  towns. 

From  this  period  until  the  22nd,  the  hostile  armies  were  employed 
in  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  Lord  Wellington  acting  strictly  on  the 
defensive.  The  Tormes  was  crossed  and  recrossed ;  positions  were 
occupied  and  abandoned ;  skirmishers  met  and  exchanged  compliments, 
and  everything  indicated  a  disposition  on  both  sides  to  come  to  close 
quarters.  At  length  intelligence  reached  Lord  Wellington  that 
Marmont  was  about  to  be  joined  by  General  Clausel,  with  the 
cavalry  and  artillery  of  the  army  of  the  north.  There  was  no  time  to 
be  lost ;  the  British  Commander  determined  to  bring  matters  to  an 
issue  or  move  towards  Ciudad  Rodrigo  without  delay.  The  crisis 
had  arrived.  What  followed  must  be  given  in  Lord  Wellington's 
own  words : — 

"  After  a  variety  of  evolutions  and  movements,  the  enemy  appears 
to  have  determined  upon  his  plan  about  two  in  the  afternoon ;  and 
under  cover  of  a  very  heavy  cannonade,  which,  however,  did  us  but 
very  little  damage,  he  extended  his  left,  and  moved  forward  bis 
troops,  apparently  with  an  intention  to  embrace,  by  the  position  of 
his  troops,  and  by  his  fire,  our  post  on  that  of  the  two  Arapiles  which 
we  possessed,  and  from  thence  to  attack  and  break  our  line ;  or,  at 
all  events,  to  render  difficult  any  movement  of  ours  to  our  right. 

"  The  extension  of  his  line  to  his  left,  however,  and  its  advance 
upon  our  right,  notwithstanding  that  his  troops  still  occupied  very 
strong  ground,  and  his  position  was  well  defended  by  cannon,  gave 
me  an  opportunity  of  attacking  him,  for  which  I  had  long  been 
anxious. 

"  I  reinforced  our  right  with  the  5th  Division,  under  Lieutenant- 
General  Leith,  which  I  placed  behind  the  village  of  Arapiles, 
on  the  right  of  the  4th  Division,  and  with  the  6th  and  7th 
Divisions  in  reserve ;  and  as  soon  as  these  troops  had  taken  their 
station  I  ordered  Major-General  the  Hon.  E.  Pakenham  to  move 
forward  with  the  3rd  Division,  and  General  D'Urban's  cavalry,  and 
two  squadrons  of  the  14th  Light  Dragoons,  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Hervey,  in  four  columns,  to  turn  the  enemy's  left  on  the 
heights  ;  while  Brigadier-General  Bradford's  brigade,  the  5th  Division, 
under  Lieutenant-General  Leith,  the  4th  Division,  under  Lieutenant- 
General  the  Hon.  L.  Cole,  and  the  cavalry,  under  Lieutenant-General 
Sir  S.  Cotton,  should  attack  them  in  front,  supported  in  reserve  by 
the  6th  Division,  under  Major-General  Clinton,  the  7th,  under  Major 


1812.]  BATTLE  OF  SALAMANCA.  171 

General  Hope,  and  Don  Carlos  de  Espana's  Spanish  Division,  and 
Brigadier-General  Pack  should  support  the  left  of  the  4th  Division, 
by  attacking  that  of  Dos  Arapiles,  which  the  enemy  held.  The  1st 
and  Light  Divisions  occupied  the  ground  on  the  left,  and  were  in 
reserve.  The  attack  upon  the  enemy's  left  was  made  in  the  manner 
above  described,  and  completely  succeeded.  Major-General  the  Hon. 
E.  Pakenham  formed  the  3rd  Division  across  the  enemy's  flank,  and 
overthrew  everything  opposed  to  him.  The  troops  were  supported  in 
the  most  gallant  style  by  the  Portuguese  cavalry,  under  Brigadier- 
General  D'Urban,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hervey's  squadrons  of  the 
14th,  who  successfully  defeated  every  attempt  made  by  the  enemy  on 
the  flank  of  the  3rd  Division.  Brigadier-General  Bradford's  brigade, 
the  5th  and  4th  Division,  and  the  cavalry  under  Lieutenant-General 
Sir.  S.  Cotton,  attacked  the  enemy  in  front,  and  drove  his  troops 
before  them  from  one  height  to  another,  bringing  forward  their  right, 
80  as  to  acquire  strength  upon  the  enemy's  flank  in  proportion  to  the 
advance.  Brigadier-General  Pack  made  a  very  gallant  attack  upon 
the  Arapiles,  in  which,  however,  he  did  not  succeed,  excepting  in 
diverting  the  attention  of  the  enemy's  corps  placed  upon  it  from 
the  troops  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Cole  in  his 
advance.  The  cavalry  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir.  S.  Cotton  made 
a  most  gallant  and  successful  charge  against  a  body  of  the  enemy's 
infantry,  which  they  overthrew  and  cut  to  pieces.  lu  this  charge 
Major-General  Le  Marchant  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  brigade, 
and  I  have  to  regret  the  loss  of  a  most  able  officer.  After  the  crest 
of  the  height  was  carried,  one  division  of  the  enemy's  infantry  made 
a  stand  against  the  4th  Division,  which,  after  a  severe  contest,  was 
obliged  to  give  way,  in  consequence  of  the  enemy  having  thrown 
some  troops  on  the  left  of  the  4  th  Division,  after  the  failure  of 
Brigadier-General  Pack's  attack  upon  the  Arapiles,  and  Lieutenant- 
General  the  Hon.  L.  Cole  having  been  wounded.  Marshal  Sir  W. 
Beresford,  who  happened  to  be  on  the  spot,  directed  Brigadier- 
General  Spry's  brigade  of  the  5th  Division,  which  was  in  the  second 
line,  to  change  its  front,  and  to  bring  its  fire  on  the  flank  of  the  enemy's 
division ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  add  that  while  engaged  in  this  service 
he  received  a  wound  which  I  am  apprehensive  will  deprive  me  of 
the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and  assistance  for  some  time.  Nearly  about 
the  same  time  Lieutenant-General  Leith  received  a  wound  which 
unfortunately  obliged  him  to  quit  the  field,  I  ordered  up  the  6th 
Division,  under  Major-General  Clinton,  to  relieve  the  4th,  and  the 
battle  was  soon  restored  to  its  former  success.  The  enemy's  right, 
however,  reinforced  by  the  troops  which  had  fled  from  his  left,  and 


172  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

by  those  which  had  now  retired  from  the  Arapiles,  still  continued  to 
resist ;  and  I  ordered  the  1st  and  Light  Divisions,  and  Colonel  Stubb's 
Portuguese  brigade  of  the  4th  Division  which  was  re-formed,  and 
Major-General  W.  Anson's  brigade,  likewise  of  the  4th  Division,  to 
turn  to  the  right,  while  the  6th  Division,  supported  by  the  3rd  and 
5th,  attacked  the  front.  It  was  dark  before  this  point  was  carried  by 
the  6th  Division  ;  and  the  enemy  fled  through  the  woods  towards 
the  Tormcs.  I  pursued  them  with  the  1st  and  Light  Divisions,  and 
Major-General  W.  Anson's  brigade  of  the  4th  Division,  and  some 
squadrons  of  cavalry  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir.  S.  Cotton,  as  long 
as  we  could  find  any  of  them  together,  directing  our  march  upon 
Huerta  and  the  fords  of  the  Tormes,  by  which  the  enemy  had  passed 
on  their  advance  ;  but  the  darkness  of  the  night  was  highly  advan- 
tageous to  the  enemy,  many  of  whom  escaped  under  its  cover  who 
must  otherwise  have  been  in  our  hands.  I  am  sorry  to  report  that, 
owing  to  the  same  cause,  Lieutenant-General  Sir  S.  Cotton  was 
unfortunately  wounded  by  one  of  our  own  sentries  after  we  had 
halted. 

"  We  renewed  the  pursuit  at  break  of  day  in  the  morning  with  the 
same  troops,  and  Major-General  Bock's  and  Major-General  Anson's 
brigades  of  cavalry,  which  joined  during  the  night ;  and,  having 
crossed  the  Tormes,  we  came  up  with  the  enemy's  rear  of  cavalry 
and  infantry  near  La  Serna.  They  were  immediately  attacked  by 
the  two  brigades  of  dragoons,  and  the  cavalry  fled,  leaving  the  infantry 
to  their  fate.  I  have  never  witnessed  a  more  gallant  charge  than  was 
made  on  the  enemy's  infantry  by  the  heavy  brigade  of  the  King's 
German  Legion,  under  Major-General  Bock,  which  was  completely 
successful ;  and  the  whole  body  of  infantry,  consisting  of  three  battalions 
of  the  enemy's  1st  Division,  were  made  prisoners.  The  pursuit  was 
afterwards  continued  as  far  as  Penaranda  last  night,  and  our  troops 
were  still  following  the  flying  enemy.  Their  head-quarters  were  in 
this  town,  not  less  than  ten  leagues  from  the  field  of  battle,  for  a  few 
hours  last  night ;  and  they  are  now  considerably  advanced  on  the  road 
towards  Valludolid,  by  Arevalo.  They  were  joined  yesterday  on  their 
retreat  by  the  cavalry  and  artillery  of  the  army  of  the  north,  which 
have  arrived  at  too  late  a  period,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to  be  of  much 
use  to  them.  It  is  impossible  to  form  a  conjecture  of  the  amount  of 
the  enemy's  loss  in  this  action  ;  but  from  all  reports,  it  is  very  con- 
siderable. We  have  taken  from  them  eleven  pieces  of  cannon, 
several  ammunition  waggons,  two  eagles,  and  six  colours ;  and  one 
general,  three  colonels,  130  officers  of  inferior  rank,  and  between  6000 
and  7000  soldiers  are  prisoners  j  and  our  detachments  are  sending  in 


1812.]  WOUNDS  IN  HIGH  PLACES.  173 

more  at  every  moment.  The  number  of  dead  on  the  field  is  very 
large.  I  am  informed  that  Marshal  Marmont  is  badly  wounded,  and 
has  lost  one  of  his  arms/  and  that  four  general  officers  have  been 
killed,  and  several  wounded.  Such  an  advantage  could  not  have  been 
acquired  without  material  loss  on  our  side  ;  but  it  certainly  has  ^ot 
been  of  a  magnitude  to  distress  the  army,  or  to  cripple  its  operations. 
I  have  great  pleasure  in  reporting  to  your  Lordship  that  throughout 
this  trying  day,  of  which  I  have  related  the  events,  I  had  every  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  general  officers  and  troops. 
The  relation  which  I  have  written  of  its  events  will  give  a  general 
idea  of  the  share  which  each  individual  had  in  them  ;  and  I  cannot 
say  too  much  in  praise  of  the  conduct  of  every  individual  in  his 
station." 

In  a  subsequent  despatch  to  Earl  Bathurst,  who  had  now  become 
Foreign  Secretary,"  Lord  Wellington  expressed  his  belief  that  if  he 
had  had  another  hour  or  two  of  daylight,  not  a  man  would  have 
passed  the  Tormes.  He  was,  however,  very  well  pleased  with  the 
result  generally.  "  There  was  no  mistake."  Indeed,  as  he  after- 
wards told  the  troops  in  his  congratulatory  orders,  dated  Tordillas, 
23rd  of  July,  the  events  of  the  day  were  calculated  "  to  impress  all 
with  a  conviction  that  military  success  depends  upon  troops  obeying 
the  orders  which  they  receive,  and  preserving  the  order  of  their  forma- 
tion in  action." 

Major-General  Le  Marchant  was  the  only  officer  of  distinction 
who  fell  on  the  side  of  the  British,  in  this  "  the  first  general  action 
fought  in  the  Peninsula,  where  Lord  Wellington  attacked?''  Wounds 
there  were  in  plenty — even  the  leaders  did  not  escape.  Lord 
Wellington  himself,  who  was  seen  that  day  at  every  point  precisely 
where  his  presence  was  most  required,  was  struck  in  the  thigh  by  a 
musket-ball,  which  first  passed  through  his  cloak  (folded  in  front  of 
his  saddle)  and  holster.  Lieutenant-General  Leith  was  also  hit,  and 
Sir  Stapleton  Cotton,  at  night,  was  shot  through  the  arm  by  a  Portu- 
guese sentry.  Napier,  diversifying  his  professional  detail  with  a  fa- 
miliar sketch,  adds, — 

"  Captain  Brotherton,  of  the  14th  Dragoons,  fighting  on  the  18th 
at  the  Gruarena  amongst  the  foremost,  as  he  was  always  wont  to  do, 
had  a  sword  thrust  through  his  side,  yet  he  was  again  on  horseback 
on  the  22nd,  and  being  denied  leave  to  remain  in  that  condition  with 
his  own  regiment,  secretly  joined  Pack's  Portuguese  in  an  undress, 

1  This  proved  to  be  a  mistake.    Marmont  was  simply  wounded. 

2  Mr.  Pcrcival,  the  Prime  Minister,  had  been  assassinated.  Lord  Liverpool  became 
Premier. 


174  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLlNGTOIf.  [1812. 

and  was  again  hurt  in  the  unfortunate  charge  at  the  Hermanito.' 
Such  were  the  officers.  A  man  of  the  43rd,  one  by  no  means  distin- 
guished above  his  comrades,  was  shot  through  the  middle  of  the 
thigh,  and  lost  his  shoes  in  passing  the  marshy  stream,  but  refusing 
to  quit  the  fight,  limped  under  fire  in  rear  of  his  regiment,  and  with 
naked  feet,  and  streaming  with  blood  from  his  wound,  marched  for 
several  miles  over  a  country  covered  with  sharp  flints.  Such  were  the 
soldiers ;  and  the  devotion  of  a  woman  was  not  wanting  to  the  illus- 
trations of  this  great  day.  The  wife  of  Colonel  Dalbiac,  an  English 
lady  of  a  gentle  disposition,  and  possessing  a  very  delicate  frame,  had 
braved  the  dangers,  and  endured  the  privations,  of  two  compaigns,  with 
that  patient  fortitude  which  belongs  only  to  her  sex.  In  this  battle, 
forgetful  of  everything  but  the  strong  affection  which  had  so  long 
supported  her,  she  rode  deep  amidst  the  enemy's  fire,  trembling,  yet 
irresistibly  impelled  forwards  by  feelings  more  imperious  than  horror, 
more  piercing  than  the  fear  of  death." 

Had  anybody  written  the  foregoing  but  the  illustrious  author  of 
the  "  Peninsular  War,"  he  would  in  justice  have  added  the  following 
from  an  account  of  the  battle  of  Salamanca,  which  appeared  some 
years  ago  in  the  "  United  Service  Journal :" — 

"  The  line  of  the  43rd  was  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  discipline 
I  ever  saw — as  steady  as  rocks — loith  Colonel  William  Napier  twenty 
yards  in  front  of  tlie  corps^  alone :  he  was  the  point  of  direction.  Our 
skirmishers  ceased  firing,  and  the  line  marched  over  them,  dead  and 
alive.  I  expected  to  see  our  chief  unhorsed,  and  carried  away  in  a 
blanket." 

Honourable  mention  was  made  by  Lord  Wellington  of  all  the 
officers  who  had  shared  conspicuously  in  the  battle  of  Salamanca, 
and  especially  of  Sir  Stapleton  Cotton,  of  whom  he  observed  that  no 
one  could  command  the  cavalry  in  Spain  half  as  well  as  he  had  done. 
There  were  other  officers  who  had  shown  a  more  chivalric  spirit,  but 
few  who  displayed  in  so  remarkable  a  degree  the  quality  of  prudence 
in  command.  Sir  Stapleton  had  besides  seen  much  service  in 
different  parts  of  the  globe ;  in  Flanders  against  the  Republican 
troops ;  in  India  during  the  war  with  Tippoo  Sahib ;  and  in 
Portugal." 

1  Captain  Brothcrton  had  been  at  Oporto,  Talavera,  Almoida,  Fuenlos  d'Onoro,  and  in  moat 
of  the  affairs  in  which  cavalry  was  called  upon  to  act.  lie  remained  with  his  corps  during  the 
war.  On  hie  promotion  to  Major-General,  he  obtained  the  appointment  of  Inspector-General  of 
the  Cavalry  in  Great  Britain,  which  he  only  vacated  on  promotion  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenaut- 
General. 

i  la  1826,  when  Commander-in-Chief  in  India,  as  Lord  Combcrmere  (a  title  conferred  on  him 
In  1814),  he  captured  the  strong  fortress  of  Bhurlpore. 


1812.]  MARSHAL  MARMONT.  175 

The  severe  wound  which  the  Duke  of  Ragusa  received  compelled 
him  to  retire  from  the  command  of  the  army  in  Portugal,  and  we  do 
not  again  hear  of  him  in  the  field  against  Wellington. 

That  Marmont  was  an  officer  of  whom  Napoleon  thought  well,  is 
sufficiently  clear  from  his  nomination  to  so  important  a  command  at 
so  imminent  a  juncture.  Yet  his  biographers  affirm  that  he  waa 
more  indebted  to  his  insolence,  pride,  and  family  connections,  than  to 
his  talents,  for  his  preferment.  They  add,  in  the  words  of  Bonaparte, 
that  he  was  "  always  unfortunate."  A  brief  reference  to  the  ante- 
cedents of  Marmont  will  show  that  neither  the  character  he  obtained 
nor  the  pithy  commentary  of  his  master  were  altogether  well  founded. 
Descended  from  a  noble  family,  he  received  a  good  education,  and 
was  intended  for  the  artillery.  He  was  serving  in  the  army  of  Italy 
when  Napoleon  selected  him  for  one  of  his  aides-de-camp.  His 
courage  and  confidence  secured  him  the  confidence  of  his  General, 
who  employed  him  on  many  trying  occasions,  in  which  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  succeed.  He  was  still  a  chpfde  bataillon,  when  he 
was  sent  to  Paris  to  present  to  the  Directory  twenty-two  stands  of 
colours  taken  from  the  Austrians  under  General  Wurmser.  At  the 
epoch  of  the  formation  of  the  Italian  Republic,  he  was  appointed  to 
carry  to  the  Congress  of  Reggio  the  determination  of  Napoleon  : 
and  he  was  with  the  expedition  that  marched  against  Rome.  On 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  at  Campo  Formio,  he  returned  to 
France,  where  he  married  the  only  daughter  of  the  rich  banker, 
Perigaux.  He  next  followed  Napoleon  to  Egypt.  At  the  taking  of 
Malta,  he  was  charged  with  the  command  of  one  of  the  columns 
landed  ;  he  repulsed  the  Maltese,  and  took  the  standard  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Order.  He  was  then  made  a  General  of  Brigade.  Marmont 
rendered  himself  useful  in  the  attack  of  Alexandria,  and  in  the  march 
of  the  French  upon  Cairo.  The  21st  of  July,  1800,  he  seized  upon 
the  entrenchments  which  covered  the  position  of  the  Mamelukes, 
and  contributed  to  the  overthrowing  in  the  Nile  a  great  number  of 
those  intrepid  horsemen.  At  the  time  of  the  expedition  to  Syria, 
Marmont  was  charged  with  the  command  of  Alexandria,  where  he 
superseded  General  Kleber.  Returning  to  France  with  Bonaparte, 
he  assisted  in  the  revolution  of  the  18th  Brumaire  ;  he  was 
entrusted  with  the  command  of  the  military  school,  nominated  a 
councillor  of  state  in  the  section  of  war,  and  General  of  Division ;  he 
was  employed  in  the  army  of  reserve,  destined  to  reconquer  Italy, 
which  had  been  overpowered  by  the  Austro-Bussians  in  the  single 
campaign  of  1799  ;  he  obtained  the  chief  command  of  the  artillery 
of  that  army  which   formed   itself   in  the  environs   of  Dijon,  and 


176  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

assisted  at  Geneva  at  the  commenecment  of  May,  1800.     Marmont 
evinced,  on  this  occasion,  a  good  deal  of  genius  and  resolution  ;  he 
dismounted  the  cannon  to  convey  them  over  Mount  St.  Bernard  ;  he 
caused  trees  to  be  prepared  to  receive  them,  in  the  form  of  troughs, 
corresponding  to  the  size  of  the  calibre.     The  wheels,  carriages,  and 
waggons  were  either  carried  in  litters  or  drawn  on  sledges,  very  inge- 
niously constructed  ;  the  ammunition  was  carried  on  the  backs  of 
mules.     Marmont  was  to  be  found  wherever  he  judged  his  presence 
most   necessary  ;    he   neglected   nothing   to    deserve   the  praises  of 
Bonaparte,  who  was  delighted,  in  such  difficult  circumstances,  to  see 
himself  so  well  seconded   by  his  aide-de-camp.     Not   to  retard  the 
movements  of  the  army,  which  could  not  advance  with  success  with- 
out its  artillery,  Marmont,  instead  of  having  recourse  to  his  former 
manoeuvres  of  St.  Bernard,  to  get  over  Mount  Albaredo,  determined 
to  defile  his  artillery  under  the  fire  of  Fort  de  Bard ;  the  road  was 
strewed  with  dung,  and  the  wheels  covered  with  hay.     They  expe- 
rienced losses,  but  the  passage   succeeded.     "When  General  Desaix 
overthrew   the   Austrians    on   the   day  of  the   battle   of    Marengo, 
Marmont  contributed  much  to  the  success  of  that  attack  by  the  fire 
of  the  artillery,  which  he  caused  to  advance  nearly  within  musket- 
shot  of  the  enemy's  line.     At  the  crossing  of  the  Mincio,  the  26th  of 
December,   1800,  eflFected   by  General   Brune   against  the  Austrian 
General,  Bellegarde,  the  artillery  commanded  by  Marmont  rendered 
great  services.     When,  in  1805,  he  was  called  to  the  grand  army, 
his  troops  were  in  the  organisation  comprised  under  the  name  of 
the  "  second  corps."      They  consisted  of  the   divisions   of   infantry, 
commanded  by  Generals  Boudet,  Grouchy,  and  Dumonceau,  and  in 
the  division  of  Light  Horse  commanded  by  General  Lacost.     After 
having  passed  the  Bhine  at  Cassel,  Marmont  directed  his  march  upon 
Wurtzburg,  where  he  efi"ected  his  junction  with  the  Bavarians,  and 
the  corps  of  the  army  of  Marshal  Bernadotte,  on  the  2d  of  October, 
1 805.     He  received  orders  to  proceed  towards  the  Danube,  to  cross 
that    river,   and   to   take   position   between   Aicha   and    Augsburg. 
General  Mack  having  shut  himself  up  in  Ulm,  Bonaparte  ordered  the 
second  corps  to  proceed  by  forced  marches  to  Illersheim.  to  favour 
the  movements  of  General  Soult  upon  Meiningen,  and  afterwards  to 
come  and  co-operate  in  the  blockade  of  Ulm,  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Danube.     The  place  having  capitulated,  Marmont  served  at  first  as  a 
reserve    to   the  grand   army,  and  was  afterwards  detached  towards 
Styria,  to  threaten  the  left  of  the  Austro-Russian  army,  and  harass 
the  rear  of  the  army  of  Italy,  commanded  by  the  Archduke  Charles. 
This  destination,  where  he  had  but  to   fight  against  a  few  partisans 


1812.]  PURSUIT  OF  THE  FRENCH.  177 

in  the  environs  of  Leoben,  prevented  him  from  being  at  the  battle  of 
Austerlitz.  After  the  peace  of  Presburgh,  Marmont  repaired  with  the 
French  troops  under  his  orders,  into  the  Frioul,  to  guard  the  frontier 
of  the  kingdom  of  Italy.  In  1809,  Marmont  commanded  the  army 
of  Dalmatia.  Prince  John  summoned  him  to  surrender,  by  his  letter 
of  the  1 7th  of  April.  Although  this  prince's  letter  was  very  polite, 
and  conformable  to  the  duties  prescribed  by  honour  and  the  laws  of 
war,  Marmont  made  no  reply  to  it.  After  having  fought  the  engage- 
ments of  Montkitta  and  Grodschatz,  he  arrived  with  his  army  on  the 
28th  of  May  at  Fiume,  where  he  effected  his  junction  with  the  army 
of  Italy,  which  had  obtained  some  success  over  the  Archduke  John. 
Marmont  had  under  his  orders  about  10,000  effective  men.  When 
Bonaparte  resolved  to  attack  the  Austrian  army  at  Wagram,  he 
united  all  his  forces.  The  Duke  of  Ragusa's  corps  crossed  the 
Danube  on  the  night  between  the  4th  and  5th  of  July,  and  formed  a 
part  of  the  reserve.  On  the  6th  it  was  placed  in  the  centre,  with  the 
corps  of  General  Oudinot,  and  on  the  7th  it  pursued  the  Austrians 
in  the  direction  of  Zriam.  After  the  armistice,  Marmont  quartered 
his  troops  in  the  circle  Karunenburg,  and  when  Bonaparte  wished  to 
appear  to  intimidate  Austria,  by  making  the  whole  of  the  grand  army 
take  position  towards  the  latter  end  of  July,  Marmont's  troops  en- 
camped upon  the  heights  of  Krems. 

Succeeded  in  Dalmatia  by  General  Count  Bertrand,  Marmont  was 
appointed  to  supersede  Massena  in  the  command  of  the  army  of 
Portugal. 

From  this  sketch,  derived  in  a  measure  from  the  pen  of  General 
Sarrazin,  it  is  evident  that  Wellington  had  in  Marmont  a  foeman 
worthy  of  his  steel.  The  detraction  to  which  he  was  exposed  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  enmity  he  created  by  an  arrogance  of  manner  and  a 
display  of  wealth  offensive  to  the  plain  soldiers  of  the  Republic. 

The  pursuit  of  the  defeated  French  army  was  continued  until  the 
French  reached  Valladolid,  about  fifty  miles  north-east  of  Salamanca. 
Lord  Wellington  then  committed  the  further  operations  to  General 
Clinton,  with  the  6th  Division  and  the  guerrillas,  while  he  turned 
against  the  army  of  the  centre,  under  King  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who 
had  moved  from  Madrid  towards  Salamanca,  and  retraced  his  steps 
when  he  received  the  news  of  Marmont's  defeat.  The  progress  of  the 
allies  towards  Madrid  was  without  a  check,  excepting  at  Magidhorda, 
where  General  D'Urban  who  commanded  the  cavalry  advanced  guard, 
encountered  a  strong  body  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  and  sustained  a 
momentary  reverse.  The  timely  arrival  of  reinforcements  prevented 
the   King  from  following  up  the  advantage,  and  he   continued  his 

VOL.  I.  12 


1Y8  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1811. 

retreat  to  Valdermao,  where  he  met  the  enormous  escort  which  he 
had  detached  to  Madrid,  to  bring  away  his  court.  The  court  had 
quitted  Madrid  on  the  10th  of  August,  with  two  or  three  thousand 
carriages  of  different  kinds,  and  nearly  twenty  thousand  persons  of 
all  ages  and  sexes.  A  horrible  confusion  now  arose.  The  troops  of 
the  three  different  nations  who  formed  Joseph's  army  plundered  the 
convoy,  and  made  prey  of  the  miserable  people  who  followed  the 
court.  Marshal  Jourdan,  the  King's  Major-General,  with  great 
exertions  arrested  the  mischief,  and  succeeded  in  making  the  multi- 
tude file  over  the  bridge  of  Aranjuez.  "  The  procession  was,  however, 
lugubrious  and  shocking ;  for  the  military  line  of  march  was  broken  by 
crowds  of  weeping  women  and  children  and  despairing  men ;  count- 
esses of  the  highest  rank  were  to  be  seen  in  full  dress  desperately 
struggling  with  savage  soldiers,  for  the  possession  of  even  the  animals 
on  which  they  were  endeavouring  to  save  their  families.  The  cavalry 
of  the  allies  could  have  driven  the  whole  before  them  into  the  Tagus 
yet  Wellington  did  not  molest  them,  either  from  ignorance  of  their 
situation,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  compassionating  their  misery. 
He  knew  that  the  troops,  by  abandoning  the  convoy,  could  easily 
escape  over  the  river,  and  he  would  not  strike  where  the  blow  could 
only  fall  on  helpless  people,  without  affecting  the  military  operations. 
Perhaps,  also,  he  thought  it  wise  to  leave  Joseph  the  burthen  of  his 
court."  * 

I  Napier, 


1812.] 


ADVANCE  UPON  MADRID. 


179 


CHAPTER  XII. 


Advance  upon  Madrid— Reception  at  Madrid— The  French  in  the  East,  the  South,  and  the 
North  of  Spain— Departure  for  Burgos— Proclamation  to  the  Spaniards— Attack  upon,  and 
retreat  from  Burgos— Hill  and  Soult  at  Alba  de  Tormea— Circular  on  the  subject  of  Discipline 
—Feeling  excited  by  the  CSrcular. 


MORE  striking  contrast  to  the  picture 
delineated  by  Napier,  than  that  which 
was  presented  on  the  entry  of  Lord 
Wellington  and  the  allies  into  Madrid, 
it  is  impossible  for  the  mind  to  pour- 
tray.  When  they  reached  the  heights 
which  command  the  Spanish  capital,  on 
the  road  from  Salamanca,  the  soldiers 
ran  forward  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
countless  steeples  that  were  distinguish- 
able through  the  haze ;  and  their  joy 
was  at  its  height  when  they  beheld  a 
city,  the  possession  of  which  had  cost 
them  so  much  toil  and  hard  fighting. 
Ten  thousand  voices  shouted,  in  glad 
chorus,  "Madrid!  Madrid!"  Their 
step  grew  light — their  spirits  rose — and 
the  enthusiasm  thus  kindled  went  almost  beyond  bounds,  when 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  Spaniards  came  out  from  the  town,  to 
accompany  the  army  to  the  city.  For  miles  leading  to  Madrid,  the 
roads  were  crowded  almost  to  suffocation  by  people  of  all  ranks ;  and 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  march  was  conducted  in  the  order  which 
had  generally  been  observed.  The  nearer  the  troops  approached 
Madrid,  the  greater  became  the  difficulty  of  progress  ;  for  the  people 
forced  themselves  into  the  midst  of  the  ranks,  and  joined  hand  in  hand 


180 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON. 


[1812. 


with  the  soldiers.  Wine  was  offered,  and  (of  course)  accepted,  though 
not  to  the  extent  the  Spaniards  wished ;  for  the  soldiers  were  too  well 
disciplined,  and  felt  too  jyoud  of  the  stations  they  held  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people  and  themselves,  to  allow  anything  bordering  on  excess 
to  follow  the  latitude  that  was  granted  them.  There  was  nothing  like 
intoxication  in  the  ranks — not  the  slightest  irregularity  ;  and  the 
appearance  of  the  ofl&cers,  almost  all  of  whom  were  mounted,  and  the 
respect  with  which  they  were  accosted  by  the  soldiers  when  occasion 
required,  struck  the  Spaniards,  from  its  strong  contrast  with  the 
oose  discipline  of  the  French  and  Spanish  armies.  It  may  be  fairly 
Baid  that  no  troops  ever  entered  any  capital  with  all  the  requisites 
necessary  to  insure  them  a  cordial  as  well  as  a  respectful  reception, 
as  the  British  army  did  on  that  occasion. 

But,  great  as  had  been  the  obstacles  to  the  march  to  the  gates  of 
Madrid,  they  were  increased  tenfold  when  the  army  entered  a  part 


SPANISH    LADIES. 


of  the  town  in  the  vicinity  of  the  royal  palace.  Nothing  could  stop 
the  populace,  which  at  that  moment,  and  at  that  point,  embraced 
nearly  all  Madrid,  from  mixing  themselves  with  the  troops.     Varie- 


xM2.J  ENTRY  INTO  MADRID.  181 

gated  drapery  hung  from  the  windows ;  the  church  and  convent  bolls 
rang  out ;  banners  were  displayed  ;  the  bishops,  the  clergy,  and  muni- 
cipal authorities  came  forth  in  procession,  in  all  the  glitter  of  the 
gayest  dresses.  The  clangour  of  a  thousand  trumpets  rent  the  skies 
and  as  the  loud  blasts  died  away,  to  be  renewed  with  fresh  bursts  of 
welcome,  the  dark-eyed  senoritas  of  Castille  struck  their  guitars, 
tambourines  and  castanets,  and  danced  in  front  of  the  triumphal 
columns  and  their  unmatched  leader.  The  British  officers  were 
nearly  forced  from  their  horses,  and  some  there  were  who  actually 
lost  their  seats,  if  not  their  hearts.  It  was  not  alone  the  handsome 
young  sub  who  received  these  marks  of  Spanish  enthusiasm.  The 
scarred  and  sun-burnt  veterans  equally  came  in  for  a  share  of  the 
caresses  of  the  admiring  Castillians ;  and  the  Great  Chief  himself,  for 
whose  horse  an  impromptu  carpetting  was  provided  in  their  shawls 
and  mantillas,  when  he  dismounted,  was  vehemently  embraced  and 
handed  over  from  one  female  to  another,  until  he  became  fairly  ex- 
hausted by  their  uncontrollable  attentions.' 

All  this  was  very  agreeable  to  the  victorious  army,  and  still  more 
pleasant  were  the  exertions  made  by  the  people  of  Madrid  to  contribute 
to  the  comforts  of  the  officers  and  the  enjoyments  of  the  men.  Some 
of  the  former  reposed  on  beds  of  down,  under  canopies  of  satin 
fringed  with  gold,  and  made  their  toilettes  in  the  boudoirs  of 
marchionesses  and  donas  of  the  highest  rank. 

Lord  Wellington  himself  was  housed  in  the  royal  palace  of  Madrid,, 
one  of  the  finest  buildings  in  the  world,  erected  under  the  auspices  of 
Philip  V.  And  here  fresh  honours  were  showered  upon  his  head  by 
the  Governments  of  Great  Britain,  Spain,  and  Portugal.  The  Prince 
Regent  of  England  advanced  him  in  the  peerage  by  the  title  of 
Marquis  of  Wellington ;  the  Prince  Regent  of  Portugal  conferred 
upon  him  the  title  of  Marquis  of  Torres  Vedras  ;  and  the  Spanish 
Government  offered  him  the  appointment  of  Generalissimo  of  the 
Spanish  armies.'  The  latter  was  in  one  respect  one  of  their  wisest 
measures ;  for  up  to  this  moment  his  authority  over  the  Spanish 
troops  had  been  too  often  set  at  nought  by  the  insolent  jealousy  of 

1  The  author  had  this  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington  himself. 

2  The  Spaniards  were  never  deficient  in  the  forms  of  gratitnde,  nor  in  the  display  of  en- 
Ihusiam.  Vivas  and  patriotic  songs  were  ever  in  their  mouths,  and  courage  was  in  their 
hearts,  but  the  intense  jealousy  of  Lord  WelUington  displayed  by  the  military  leaders  in  a 
great  measure  neutralised  the  popular  zeal.    Of  what  avail  to  shout 

"  Moeir  poor  la  Patria, 
Quan  hello  morir," 

if  they  were  Biationary  at  tho  very  moment  when  vigorous  action  was  desirable  ? 

O 


182  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1812 

the  national  officers,  who  would  not  recognise  his  power.  At  the 
moment,  however,  Lord  Wellington  did  not  accept  the  trust,  for  the 
reasons  which  will  be  given  hereafter. 

Madrid  is  defended  by  a  fort  called  the  Retire,  formerly  a  convent, 
with  an  interior  fort  called  La  China,  and  an  exterior  entrenchment. 
On  the  retreat  of  the  French,  a  garrison  was  left  here  of  2000  men. 
The  commandant  seeing  the  impossibility  of  holding  it  against  the 
British,  if  attacked,  surrendered  on  the  day  after  the  entree  of  Lord 
Wellington,  with  all  the  stores,  arms,  and  artillery  which  the  place 
contained.     The  garrison  were  then  sent  prisoners  of  war  to  Portugal, 

Leaving  the  Marquis  of  Wellington  for  a  time  at  Madrid,  to  recruit 
after  his  long  and  harassing  campaign,  let  us  advert  to  the  operations 
in  other  parts  of  Spain,  which,  though  they  did  not  very  materially 
influence  the  movements  of  Wellington,  must  be  considered  in  their 
general  bearing  upon  the  great  Peninsula  struggle ;  the  more 
especially  as  some  of  them  arose  from  the  British  leader's  own 
successes. 

The  reader  is  aware  that  while  the  events  described  above  were 
passing  in  the  west  and  the  centre  of  Spain,  the  guerrilleros  and 
partidas  in  the  north-west,  assailed  the  French  positions  with  great 
vigour.  Guadalajara  now  yielded  to  the  Empecinado — one  Juan 
Martin  Diez — who  had  acquired  the  soubriquet  of  Empecinado  from 
having  covered  his  face  with  pecina  (pitch),  and  vowed  vengeance  on 
the  French,  who  had  murdered  his  family.  Of  this  man's  cruelties 
the  most  horrible  stories  are  extant ;  but  that  they  were  rather  reta- 
liatory than  wanton  every  candid  reader  of  the  history  of  the  great 
war  in  the  Peninsula  will  admit.  There  never,  perhaps,  was  an  iuva- 
Bion  conducted  with  greater  recklessness  of  barbarity'  than  that  of 
the  French.  Begun  in  perfidy,  it  was  conducted  throughout  in  an 
uncivilized  and  unchristian  spirit,  and  terminated,  as  it  deserved,  in 
indelible  disgrace.  Besides  Guadalajara,  Astorga  and  Torden  surren- 
dered.    Puerto  de  Banos  and  Mirabete  were  also  evacuated. 

In  the  south  of  Spain,  Marshal  Soult  was  laying  siege  to  Cadiz. 
Three  years  had  been  employed,  with  sundry  interruptions,  in  con- 
structing the  works  necessary  to  the  conquest  of  the  place,  and  they 
■were  upon  the  point  of  completion,  when  the  astounding  intelligence 
reached  Soult  that  Marmont  had  been  defeated  at  Salamanca,  and 
that  King  Joseph  had  fled  from  Madrid  to  Valencia,  to  unite  himself 

1  Massena  carried  Napoleon's  doctrine  Ihat  "  war  should  support  war,"  to  a  frightful  ex 
tremity.  He  sanctioned  the  most  revolting  outrages.  A  vigorous  writer,  in  a  spirit  of  indigna- 
tion, thus  holds  him  up  to  obloquy  in  the  Biographie  UniverstlU : — "Signalez  le  a  Thorreui 
de  la  postcrite  ;  ses  rapines  lui  ont  ac<iuis  une  hontsuse  cfelfebritfe." 


1812.J  ADVANCE  UPON  BURGOS.  183 

with  Suchet.  Soult  immediately  raised  the  siege  of  Cadiz — destroyed 
his  entrenchments,  with  500  pieces  of  cannon — and  set  forth  to  join 
the  King.  The  defence  of  Cadiz  will  for  ever  remain  an  imperishable 
record  of  the  skill  of  British  engineers,  the  resoluteness  of  a  British 
garrison,  and  the  helpless  vanity  of  the  Spaniards.  At  first  the 
authorities  refused  to  admit  our  troops,  although  they  came  as 
defenders,  but  some  little  time  afterwards  they  were  only  too  glad  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  aid  of  Generals  Spencer  and  Cooke. 

The  French  cause  had  sustained  a  heavy  blow  and  great  discou- 
ragement by  the  battle  of  Salamanca.  But  the  snake  was  only 
scotched — not  killed.  The  eastern  provinces,  Catalonia,  Valencia, 
Murcia,  still  acknowledged  the  grinding  presence  of  the  usurper; 
and  Clausel,  though  wounded,  was  rapidly  rallying  on  Valladolid.  and, 
joined  by  General  Souham,  had  accumulated  an  effective  force  of 
30.000  men.  This  was  a  state  of  affairs  suggestive  of  anxious  consid- 
eration to  Lord  Wellington.  Moreover,  his  situation  at  Madrid 
was  peculiarly  isolated.  He  had  removed  himself  far  from  the  sea, 
and  was  consequently  remoter  from  the  means  of  obtaining  reinforce- 
ments of  men,  provisions,  and  ammunition.  He  therefore  resolved  upon 
immediately  proceeding  to  the  north-west,  to  open  a  communication 
with  Gallicia,  taking  Burgos  in  his  way  for  the  double  purpose  of 
driving  Clausel  still  farther  from  the  heart  of  Spain,  and  holding  his 
own  rear  secure. 

To  give  permanent  effect  and  surety  to  this  movement,  the  allied 
troops  at  Cadiz  were  ordered  to  embark  for  Lisbon,  in  order  that  they 
might  communicate  with,  or  join  the  chief  by  the  line  of  the  Tagus. 
Sir  Rowland  Hill,  no  longer  required  to  watch  Drouet,  who  had 
moved  with  Soult  towards  Valencia,  was  recalled  to  Aranjuez  to 
protect  Madrid  and  the  vicinity ;  and  Ballasteros,  who  had  hung 
upon  Soult's  right  flank  in  his  retreat,  was  also  summoned  to  occupy 
the  mountains  of  Alcaraz,  with  the  view  of  guarding  the  neighbouring 
fortress  of  Chinchilla,  and  of  harassing  the  French  if  they  should 
advance  upon  Madrid,  after  its  temporary  evacuation  by  Wellington. 

These  dispositions  effected,  Lord  Wellington  proceeded  to  move 
towards  Burgos. 

The  circumstances  which  suggested  this  measure  must  have  been 
desperate  indeed,  for  his  troops  were  not  in  a  condition  to  undertake 
any  great  work.  Discipline  had  become  much  relaxed  throughout 
the  army  ;  the  pay  was  many  months  in  arrears ;  sickness  prevailed, 
and  gloom  and  discontent  cast  their  mantles  over  all  who  were  kept 
in  the  field.  There  were  other  motives  beyond  the  position  of  Clause!, 
for  the  attempt  to  capture  a  strong  castle  with  a  part  only  of  a  worn- 


184  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

out  army,  and  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  frightful  state  of  destitution 
to  which  Madrid  was  reduced.  There  was  not  an  absolute  scarcity 
of  the  articles  of  life  in  the  city — the  scarcity  lay  in  the  absence  of 
money, — Madrid  and  Lord  Wellington  were  bankrupt.  To  stay  in 
the  capital  was  to  increase  the  universal  misery,  wrought  by  French 
plunder  and  oppression  ;  emancipation  was  only  to  be  effected  by  a 
desperate  movement  northward. 

Lord  Wellington  quitted  Madrid'  on  the  1st  of  September, 
previous  to  which  he  issued  the  following  proclamation  to  the  Spanish 
people : — 

PROCLAMATION, 

"Madrid,  29tA  Avgust,  1812. 

"  Spaniards  ! 

"  It  is  unnecessary  to  take  up  your  time  by  recalling  to  your 
recollection  the  events  of  the  last  two  months,  or  by  drawing  your 
attention  to  the  situation  in  which  your  enemies  now  find  themselves. 

"  Listen  to  the  accounts  of  the  numerous  prisoners  daily  brought  in, 
and  deserters  from  their  army ;  hear  the  details  of  the  miseries  endured 
by  those  who,  trusting  to  the  promises  of  the  French,  have  followed 
the  vagabond  fortunes  of  the  usurper,  driven  from  the  capital  of  your 
monarchy ;  hear  those  details  from  their  servants  and  followers  who 
have  had  the  sense  to  quit  the  scene  of  desolation,  and  if  the  sufferings 
of  your  oppressors  can  soften  the  feelings  of  those  inflicted  upon 
yourselves,  you  will  find  ample  cause  for  congratulation. 

"  But  much  remains  still  to  be  done  to  consolidate  and  secure  the 
advantages  acquired.  It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  the 
pretended  King  is  an  usurper,  whose  authority  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Spaniard  to  resist;  that  every  Frenchman  is  an  enemy,  against  whom 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  Spaniard  to  raise  his  arm. 

1  The  departure  of  the  British  troops  was  much  regretted  by  the  Spaniards,  not  a  few  of 
whom  reproached  our  troops  for  again  leaving  them  to  French  mercy.  Many  of  the  ladies 
came  on  the  walks  to  take  their  last  farewell ;  and  just  as  the  rear-guard  were  moving  off,  a 
beautiful  girl,  lightly  clothed,  refused  to  leave  her  lover,  an  English  officer  in  the  Portuguese 
Cacadores,  who  dismounted,  and  tied  his  silk  handkerchief  round  her  neck,  and  placed  her 
li-ideways  on  his  horse.  Towards  evening,  the  wind  blew  keenly,  and  "  I  saw  her,"  says  an 
officer,-  "enveloped  in  a  soldier's  great-coat."  Many  females  left  their  homes,  in  a  similar 
manner,  with  the  French  officers,  and  travelled  about  with  the  army  on  horseback,  and 
astride,  clad  in  imiforms  of  the  Polish  Lancers  or  Hussars,  splendidly  embroidered,  with 
crims.  n  trou.sers,  made  very  wide,  in  the  Cossack  fashion.  The  ladies  of  Spain  frequently 
ride  astride,  with  pantaloons  and  Hessian  boots,  with  a  habit  buttoning  up  before  and  behind, 
and  when  they  are  on  horseback  it  ia  tmfaslened  and  hangs  down  on  each  side,  to  conceal  ' 
their  legs  from  view. 


1812.]  BURGOS,  185 

"  Spaniards  !  you  are  reminded  that  your  enemies  cannot  much 
longer  resist ;  that  they  must  leave  your  country  if  you  will  only  omit 
to  supply  their  demands  for  provisions  and  money,  when  those 
demands  are  not  enforced  by  superior  force.  Let  every  individual 
consider  it  his  duty  to  do  everything  in  his  power  to  give  no  assistance 
to  the  enemy  of  his  country,  and  that  perfidious  enemy  must  soon 
entirely  abandon  in  disgrace  a  country  which  he  entered  only  for  the 
sake  of  plunder,  and  in  which  he  has  been  enabled  to  remain  only 
because  the  inhabitants  have  submitted  to  his  mandates,  and  have 
supplied  his  wants. 

"  Spaniards !  resist  this  odious  tyranny,  and  be  independent  and 
happy. 

"  Wellington." 

As  Wellington  advanced  upon  Burgos,  the  enemy  retired.  General 
Caffarelli,  however,  placed  1800  infantry,  besides  artillery,  in  the 
place  (altogether  2500  men),  and  the  governor,  Dubreton,  was  of 
such  courage  and  skill,  that  he  surpassed  even  the  hopes  of  his 
sanguine  and  warlike  countrymen." 

Burgos  means  a  "  fortified  eminence."  The  city  was  founded  in 
884,  and  became  the  capital  of  Old  Castile.  There  is  a  castle 
protecting  the  town  upon  a  rugged  hill  oblong  in  form.  A  triple  line 
of  defence  surrounded  it.  The  outer  line  consisted  of  the  old  escarp 
wall  of  the  town,  a  castle  modernised,  with  a  shot-proof  parapet; 
the  second  of  a  species  of  field  entrenchment ;  the.  third,  or  upper 
line,  of  the  same  character  as  the  second.  All  these  were  flanked  and 
protected  at  the  salient  and  re-entering  angles  with  strong  palisades. 
Three  hundred  yards  from  the  castle  was  the  hill  of  St.  Miguel,  on 
which  stood  a  horn-work,  consisting,  as  usual,  of  a  curtain  and  two 
demi-batteries,  with  a  redan  (or  angular  work)  in  front.  This  work 
was,  in  its  turn,  defended  by  a  battery  within  the  third  line  men- 
tioned above.  The  artillery  mounted  on  the  works  consisted  of 
nine  heavy  guns,  eleven  field-pieces,  and  six  howitzers  and  mortars, 
and  there  were  abundant  supplies  of  stores  and  artillery  within 
the  castle. 

To  reduce  this  place  Lord  Wellington  had  with  him  21,000  allied 
troops  in  a  most  inefficient  condition,  and  a  remarkably  small  train  of 
artillery — not  more  than  three  l8-pounders,  and  five  24-pound  iron 
howitzers.  He  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  place  was  weaker 
than  he  found  it.  But  his  experience  of  what  might  be  accomplished 
by  a  vigorous  assault  after  a  breach  had  been  effected,  inspired  the 
British  General  with  a  degree  of  confidence  scarcely  justified  by  the 


186  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

state  of  his  material ;  but  it  was  plain,  from  the  first,  he  was  not  very 
sanguine  of  success. 

The  operations  commenced  on  the  19th  of  September,  by  the 
capture  of  the  horn-work  of  San  Miguel.  The  possession  of  this 
place  was  necessary  as  a  point  whence  the  subsequent  siege  could  be 
more  effectually  conducted.  The  attack  was  led  by  the  Hon.  Edmund 
Cocks  of  the  79th,  with  a  loss  of  sis  officers  and  sixty-six  non- 
commissioned officers  and  rank  and  file  killed,  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty  officers,  sergeants,  and  rank  and  file,  wounded  and  missing.  Upon 
the  following  day  the  siege  works  were  begun  under  a  fierce  fire  from 
the  garrison,  and  they  were  continued  from  that  time  (the  20th  of 
September)  with  little  intermission  until  the  21st  of  October.  A 
disheartening  course  of  failures — some  resulting  from  the  despondency 
of  the  troops,  who  lost  heart  at  the  inefficiency  of  the  fire  of  the  weak 
artillery — some  from  the  neglect  of  orders  by  officers  entrusted  with 
important  duties,  and  others  from  the  stout  resistance  of  the  gallant 
garrison,  who  were  too  much  for  Lord  Wellington's  inexperienced 
troops,  had  caused  him,  more  than  once,  to  contemplate  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  siege.  He  had,  in  the  various  attempts  by  sap,  by 
breach,  by  escalade,  and  by  storm,  lost  509  officers  and  men  killed, 
and  1505  wounded  and  missing.  He  had  hoped  against  hope  from 
first  to  last,  and  now  began  to-  despair  of  success.  Sir  Home 
Popham,  however,  was  on  the  northern  coast,  and  had  contrived  to 
forward  two  24-pounders  from  Santander  with  a  proportion  of  stores, 
and  with  these  Wellington  intended  to  endeavour  to  breach  the  wall 
of  the  castle.  But  ill  news  now  came  apace.  The  enemy  were 
approaching  from  the  north-east  with  10,000  men  to  relieve  Burgos, 
and  actually*  arrived  at  Monastino.  Another  force  was  moving 
towards  the  Tagus,  and  the  Castle  of  Chinchilla  had  surrendered, 
because  General  Ballasteros  had  not  assumed  the  position  in  La 
Mancha  which  ho  had  been  ordered  to  take  up  by  the  Spanish 
Government  at  Lord  Wellington's  suggestion.* 

I  The  explanatory  and  jusliflcalory  letter  of  this  vain,  self-sufficient  soldier  is  so  perfectly 
characteristic  of  the  consequence  of  an  empty  Spaniard — so  entirely  antithetical  to  the  doctrine 
of  Wellington,  that  personal  convenience  should  always  give  way  to  public  duty — that  it  is  worth 
reproducing  in  this  place,  apart  from  its  value  as  a  confirmation  of  the  frequent  complaints  of 
the  British  General,  that  the  Spanish  leaders  were  never  to  be  depended  upon. 

"ExcELLBNT  SiR,— From  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  Barcelona,  Figueras,  Pampeluna, 
and  San  Sebastian,  at  which  epoch  I  wa.s  at  Madrid,  I  began  to  omit  no  means  to  bring  about 
the  revolution,  maintaining  a  communication  with  various  provinces  of  Spain,  and  acting 
with  an  energy  surpassed  by  none.  I  flatter  myself  that  no  person  contributed  more  than  I 
did  to  the  success  of  the  2nd  of  May,  from  which  has  resulted  our  present  situation.  The 
motive  which  animated  me  to  act  thus,  was  a  knowledge  that  it  was  the  general  wish  of  the 


1812.]  OFFENDED   PRIDE   OF   BALLASTEROS.  187 

These   circumstances    combined    to    suggest    the   necessity  for  an 
immediate  abandonment  of  the  siege  of  Burgos.     It  was  a  severe 

nation  to  be  informed  for  what  purpose  the  surrender  of  those  fortresses  was  intended,  notwitb- 
ajanding  the  political  manner  in  which  they  were  given  up.  From  that  epoch  I  have  not  quitted 
my  arms,  but  have  resisted,  to  the  honoiu-  of  my  country,  the  attempts  which  have  been  made 
to  injure  her  by  a  foreigner.  Always  inflexible  in  remaining  only  a  Spaniard,  my  country  has 
found  me  ready  to  support  her  under  every  circumstance,  without  regard  to  my  fortune,  which  I 
have  ever  viewed,  as  your  Highness  must  admit,  with  the  greatest  indifference.  I  was 
surprised  at  learning  that  the  English  General,  Lord  Wellington,  was  appointed  chief  of 
the  Spanish  armies,  by  a  resolution  of  the  general  Cortes.  They  who,  to  preserve  the  repu- 
tation of  their  countr)',  lie  buried  in  their  graves — thousands  upon  thousands  of  our  com- 
panions in  arms — are  observing  our  proceedings;  and  I  should  not  consider  myself  as  having 
been  born  in  the  kingdom  of  Arragon,  if  I  did  not  submit  to  your  Excellency,  for  the  ivformation 
of  Oovernment,  that  I  cannot  condescend  to  a  determination  that  tarnishes  the  honour  of  the 
Spanish  iiame,  degrading  the  chiefs  who  are  at  their  head ;  supposing  that  they  do  not  perceive 
the  certain  superiority  to  which  this  measure  must  lead,  particularly  keeping  in  view  the  events 
of  Barcelona,  Figueras,  fee,  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  and  which  took  place  with  a 
nation  with  whom  we  were  connected  by  the  ties  of  friendship  and  good  understanding,  and  of 
■whose  bad  faith  and  fair  promises  no  person  can  give  a  more  satisfactory  account  than  the 
Duke  del  Infantado,  President  of  the  Regency.  I  have  received  an  account  of  this  event,  and, 
in  consequence,  an  order  to  move  my  army,  an  order  which  compi  omises  the  honour  of  all  the  in- 
dividuals belonging  to  it,  either  in  the  capacity  of  citizens  or  military  men.  I  cannot  hide  this 
from  them,  without  usurping  the  rights  which  belong  to  them,  in  the  event  of  acknowledging 
Lord  Wellington  as  General-in-Chief  of  the  Spanish  armies ;  and  as  the  point  in  qtiestion  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  the  general  good  of  the  country,  I  wait  the  resolution  of  your  Highness 
for  my  ulterior  determination. 

"  In  the  same  order,  your  Excellency  informs  me,  that  Lord  Wellington  returns  thanks  to  the 
generals  of  the  nation  for  the  benefits,  political  and  military,  which  they  performed,  to  obtain  the 
present  results  of  the  allied  army.  Then,  to  whom  is  to  be  confided  the  command  of  the  armed 
force  of  the  nation  ?  Is  Spain  to  be  considered  as  a  little  kingdom  of  Portugal  ?  Is  not  the 
origin  of  our  revolution,  to  our  honour  be  it  spoken,  difierent  from  that  of  the  Portuguese  ? 
Have  we  vol  the  honour  to  belong  to  the  greatest  nation  in  the  world  ?  Have  not  our  arms  re- 
sounded in  the  four  quarters  of  the  world?    Can  we  give  the  command  or  our  army  to  a 

FOREIGNER,  WHATEVER    MAY  BE  OCR  POLITICAL    SITUATION,  WITHOUT  DISGRACING  THE  NATION? 

No ;  Spain  has  still  resources ;  her  generals,  chiefs,  oflicers,  and  soldiers,  still,  fortunately,  pre- 
eerve  the  honour  they  inherited  from  their  forefathers;  and  in  the  present  war  they  have  con- 
vinced the  English  and  French  that  in  battle  they  display  equal  valour  and  discipline  to  them- 
selves, and  that  their  chiefs  know  how  to  conduct  them  to  victory.  The  fields  of  Baylen,  Albuera, 
Saragossa,  and  Gerona,  with  many  others,  which  I  omit  to  state,  because  I  would  npt  be  thought 
to  boast  of  myself,  are  indelible  testimonies  of  this  truth ;  and  the  fourth  army  which  I  com- 
mand, may  tell  the  nation,  that  in  these  qualities  they  are  not  inferior  to  any  soldiers  in 
the  world ;  and  that,  without  degradation,  they  cannot  descend  to  submit  to  obscure  the 
glories  they  have  acquired,  and  the  extraordinary  services  they  have  performed,  out  of  com- 
pliment to  Lord  Wellington,  although  they  are  always  ready  to  act  m  combination  with  him. 
Lastly,  I  entreat  your  Excellency  to  demand  the  opinion  of  the  national  armies  and  citizens; 
and  if  they  agree  to  this  nomination,  I  will  resign  my  appointments,  and  retire  to  my  house, 
to  convince,  in  this  manner,  all  the  world,  that  only  honour  and  the  good  of  my  country 
lead  me  to  this  exposition,  and  no  ambitious  views  as  to  fortune,  which  malice  may 
sometimes  attribute  to  me,  without  respecting  the  notoriety  of  my  patriotism,  acquired  by 
weight  of  constancy  and  signal  services. 

" Head-quarters,  Grenada,  Oct.  24.  "  f .  Ballastkros. 

"To  his  Excellency  the  Minister  at  War." 


188  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

sacrifice  for  the  General  to  make ;  for  though  he  had  never  been  very 
sanguine  of  becoming  the  captor  of  the  town,  he  could  not  but  bq 
sensible  that  the  attainment  of  that  object  would  have  proved  of 
mutual  advantage  to  the  Peninsula  cause,  and  insured  the  final  success 
of  the  campaign. 

It  was  on  the  night  of  the  2 1st  of  October,  1812,  that  the  siege  was 
raised.  Covering  the  wheels  of  his  gun  carriages  with  straw,  and  en- 
joining the  strictest  silence  throughout  the  columns,  Wellington  with 
his  army  defiled  under  the  guns  of  the  Castle,  and  moved  towards  the 
Douro. 

Dubreton  was  completely  taken  by  surprise,  when,  upon  the  follow- 
ing morning,  he  found  the  bird  had  flown.  And  Lord  Wellington  had 
so  far  benefited  by  the  secrecy  of  his  movement,  that  he  had  gained 
some  thirty  miles  before  the  French  troops  had  begun  to  follow  him. 
Their  cavalry  now  made  up  for  the  lost  time  by  a  rapid  movement  in 
the  direction  of  the  allies,  coming  up  with  their  rear  guard,  and  as- 
saulting it  with  great  determination.  The  remainder  of  10,000  troops 
followed,  and  by  the  time  the  allies  had  reached  Cittada  del  Camino 
the  two  armies  were  brought  into  collision.  The  rear  guard  of  the 
British,  commanded  by  Sir  Stapleton  Cotton,  remarkably  distin- 
guished itself  in  covering  the  retrogression  of  the  main  body.  Several 
desperate  charges  were  made  upon  the  French  by  the  brigades  under 
Major-General  Anson  and  Major-General  Bock,  while  the  German 
infantry,  under  Colonel  Halkett,  placed  in  squares,  bravely  and  stead- 
fastly repulsed  the  attacks  of  the  French  dragoons.  On  the  24th 
the  British  moved  on,  and  the  French  persevered  in  the  pursuit. 
On  the  25th  the  town  of  Villa  Muriel  was  reached,  and  the  French 
again  came  up,  again  attacked,  and  were  a  second  time  repulsed. 
The  honour  of  this  last  achievement  belonged  to  Major-General 
Oswald,  under  whom  were  Major-General  Pringle  and  Brigadier- 
General  Barnes.  The  Spanish  troops,  under  Don  Miguel  de  Alava, 
behaved  right  well  on  this  occasion,  driving  the  enemy  across  the  river 
Carrion,  with  great  loss.  On  the  29th  of  October  the  army  crossed 
the  Douro,  and  Lord  Wellington  destroyed  all  the  bridges,  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  following  him. 

Previous  to  retiring  from  Burgos,  Lord  Wellington  had  directed 
Sir  R.  Hill  to  move  from  his  position  on  the  Tagus  if  he  should  find 
that  he  could  not  maintain  himself  in  it  with  advantage.  It  was  ne- 
cessary that  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  should  be  near  him,  in 
order  that  the  corps  under  his  command  should  not  be  isolated  by  the 
movements  which  Hill  might  have  found  himself  under  the  necessity 
of  making. 


1812.]  ATTACK  ON   ALBA   DE  TORMES.  189 

Sir  Rowland  Hill  did  not  delay  to  quit  his  position.  Soult  left 
Valencia  on  the  12th  of  October,  and  approached  Aranjuez  on  the 
22rid.  His  army  consisted  of  50  000  tried  soldiers.  The  force  under 
Sir  Rowland  did  not  number  40. 000  bayonets.  The  retreat  was  con- 
ducted with  great  regularity,  and  without  molestation  from  the  enemy, 
until  Sir  Rowland  crossed  the  Tormes,  by  a  bridge  close  to  the  town 
of  Alba  (de  Tormes).  Here  Marshal  Soult  came  up  in  strength,  and 
with  an  evident  determination  to  attack  the  town.  Lord  Wellington 
now  moved  from  his  position,  to  form  a  junction  with  Hill,  and  thus 
placed  his  divisions  for  the  third  time  upon  ground  that  had  already 
been  distinguished  by  his  victory. 

Upon  the  approach  of  Soult  the  British  commander  gave  orders  for 
a  brigade,  consisting  of  the  50th,  71st,  and  92nd  Regiments,  supported 
by  General  Hamilton's  divisions  of  Portuguese,  to  re-cross  the  Tormes, 
and  occupy  the  town.  Hamilton  immediately  made  every  preparation 
for  a  vigorous  defence.  An  ancient  castle,  which  commanded  the  ap- 
proach to  the  bridge,  was  repaired,  and  garrisoned  with  150  men. 
The  old  Moorish  wall  which  surrounded  the  town  being  in  a  state  of 
complete  dilapidation,  was  instantly  repaired;  the  streets  and  various 
buildings  in  Alba  de  Tormes  were  barricaded ;  and  that  portion  of 
the  troops  which  was  not  required  to  line  the  walls  was  kept  in  reserve 
in  the  square. 

On  the  10th  of  November  Soult  made  his  appearance  upon  the 
heights  above  the  town,  his  advanced  guard  driving  in  the  British 
cavalry  picquets,  under  General  Long.  In  the  afternoon  the  French 
opened  their  fire  upon  the  town  from  twenty  pieces  of  cannon,  and 
pushed  forward^  their  light  troops,  8000  in  number,  close  to  the  walls. 
The  cannonade  lasted  for  three  hours ;  and  the  French  infantry  were 
repeatedly  formed  to  carry  the  place  by  assault.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing the  dreadful  shower  of  shot  and  shell  that  plunged  about  the 
streets  in  every  direction,  the  boldness  of  the  British  soldiery,  and 
the  firmness  and  intrepidity  of  the  officers,  deterred  the  enemy  from 
the  attack.  Soult  drew  off  his  columns,  and  replaced  them  on  the 
heights. 

Four  or  five  days  now  elapsed  without  any  fresh  attempt  being  made 
by  Soult  upon  the  town.  In  the  mean  while  he  manosuvred  along  the 
banks  of  the  Tormes;  and  upon  the  14th  crossed  the  river  about  six 
miles  above  Alba.  The  town  was  now  evacuated,  and  a  small  garrison 
of  300  Spaniards  being  thrown  into  the  Castle,  Lord  Wellington 
moved  his  divisions  towards  the  Arapiles.' 

1  Some  amusing  and  characteristic  scenes  connected  with  the  recounais-sances  and  operations 
of  Lord  Wellington  at  Alba  have  been  given  by  a  medical  officer  of  the  army.    The  journal 


190  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON".  [1812. 

It   was   fully    expected    by   the    army,    and    by    Lord  Wellington 
himself,  that   the   French  would  give  them   battle  on  the  plains  of 

whence  tbey  are  derived  likewise  minutely  describes  what  has  been  simply  sketched 
above  :— 

"After  a  long  day's  march,  It  was  late  when  we  arrived  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tormes, 
and  our  bivouac  was  a  cold  one.  Tlie  country  around  was  bare  of  wood,  the  ground  we 
occupied  had  lafbly  been  ploughed,  and  although  the  officers  were  now  partially  supplied  with 
tents,  our  situation,  already  sufficiently  uncomfortable,  was  thereby  rendered  much  more 
impleasant.  During  the  night  it  rained  and  blew  tremendously,  and  it  was  with  much 
difficulty  the  tents  were  prevented  from  being  blown  down.  The  want  of  wood  for  fires  was 
also  seriously  felt,  and  was  a  great  aggravation  of  the  other  evils ;  our  blankets  were  wet 
through  upon  us,  and  we  passed  a  most  uncomfortable  night.  On  the  morning  of  the  8th 
November,  we  therefore  were  not  sorry  when,  an  hour  before  daylight,  we  were  once  more 
formed,  tents  struck,  and  baggage  packed,  ready  to  move  on,  as  we  hoped,  to  a  more  eligible 
position.  The  severity  of  the  weather  had  suflcred  little  abatement,  and  we  were  kept  standing 
on  our  ground,  waiting  for  orders,  in  the  most  uncomfortable  plight,  the  rain  pelting  us  all  the 
while  most  piteously.  No  orders,  however,  arriving,  we  were  at  length  again  permitted  to  pitch 
our  tents,  and,  the  weather  clearing  up  about  noon,  proceeded  to  cook,  and  make  ourselves  as 
comfortable  as  circumstances  would  permit.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  our  brigade,  the 
first  of  the  2nd  Division,  and  some  Portuguese  regiments,  were  ordered  into  the  town  of  Alba,  to 
our  great  satisfaction,  for  the  night,  and,  with  some  of  my  brother  officers,  I  got  shelter  in  a  toler- 
ably decent  sort  of  house,  which  had  been  deserted  by  its  inhabitants. 

"  Alba,  or  Alva,  which  gives  the  title  of  duke  to  one  of  the  first  grandees  in  Spain,  is  a  town  of 
considerable  size,  about  three  leagues  to  the  south-east  of  Salamanca,  rather  romantically  situa- 
ted, in  a  little  amphitheatre  formed  by  some  gently-rising  ground  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tormes, 
which  is  there  of  considerable  breadth,  and  is  spanned  by  a  long  narrow  bridge,  having  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  arches.  On  one  side  it  is  flanked  by  an  old  Moorish  castle,  recently  reduced 
almost  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 

"  J^Tovemher  lOtk. — The  enemy  have  appeared  in  great  force,  and  are  preparing  to  invest  the 
place ;  our  brigade  has  been  left  alone  to  defend  it,  the  others,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tormes, 
having  been  moved  on,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  guns,  which  are,  however,  too  distant  to  be 
of  any  service,  whilst  the  castle  and  town  hold  out.  The  streets  are  now  barricaded,  the  exterior 
walls  lined  with  troops,  and  the  loopholed  houses  well  occupied.  A  garrison  of  200  men,  be- 
longing to  the  71st  Regiment,  has  been  put  in  the  castle,  along  with  whom,  being  the  only  dis- 
posable medical  officer,  I  was  detached.  Accordingly,  on  looking  about  for  a  suitable  place  to 
establish  myself,  I  fixed  on  a  spacious  vault  or  cellar,  with  a  commodious  access  by  a  broad  stair, 
from  the  court  in  the  centre  of  the  castle,  along  with  the  Commissariat  bread-bags:  it  was 
quite  dry,  and,  besides  the  light  afforded  by  the  door  at  the  top  of  the  flight  of  steps,  it  had 
a  small  grated  window,  which  looked  into  the  ditch,  and  on  the  dead  wall  which  formed  part 
of  the  rampart.  Tliis  was  almost'  the  only  apartment  in  the  castle  which  had  a  roof  to  it, 
except  one  in  the  great  tower,  which  had  been  fitted  up  as  a  kind  of  armoury,  to  which 
access  was  extremely  difficult,  indeed  only  to  be  obtained  by  means  of  a  ladder,  which,  for  want 
of  another,  ever  and  anon  required  to  be  drawn  up,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  reliefs  to 
get  to  a  second  floor,  from  whence  a  turret-stair  led  to  the  roof,  which  was  flat,  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  parapet.  From  the  smnmit  of  the  tower  the  whole  enceinte  of  the  castle,  the 
town,  and  the  surrounding  country  was  overlooked.  In  the  turret-stair  there  was  a  small 
window,  looking  towards  tlie  countrj-,  which  subsequently  had  to  be  blocked  up  with  stones, 
for  the  enemy's  tirailleurs,  under  cover,  approached  so  near  that,  watching  the  opportunity  of 
any  one  passing  in  ascending,  lliey  were  sure  to  liave  a  shot  at  them,  from  which  some  very 
narrow  escapes  were  experienced. 

"  About  noon.  Lord  Wellington,  attended  by  a  single  Staff  officer  and  Colonel  Cadogan,  Tlst, 
came  into  the  castle,  on  purpose  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  army,  which  continued  to  arrive 


1812.J  THE  BRITISH  RETREAT.  191 

Salamanca,  and  notwithstanding  the  disparity  of  force,  the  Eno^lish 
commander  was  not  indisposed  to  receive  the  attack,  or,  to  use  his 

in  masses  from  the  eastward,  and  covered  the  whole  face  of  the  country  in  that  direction.  1 
had  never  seen  his  Lordship  before,  but,  than  now,  I  could  not  have  had  a  belter  opportunity. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  plain  blue  surtout,  white  cravat,  cocked  hat,  waist-belt,  and  sabre.  He 
seemed  very  active,  and  in  great  haste.  Access  to  the  tower  had  formerly  been  obtained  from 
some  of  the  buildings,  now  in  ruins,  communicating  with  the  grand  stair;  but,  as  I  have 
already  said,  it  was  now  necessary  to  ascend  to  the  first  floor  by  means  of  a  ladder,  which  had 
to  be  drawn  up,  and  made  use  of  again  to  reach  the  second  story.  Major  M.  M.,  71st 
Regiment,  who  commanded  the  detachment  in  the  castle,  led  the  way,  and  as  soon  as  Lord 
Wellington  and  the  Staff  officer  had  ascended,  his  Lordship  ordered  the  ladder  to  be  drawn 
up,  calling  out  to  Colonel  Cadogan,  that  he  could  not  spare  time  to  wait  for  his  getting  up. 
The  colonel,  several  other  officers,  and  myself,  of  course,  remained  at  the  bottom  of  the 
tower,  kicking  our  heels  about,  whilst  his  Lordship  was  making  his  reconnaissance  from  its 
top.  The  Honourable  Colonel  Cadogan  was  the  commanding  officer  of  the  71st  Regiment, 
part  of  which  constituted  the  garrison  of  the  castle,  and  to  vs  it  seemed  rather  cavalier  treat- 
ment on  the  part  of  his  Lordship,  more  especially  as  the  Colonel  was  most  deservedly  con- 
sidered to  be  a  favourite  of  his.  Lord  Wellington  remained  on  the  tower  but  a  very  few 
minutes,  and,  on  descending,  Immediately  passed  out  of  the  castle,  mounted  his  horse,  and 
rode  off  in  great  haste. 

"  The  view  at  this  time  from  the  summit  of  the  tower  was  of  the  grandest  description ;  such  a 
spectacle,  indeed,  may  but  very  seldom  be  seen.  The  whole  country  round,  beyond  the  imme- 
diate confines  of  the  town  and  castle  of  Alba,  as  far  as  eye  could  reach,  swarmed  with  troops, 
in  all  the  various  panoply  of  war.  The  enemy's  force  in  sight — which  Marshal  Soult  had  with 
great  exertion  collected  in  the  south  and  east  of  Spain,  to  drive  Lord  Wellington  back  to  the 
Portuguese  frontier,  and  out  of  the  country — was  calculated  to  amount  to  between  80,000  and 
90,000  men,  15,000  of  which  were  cavalry  !  These,  for  the  moment,  were  all  held  in  check  by 
our  position  at  Alba,  which  prevented  their  passing  the  bridge  over  the  Tormes. 

"  Lord  Wellington  had  not  long  left  the  castle,  when  we  perceived  an  immense  cortege  of 
French  mounted  officers  to  approach,  and  take  up  their  station  on  the  summit  of  a  rising 
ground  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitring  our  position.  This 
was  Marshal  Soult  himself,  and  his  brilliant  staff.  It  was  said,  he  was  recognised,  by  some 
one  who  was  well  acquainted  with  his  appearance.  They  did  not  approach  within  musket 
shot,  but  certainly  were  not  beyond  cannon  range,  with  which,  however,  as  I  have  said,  we 
were  uvprovidcd. 

"  It  was  not  a  little  singular  that  two  such  great  men  should  have  been  the  cynosure  of  all 
eyes  on  the  same  day,  and  nearly  at  the  same  time ;  and  what  a  contrast !  Wellington  almost 
without  attendants,  and  Soult  with  his  numerous  and  splendid  staff! 

"  Shortly  afler  Soult  withdrew,  it  became  evident  that  the  business  of  the  day  was  coming  on. 
The  tirailleurs,  in  great  nmnbers,  closed  in  upon  our  defences,  but  not  without  opposition  on 
our  part ;  for  our  Light  Bobs,  of  which  the  71st  was  wholly  composed,  kept  up  a  spirited  ex- 
change of  shots  with  them  whenever  they  could  do  so  with  advantage,  and  no  little  gallantry 
and  tact  were  displayed  on  either  side. 

"  The  grand  attack  was  made  in  the  afternoon,  shortly  after  Marshal  Soult's  reconnaissance. 
The  skirmishers,  in  great  force,  advanced  nearly  up  to  the  walls,  and  obliged  us  to  witlidraw, 
our  men  from  the  ditches  to  more  sheltered  situations.  About  the  same  time,  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  pieces  of  artillery  and  howitzers  were  brought  forward  by  the  enemy,  and  posted  on 
some  rising  ground  a  little  in  advance  of  the  spot  where  Soult  made  his  reconnaissance,  and 
commenced  battering  the  walls  of  the  castle  and  town.  Everj-  shot  told,  except  such  as  passed 
over  altogether  and  fell  in  the  river,  and  a  number  of  the  houses  in  the  town  were  set  on  flre 
by  their  shells,  or  partially  demolished  by  their  shot.  Our  reply  was  only  by  musketry ;  and 
though  the  practice  was  sufficiently  brisk,  it  was  not  very  effective.     Our  chief  dependence, 


]92  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON,  [1812 

own  words,  "  to  try  the  issue  of  a  general  action,"  on  ground  of  his 
own  selection.  A  presentiment  possessed  the  British  that  the 
Arapiles  were  not  destined  to  witness  their  defeat,  and,  in  one  sense, 
this  belief  was  justified.  Whether  Marshal  Soult  was  oppressed  by 
a  superstitious  dread  of  the  ground  on  which  his  predecessor  had  been 
discomfited,  or  that  he  felt  it  hazardous  at  that  moment  to  carry  the 
war  anew  into  Portugal  (although  he  ardently  wished  to  do  so 
ultimately,  and  recommended  the  project  to  King  Joseph,  in  a  letter 
which  was  intercepted),  he  certainly  abstained  from  following  up  the 
good  fortune  which  had  befallen  him.  The  vicinity  of  Salamanca  did 
not  witness  another  fight.  Soult's  object  was  apparently  to  cut  off 
Wellington's  communication  with  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 

After  holding  out  to  his  adversary  for  a  day  or  two  the  temptation 
to  efface  the  tarnish  upon  Marmont's  arms,  and  finding  out  his  real 
object  by  the  fortifications  he  was  throwing  up  at  Mozarbes,  Lord 
Wellington  determined  to  move  upon  Ciudad  Rodrigo.  He  accordingly 
put  the  army  in  march  in  three  columns,  and  at  the  end  of  four  days 
crossed  the  Agueda,  and  placed  his  troops  in  cantonments  between 

that  river  and  the  Coa. 

« 

had  they  endeavoured  to  force  their  way  ■within  our  weak  defences,  was  on  the  bayonet ;  but 
they  never  attempted  to  make  a  lodgment.  Their  cannonade  was  continued  till  night,  when 
it  ceased,  without  their  having  gained  any  advantage.  The  attack  lasted  upwards  of  three  or 
four  hours,  but  did  less  execution  than  might  have  been  expected,  probably  owing  to  the  care 
taken  to  prevent  our  men  from  exposing  themselves.  Our  loss,  however,  was  by  no  means 
inconsiderable,  being  from  twenty  to  thirty  killed,  and  about  one  hundred  wounded. 

"The  castle  did  not  suffer  much  from  the  bombardment,  though  shell  and  shot  fell  about  it 
most  plentifully.  We  were  apprehensive  of  another  attack  diu-ing  the  night,  and,  of  course, 
were  on  the  alert,  but  luckily  were  disappointed ;  however,  soon  after  daylight  on  the  llth 
(November),  the  fire  of  the  tirailleurs,  from  behind  the  garden-walls  where  they  had 
ensconced  themselves,  was  again  resumed,  and  we  soon  discovered  that  a  very  considerable 
portion  of  the  enemy's  force  had  moved  off  during  the  night.  No  artillery  was  used  against 
ua  to-day,  though  the  place  was  so  closely  invested,  that  not  a  he.'id  could  be  shown  over  the 
parapet  without  being  saluted  by  a  shot.  In  the  course  of  the  day  General  Sir  John  Hamilton, 
who  commanded  the  Portuguese,  as  rough  a  diamond  as  ever  donned  the  soldier's  garb, 
visited  the  garrison  in  the  castle,  and  addressing  Major  M.,  who  commanded,  bluntly  told  him 
he  was  sorry  to  bring  his  death-warrant,  for  that  Lord  Wellington  was  going  to  withdfaw  the 
brigade  from  the  town,  but  the  castle  was  to  be  held  to  the  last ;  and  he.  General  Hamilton, 
was  sure,  from  what  he  knew  of  its  garrison,  that  they  would  never  give  it  up  but  with 
their  lives  ! 

"Next  morning,  the  12th,  our  prospects  were  little  improved;  but,  though  still  b^ 
leaguered,  the  bulk  of  the  enemy's  forces  had  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  coimtry  they 
80  lately  covered :  their  object  in  doing  so,  we  were  well  aware,  was  to  effect  the  passage  of 
the  Tormes  elsewhere.  Thus  passed  the  day,  imtil  the  afternoon,  when  we  were  most  unex- 
pectedly and  agreeably  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  300  Spanish  troops  from  Salamanca,  to 
garrison  the  castle,  and  relieve  us  from  so  perilous  a  duly.  We  delivered  over  the  charge  of 
the  castle  to  the  Spaniards,  who  really  were  flne-looking  fellows,  and  marching  out  with 
comparatively  light  hearts,  rejoined  our  regiment  in  the  town," 


1812.J 


THE  RETREAT   FROM  BURGOS. 


193 


The  enemy  followed  the  retiring  force,  but  did  not  press  upon  the 
rear  excepting  when  the  Light  Division  was  passing  the  Huebra  at 
San  Munoz  on  the  1 7th  November;  Ney  then  cannonaded  the  rear 
guard,  and  occasioned  some  loss.  On  the  same  day  General  Sir  Ed- 
ward Paget  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  He  had  ridden  alone 
to  the  rear  to  discover  the  cause  of  an  interval  in  the  march  between 
the  5th  and  7th  Divisions  of  infantry,  when  a  detachment  of  French 
cavalry  came  upon  him  in  a  wood,  and  captured  him.' 

Soult  remained  passive  for  a  few  days  near  the  Huebra,  and  then 
broke  up  his  force  into  detachments,  and  cantoned  it  in  Old  and  New 
Castille. 

The  whole  history  of  Lord  Wellington's  campaigns  does  not 
present  an  example  of  anything  half   so  disastrous,  pernicious,  and 


retr?:at  krom  buugos. 


mortifying  as   the  march  from  Burgos  to  the  cantonments  on   the 
Agueda.     The  discipline  of  the  army  had  been  terribly  shaken  by 


iSir  Edward  Paget  was  more  fearless  than  sagacious;   but  Lord  Wellington  found  him 
very  serriccable  at  aU  times,  for  he  was  a  stem  disciplinarian,  and  would  carrj-  out  the  sentence 
VOL.  I.  13 


194  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

a  variety  of  circumstances.  The  pay  was  long  in  arrears,  the  men 
were  half  starved,  utterly  ragged  (but  a  shirt  and  a  half  in  a  whole 
company  !)  emaciated,  covered  with  vermin.  They  had  been  exposed 
to  all  the  vicissitudes  and  opposite  rigours  of  climate — the  burning 
heats  of  summer,  the  bitter  cold  of  winter,  and  at  all  seasons  heavy 
falls  of  rain,  without  shelter  of  any  kind.  True  to  their  colours,  in 
the  most  trying  moments  they  were  always  ready,  and  indeed  anxious, 
to  face  the  enemy — but,  out  of  his  presence,  they  plundered  remorse- 
lessly. They  shot  the  pigs  which  were  the  sustenance  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, dived  into  the  wine-caves  and  vats,*  plundered  and  drank  to  such 
a  fri'^htful  extent  that,  on  one  occasion,  it  was  computed  there  were  no 
less  than  12,000  men  intoxicated  at  the  same  moment !  Straggling 
from  their  regiments  *  to  seek  the  means  of  gratifying  their  vile  pro- 
pensity, they  were  frequently  cut  up  by  the  enemy's  patrols  and 
advanced  cavalry,  and  not  unfrequently  fell  victims  to  the  angry 
resistance  of  the  country  people,  whose  property  they  seized  upon. 
Not  less  than  7000  of  the  allies  were  killed  in  the  retreat  from 
Burgos  ! 

Shocked  at  the  state  to  which  the  army  was  reduced,  Lord 
Wellington,  upon  taking  up  his  quarters  at  Freneda  for  the  winter, 
issued  the  following  circular  to  officers  commanding  Divisions  and 
Brigades  : — 

"  The  discipline  of  every  army,  after  a  long  and  active  campaign, 
becomes  in  some  degree  relaxed,  and  requires  the  utmost  attention 
on  the  part  of  the  general  and  other  officers  to  bring  it  back  to  the 
state  in  which  it  ought  to  be  for  service  ;  but  I  am  concerned  to  have 

of  a  Court-Martial  even  under  the  Are  of  the  enemy.  He  had  lost  his  right  arm  at  the  passage 
of  the  Douro,  and  was  for  some  time  disabled,  but  he  took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  resuming 
his  duties,  and  was  sent  out  as  second  in  command.  After  the  Peace,  he  was  made  Commander- 
in-Chief  in  India,  and,  by  prompt  and  severe  measures,  suppressed  a  dangerous  mutiny  of  native 
troops,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Burmese  war  in  18.J4.  He  died  the  Governor  of  Chelsea 
Hospital,  much  regretted. 

1  The  places  used  for  the  manufacture  of  wine  in  this  part  of  Spain  arc  subterranean,  beneath 
Bome  acres  of  ground.  Over  these  are  chimneys  to  admit  air  and  light.  To  get  into  the  vaults, 
the  men  of  the  regiments  lowered  down  one  of  their  comrades  by  ropes,  or  belts  strung 
together,  with  three  »r  four  canteens  slung  over  him.  It  was  the  business  of  the  men  so  lowered 
to  fill  the  canteens  from  the  vats,  and  then,  by  a  signal,  cause  themselves  to  be  hauled  up.  Many 
of  the  French  plunderers  (from  whom  our  soldiers  appear  to  have  acquired  the  science  of  vat- 
robbery)  were  murdered  in  the  vaults  by  peasants  set  to  guard  them,  and  it  is  believed  that 
several  of  the  English  shared  the  same  fate. 

S  General  Craufurd  had  a  sure  way  of  discovering  who  had  straggled  during  the  march  of  the 
Light  Division.  If  he  found  a  man  had  fallen  out  without  a  pass,  he  would  lake  his  ramrod 
from  him,  and  ride  off.  He  was  thus  seen  sometimes  riding  into  camp  with  a  dozen  ramrods, 
when  the  Adjutant  of  each  regiment  was  ordered  to  find  those  who  were  without  ramrods,  and 
the  offenders  were  ordered  two  dozen  lashes  each. 


1812.]  ORDER   REGARDING  DISCIPLINE.  195 

to  observe  that  the  array  under  my  command  has  fallen  off  in  this 
respect,  in  the  late  campaign,  to  a  greater  degree  than  any  army  with 
which  I  have  ever  served,  or  of  which  I  have  ever  read.  Yet  this 
army  has  met  with  no  disaster ;  it  has  suffered  no  privations  which 
but  trifling  attention  on  the  part  of  the  officers  could  not  have  pre- 
vented, and  for  which  there  existed  no  reason  whatever  in  the  nature 
of  the  service ;  nor  has  it  suffered  any  hardships,  excepting  those  re- 
sulting from  the  necessity  of  being  exposed  to  the  inclemencies  of  the 
weather,  at  a  moment  when  they  were  most  severe. 

"  It  must  be  obvious,  however,  to  every  officer,  that  from  the 
moment  the  troops  commenced  their  retreat  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  Burgos  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  Madrid  on  the  other,  the  officers 
lost  all  command  over  their  men.  Irregularities  and  outrages  of  all 
descriptions  were  committed  with  impunity,  and  losses  have  been  sus- 
tained which  ought  never  to  have  occurred.  Yet  the  necessity  for  re- 
treat existing,  none  was  ever  made  on  which  the  troops  had  such  short 
marches ;  none  on  which  the  retreating  armies  were  so  little  pressed 
on  their  rear  by  the  enemy. 

"  We  must  look,  therefore,  for  the  existing  evils,  and  for  the  situa- 
tion in  which  we  now  find  the  army,  to  some  cause  besides  those  re- 
sulting from  the  operations  in  which  we  have  been  engaged. 

"  I  have  no  hesitation  in  attributing  these  evils  to  the  habitual 
inattention  of  the  officers  of  the  regiments  to  their  duty,  as  prescribed 
by  the  standing  regulations  of  the  service,  and  by  the  orders  of  this 
army. 

"  I  am  far  from  questioning  the  zeal,  still  less  the  gallantry  and 
spirit  of  the  officers  of  the  army ;  and  I  am  quite  certain  that  if  their 
minds  can  be  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  minute  and  constant  at- 
tention to  understand,  recollect,  and  carry  into  execution  the  orders 
which  have  been  issued  for  the  performance  of  their  duty,  and  that 
the  strict  performance  of  this  duty  is  necessary  to  enable  the  army  to 
serve  the  country  as  it  ought  to  be  served,  they  will,  in  future,  give 
their  attention  to  these  points. 

"  Unfortunately,  the  inexperience  of  the  officers  of  the  army  has 
induced  many  to  consider  that  the  period  during  which  an  army  is  on 
service  is  one  of  relaxation  from  all  rule,  instead  of  being,  as  it  is,  the 
period  during  which,  of  all  others,  every  rule  for  the  regulation  and 
control  of  the  conduct  of  the  soldier,  for  the  inspection  and  care  of 
his  arms,  ammunition,  accoutrements,  necessaries,  and  field  equip- 
ments, and  his  horse  and  horse-appointments;  for  the  receipt  and 
issue  and  care  of  his  provisions ;  and  the  regulation  of  all  that  belongs 
to   his   food,  and   the   forage   for   his  horse,  must  be  most   strictly 


^96  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

attended  to  by  the  officers  of  his  company  or  troop,  if  it  is  intended 
that  an  army,  a  British  army  in  particular,  shall  be  brought  into  the 
field  of  battle  in  a  state  of  efficiency  to  meet  the  enemy  on  the  day 
of  trial. 

"  These  are  the  points  then  to  which  I  most  earnestly  intreat  you  to 
turn  your  attention,  and  the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the  regiments 
under  your  command,  Portuguese  as  well  as  English,  during  the 
period  in  which  it  may  be  in  my  power  to  leave  the  troops  in  their 
cantonments.  The  commanding  officers  of  regiments  must  enforce 
the  orders  of  the  army  regarding  the  constant  inspection  and  superin- 
tendence of  the  officers  over  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  their  compa- 
nies in  their  cantonments  ;  and  they  must  endeavour  to  inspire  the 
non-commissioned  officers  with  a  sense  of  their  situation  and  author- 
ity; and  the  non-commissioned  officers  must  be  forced  to  do  their 
duty  by  being  constantly  under  the  view  and  superintendence  of  the 
officers.  By  these  means  the  frequent  and  discreditable  recourse  to 
the  authority  of  the  provost,  and  to  punishments  by  the  sentence  of 
courts  martial,  will  be  prevented,  and  the  soldiers  will  not  dare  to 
commit  the  offences  and  outrages  of  which  there  are  too  many  com- 
plaints, when  they  well  know  that  their  officers,  and  their  non- 
commissioned officers,  have  their  eyes  and  attention  turned  towards 
them. 

"  The  commanding  officers  of  regiments  must  likewise  enforce  the 
orders  of  the  army  regarding  the  constant,  real  inspection  of  the 
soldiers'  arms,  ammunition,  accoutrements,  and  necessaries,  in  order  to 
prevent  at  all  times  the  shameful  waste  of  ammunition,  and  the  sale  of 
that  article  and  of  the  soldiers'  necessaries.  With  this  view  both 
should  be  inspected  daily. 

*"  In  regard  to  the  food  of  the  soldiers,  I  have  frequently  observed 
and  lamented,  in  the  late  campaign,  the  facility  and  celerity  with 
which  the  French  soldiers  cooked  in  comparison  with  those  of  our 
army.  The  cause  of  this  disadvantage  is  the  same  with  that  of  every 
other  description,  the  want  of  attention  of  the  officers  to  the  orders 
of  the  army,  and  the  conduct  of  their  men,  and  the  consequent  want 
of  authority  over  their  conduct.  Certain  men  of  each  company 
should  be  appointed  to  cut  and  bring  in  wood,  others  to  fetch  water, 
and  others  to  get  the  meat,  &c.,  to  be  cooked ;  and  it  would  soon  be 
found  that  if  this  practice  were  daily  enforced,  and  a  particular  hour 
for  seeing  the  dinners,  and  for  the  men  dining,  named,  as  it  ought 
to  be,  equally  as  for  parade,  cooking  would  no  longer  require  the 
inconvenient  length  of  time  which  it  has  lately  been  found  to  take, 
and  that  the  soldiers  would  not  be  exposed  to  the  privation  of  their 


1812.]  FEELING   OF  THE   ARMY.  197 

food  at  the  moment  at  which  the  army  may  be  engaged  in  operations 
with  the  enemy. 

"  You  will,  of  course,  give  your  attention  to  the  field-exercise  and 
discipline  of  the  troops.  It  is  very  desirable  that  the  soldiers  should 
not  lose  the  habits  of  marching,  and  the  division  should  march  ten 
or  twelve  miles  twice  in  each  week,  if  the  weather  should  permit,  and 
the  roads  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cantonments  of  the  division 
should  be  dry. 

"  But  I  repeat  that  the  great  object  of  the  attention  of  the  general 
and  field  officers  must  be  to  get  the  captains  and  the  subaltern  of  the 
regiments  to  understand  and  perform  the  duties  required  from  them, 
as  the  only  mode  by  which  the  discipline  and  eflaciency  of  the  army 
can  be  restored  and  maintained  during  the  next  campaign." 

The  immediate  effect  of  this  circular  may  be  conceived.  Every 
officer  in  the  army  considered  it  to  involve  unmerited  reproaches. 
Looking  only  at  what  they  had  undergone,  and  what  the  army  had 
achieved  from  the  hour  of  its  landing  in  Lisbon,  they  felt  that  the 
censure  of  the  General  was,  if  not  altogether  unmerited,  at  the  least 
ungrateful.  Many  of  them  were  mere  boys,  who  had  commenced 
their  career  on  the  field  of  battle.  They  had  had  very  little  previous 
opportunity  of  acquiring  even  a  knowledge  of  simple  regimental 
duties,  much  less  of  moral  command.  And  of  the  older  officers,  whei'e 
had  they  been  schooled  ?  In  home  garrisons,  in  the  West  Indies,  in 
Holland,  in  India — wherever,  in  short,  discipline  had  been  habitually 
loose  and  authority  weak.  With  no  better  preparation  for  severe 
campaigns  they  were  immediately  introduced,  in  the  Peninsula,  to 
heavy  marches  in  hostile  climates,  to  desperate  and  bloody  encounters 
with  a  disciplined  and  experienced  foe,  to  privations,  to  sickness,  and 
to  frequent  disappointments  and  severe  mortification.  The  spirit  of 
hundreds  sunk  under  the  accumulation  of  suffering,  and  disqualified 
them  for  the  strict  discharge  of  their  duties.  Add  to  this,  that, 
hunger  and  thirst  forcing  them  to  share  in  the  plunder  made  by  the 
men,  they  connived  at  the  irregularities  which  gave  them  meat  and 
drink,  and  thus  lost  that  authority  without  which  no  discipline  could 
be  preserved.  In  October,  1 8 II,  Lord  Wellington  had  found  it  necc- 
sary  to  remark  that  they  "  required  to  be  kept  in  order  as  well  as 
the  soldiers," — and  that  if  not  restrained  within  bounds,  "  they 
would  only  disgust  the  soldiers  over  whom  they  should  be  placed,  the 
officers  whom  they  should  be  destined  to  assist,  and  the  country  in 
whose  service  they  should  be  employed."  In  a  word,  they  were, 
as  a  body,  mere  inexperienced  creatures  of  impulse.  They  could 
neither  endure  success  nor  failure ;  the  former  threw  them  into  an 

P 


198  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

UDgovernable  intoxication  of  delight — the  latter  plunged  them  into  a 
miserable  state  of  despondency. 

No  doubt  Lord  Wellington  had  considered  all  these  matters,  and 
had  weighed  the  policy  of  unmitigated  reprehension  against  the 
danger  of  blending  reproof  with  too  much  palliation.  In  his  selection 
of  the  former,  which,  however,  he  tried  to  soften,  by  giving  credit  to 
the  officers  for  zeal  and  patriotism,  he  looked  more  to  its  effect  upon 
the  future  discipline  of  the  array  than  to  its  influence  on  his  own 
popularity.  In  this,  as  in  all  things,  Wellington  adhered  strictly  to 
one  of  his  leading  principles  of  action — the  sacrifice  of  personal 
feeling  and  convenience  to  the  public  good.  And  the  end  vindicated 
the  wisdom  of  his  procedure.  The  discontent  engendered  by  his 
rebuke  gradually  evaporated,  and  the  officers  diligently  applied  them- 
selves to  the  restoration  of  good  order  and  discipline. 


1812.J     FEELING  IN  ENGLAND  REGARDING  THE  CAMPAIGN.       199 


CHAPTER  Xm. 


Feeling  in  England  regarding  Salamanca  and  Burgos— Meeting  of  Parliament— Speeches— Lord 
Wellington  becomes  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Spanish  armies — Goes  to  Cadiz  to  meet  th« 
Cortes — Obtains  the  Colonelcy  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards— Goes  to  Lisbon. 


HE    failure 
"Wellington 
hia    retreat 
viewed   by 


of    the    Marquis    of 

before    Burgoa,    and 

into    Portugal,   were 

the    people    of   Eng- 


land as  a  melancholy  retrogres- 
sion, and  France  exulted  at  an 
apparent  turn  of  her  fortunes  in 
the  Peninsula.  Nothing  short 
of  a  miracle  could  have  endued 
the  British  General  with  the 
uninterrupted  good  fortune  he 
was  expected  to  reap,  under  so 
many  obstructions  and  disad- 
vantages. The  marvel  is,  that  he 
held  to  the  course  he  had  chalked 
out  for  himself  and  the  army  under  his  command  for  so  long  a  period. 
He  was  now  (December,  1812,)  exactly  where  he  had  been  many 
months  previously,  and  in  a  much  more  destitute  condition  in  respect  to 
the  supply  of  the  sinews  of  war  and  the  personal  efficiency  of  his  army. 
Yet  had  much  been  accomplished  in  those  months.  Victories  had 
been  won,  fortresses  had  been  taken,  and  the  major  part  of  these 
advantages  consolidated.  Not  a  Frenchman  now  stood  upon  the 
soil  of  Portugal.  Badajoz,  Oiudad  Rodrigo,  Salamanca,  Valladolid, 
Madrid,  Astorga,  Seville,  the  lines  before  Cadiz,  had  all  fallen  into 
Lord  Wellington's  hands,  and  he  had  either  destroyed  or  had  the  use 
of  3000  pieces  of  cannon,  and  the  other  contents  of  the  arsenals  of 
those  places  ;  20.000  prisoners  had  been  shipped  for  England,  and  tlje 
siege  of  Cadiz  had  been  raised. 


200  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

These  were  acliievcmcnts  only  to  be  paralleled  by  the  rapid  con- 
quests of  Napoleon.  If  they  fell  short  of  the  number  and  extent  of 
the  exploits  of  the  Macedonian  hero,  they  were  accomplished  in  a 
fourth  of  the  time.  But  "/a  fin  couronne  le  tout^''  and  in  this  case, 
"  la  fin  "  had  been  unfortunate.  Had  Parliament  been  sitting  when 
the  news  of  the  battle  of  Salamanca  and  the  occupation  of  Madrid 
reached  England,  the  voice  of  opposition  would  have  been  hushed  by 
the  eloquent  apostrophes  of  the  minister  and  the  joyful  shouts  of  the 
gladdened  multitude ;  but  now  the  tide  had  turned,  and  it  was 
difficult  to  appeal  from  the  misfortunes  of  Burgos  to  the  triumphs  of 
the  Arapiles. 

A  sliort  summary  of  the  proceedings  in  both  houses  at  this  juncture 
will  show  that  the  feeling  which  prevailed  in  England,  at  the  close  of 
1812,  however  ultimately  advantageous,  was  neither  just  nor  generous 
towards  Lord  Wellington.  The  Marquis  was  now  called  upon  to 
summon  all  his  patience  to  his  aid,  and  to  find  consolation  for  the 
obloquy  cast  upon  his  fortune  in  the  applause  of  his  own  clear 
conscience ;  in  the  hopes  of  the  future,  and  the  approbation  of  his 
sovereign. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Salamanca  was  received  with  the  usual 
demonstrations  of  joy.  Thanksgivings  were  offered  up  in  the  churches 
and  other  places  of  public  worship ;  the  windows  and  the  walls  of  the 
denizens  of  every  city  in  Great  Britain  blazed  with  illuminations ; 
fireworks  crackled  in  the  streets,  or  lighted  up  the  suburbs  ;  meetings 
were  called,  that  resolutions  of  approbation  might  be  placed  on  record  ; 
and  enormous  quantities  of  beer  were  consumed  in  toasts  to  the 
General  and  his  troops.  All  these  and  other  vulgar  marks  of  rejoicing 
however,  passed  away,  and  when  the  despatches  announced  the  tardy 
progress  of  the  operations  against  Burgos,  and  the  ultimate  failure 
of  Lord  Wellington,  the  mob,  and  the  press  in  its  interest,  veered 
round,  and  little  was  heard  but  the  language  of  reproach  and 
indignation. 

A  new  Parliament  had  been  elected  in  1812,  and  the  Prince  Regent 
took  the  earliest  opportunity  of  calling  it  together  on  account  of  the 
peculiar  situation  of  public  affairs.  In  the  speech  from  the  throne, 
on  the  30th  of  November,  his  lloyal  Highness  referred  in  approving 
terms  to  the  valour  and  intrepidity  of  the  troops,  and  the  skill  and 
judgment  of  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  who  had,  by  transferring  the 
seat  of  war  to  the  interior  of  Spain,  and  by  his  victory  at  Salamanca, 
delivered  the  southern  and  western  provinces  from  the  power  and 
arms  of  France ;  and  he  called  upon  Parliament  to  continue  to  afford 
every  aid  in  support  of  a  contest  which  had  given  to  the  continent  of 


1812.]  PARLIAMENTARY  PROCEEDINGS.  201 

Europe  the  example  of  persevering  and  successful  resistance  to  the 
power  of  France,  on  which  not  only  the  independence  of  the  nations 
of  the  Peninsula,  but  the  best  interests  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies  essentially  depended.  Lord  Longford,  a  relative  of  Lord 
Wellington's  (and  therefore  restrained  by  delicacy  from  saying  too 
much  in  his  praise),  moved  the  address,  and  while  he  admitted  the 
severity  of  the  taxation  under  which  the  nation  groaned,  urged  the 
endurance  of  greater  sacrifices — any  sacrifice  in  short — to  bring  the 
Peninsula  War  to  a  happy  issue.  Napoleon  deemed  no  sacrifice  too 
great  to  promote  the  dearest  objects  of  his  ambition.  It  became 
Great  Britain  to  practise  still  greater  self-denial  to  frustrate  those 
vicious  objects.     Lord  Rolle  seconded  the  address. 

The  Marquis  of  Wellesley  entered  upon  a  complete  survey  of  the 
Peninsula  War,  and  in  adverting  to  that  part  of  the  speech  which 
spoke  of  the  necessity  of  continued  efi'ort,  denounced  the  whole 
system  hitherto  pursued  by  the  Ministers  as  totally  inadequate  to  the 
great  purposes  to  be  attained.  "  It  was  certainly,"  he  said,  "  the 
highest  part  of  the  character  of  wisdom  to  persevere  with  reasonable 
grounds  of  hope,  in  the  face  of  danger,  difficulty,  and  discomfiture, 
so  it  was  the  highest  character  of  firmness  to  meet  the  tide  of 
success  without  intoxication ;  to  look  it  steadily  in  the  face ;  to 
analyse  the  grounds  on  which  it  stood  ;  and  from  that  analj'sis,  care- 
fully and  cautiously  pursued,  to  deduce  one  general  and  consistent 
ground  of  public  action."  He  called  upon  the  government  not  to 
be  led  away  by  past  success ;  not  to  be  intoxicated  with  it,  nor  suffer 
its  lustre  so  to  dazzle  their  faculties  that  they  could  neither  perceive 
where  it  originated,  how  it  might  be  rendered  permanent,  nor  to 
what  ultimate  objects  it  might  be  applied.  He  then  took  a  comprehen- 
sive view  of  the  history  of  the  war ;  showed  how  success  had  arisen 
from  the  great  talents  of  Wellington,  and  failure  from  the  inadequacy 
of  his  supplies,  for  which  Ministers  were  responsible.  Alluding  to 
the  battle  of  Salamanca, "  from  what,"  asked  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley, 
"  did  that  battle  arise  1  Did  it  arise  out  of  the  efficiency,  or  out  of 
the  necessity  of  Wellington?  It  arose  from  the  magnificence,  the 
splendour,  the  greatness  of  his  talents.  He  struck  the  enemy  with 
his  spear  the  moment  he  saw  an  opening.  But  were  we  to  hope  for 
that  again?  Was  that  a  ground  to  build  upon?  His  talents  were 
indeed  a  firm  and  secure  rock,  on  which  any  hopes,  any  expectations, 
however  great,  however  exalted,  might  be  founded ;  but  it  ill  became 
statesmen  to  calculate  upon  chances,  and  occasions  presenting  them- 
selves for  success  in  operations  upon  the  prosperous  issue  of  which 
so  much  depended.     Did  the  Ministry  mean  to  say  that  their  system 


202  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812 

was  raised  solely  upon  the  resplendent  abilities  of  a  consummate 
general,  and  upon  the  errors  of  the  enemy  ?  Did  their  plans  amount 
only  to  that?"  The  Marquis  continued  for  some  time  in  the  same 
strain,  and  concluded  by  declaring  Ministers  culpable  in  withholding 
needful  supplies,  and  calling  on  them  to  carry  on  the  war  in  the 
Peninsula  upon  a  broad  and  extensive  scale  of  operations. 

Lords  Liverpool  and  Bathurst  offered  a  feeble  defence  to  the  system 
of  Mr.  Percival ;  the  former  arguing  that  he  had  to  consider  the  other 
interests  of  the  country  in  meting  out  the  means  for  the  conduct  of 
the  war ;  the  latter  that  he  was  restrained  by  Lord  Wellington  himself 
from  sending  out  reinforcements ;  forgetting  to  add  that  the  restric- 
tions only  referred  to  a  late  period  of  the  contest,  when  they  could 
not  have  been  sent  without  danger  to  their  health. 

In  the  Commons,  Lord  Clive  moved  the  address,  which  was  more 
than  an  echo  of  the  speech,  because  it  was  more  wordy  and  elaborate 
in  its  promises  of  support.  No  amendment  was  at  first  offered  to  the 
address,  but  the  Right  Hon.  George  Canning,  who  had  held  up  the 
laurels  of  Talavera  to  the  admiration  of  the  country,  spoke  to  the 
subject  of  the  wars  in  Russia  and  in  the  Peninsula ;  lauding  the^ 
defence  of  Russia  as  the  noble  offspring  of  the  sturdy  resistance  of 
Spain  and  Portugal  under  British  auspices,  and  following  the  general 
view  with  a  denunciation  of  the  Ministers.  He  considered  the  great 
success  of  Salamanca,  succeeded  by  a  disastrous  retreat,  to  call  for 
explanation.  "  I  cannot  hesitate  to  say  (Canning  loquitur)  that  if 
there  be  in  the  power  of  Ministers  any  means  yet  untried,  any  effort 
yet  unattempted,  any  resources  yet  unexplored,  any  acceleration  of 
force  yet  omitted,  any  exercise  of  energy  yet  delayed,  not  only  such 
additional  exertion  ought  to  be  immediately  made,  but  that  it  ought 
to  have  been  made  long  ago."  Misplaced  economy,  shrinking  from 
exertions  that  had  a  tendency  to  cripple  Lord  Wellington's  operations, 
were  crimes  in  Mr.  Canning's  eyes. 

Lord  Castlereagh  defended  Ministers  in  the  same  tone  as  his  col- 
leagues in  the  other  House  had  employed.  This  brought  Mr. 
Whitbread  on  his  legs.  He  exclaimed  against  the  want  of  proper 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  and  joined  in  the  opinion 
that  the  British  Ministers  had  failed  adequately  to  support  Lord 
Wellington.  He  then  moved  a  long  amendment,  in  which  it  was 
proposed  to  institute  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  retreat  from 
Burgos,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  those  disappointments 
had  arisen  from  weakness  of  counsel  at  home,  and  want  of  support 
from  the  country,  or  were  attributable  to  causes  irremediable,  and 
Inherent  in  Spain  herself     Sir  Gilbert  Heathcote  and  Mr.  Ponsonby 


1812.J  PARLIAMENTARY  PROCEEDINGS.  203 

supported,  Mr.  Bathurst,  Mr.  Vernon,  and  Mr.  Elliott  opposed,  the 
amendment,  which  was  accordingly  lost,  and  the  address  carried  with- 
out a  division. 

The  report  on  the  Prince  Regent's  speech  was  brought  up  on  the 
1st  of  December.  Some  acrimonious  discussion  ensued,  because,  at 
this  time,  England  had  engaged  herself  in  a  war  with  America,  and 
by  the  expression  of  her  sympathy,  and  the  employment  of  her  navies, 
had  taken  a  part  in  the  Russian  campaign  against  Napoleon. 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  feeling  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  the  liberal  party  in  the  country,  regarding  the  policy  of  prose- 
cuting a  war  to  liberate  Spain,  there  was  no  difference  of  opinion 
respecting  the  merits  of  the  Marquis  of  Wellington.  To  his  stupen- 
dous ability  and  wisdom  all  parties  bore  willing  tribute.  On  the  3rd 
of  December,  Earl  Bathurst  proposed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  noble 
Marquis  for  the  victory  of  Salamanca,  and  found  no  dissentient  voice 
in  the  House  of  Lords.  The  Earl  drew  a  faithful  picture  of  the 
wisdom  of  Lord  Wellington  in  prosecuting  the  campaign  after  the  fall 
of  Badajoz. 

His  intention  to  march  into  Andalusia,  and  oblige  the  French  to 
evacuate  the  province,  lest  the  people,  becoming  accustomed  to  the 
power  and  presence  of  the  enemy,  should  forget  their  connection 
with  their  legitimate  government,  and  the  subsequent  change  in  that 
intention,  because  of  Marmont's  advance  upon  the  Agueda,  and  the 
importance  of  cutting  off  all  communication  between  the  Marshal  and 
Marshal  Soult  in  the  south,  were  suitably  dwelt  upon  and  eulogised. 
"  Indeed,  my  Lords,"  exclaimed  Lord  Bathurst,  "  such  were  the  skill 
and  management  of  the  noble  Marquis  during  this  period  of  the  cam- 
paign, that  no  words  which  I  can  use  would  be  adequate  to  represent 
their  value."  Lord  Bathurst  added  that  the  correspondence  between 
the  French  marshals,  intercepted  by  Lord  Wellington,  sufficiently 
showed  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held.  No  movement  of 
the  enemy  could  disappoint  his  plans,  or  controvert  his  projects ;  while, 
on  their  part,  no  movement  was  concerted,  but  it  was  anticipated  ;  no 
expectation  was  raised  but  it  ended  in  disappointment ;  no  fear  was 
entertained  but  it  became  realised.  In  one  of  the  intercepted  letters 
it  was  said  "  he  must  read  our  correspondence  or  he  must  dive  into 
our  hearts,  for  no  sooner  do  we  form  a  design  than  he  knows  it,  and 
forms  measures  to  defeat  it." 

The  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  cordially  supported  the  vote  of  thanks 
in  one  of  those  speeches  in  which  justice  was  blended  with  a  noble 
patriotism,  and  the  suggestions  of  party  merged  into  admiration  of 
the  champion  of  the  cause  of  liberty  in  the  Peninsula.     Incidentally 


204  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

the  noble  Marquis  touched  upon  a  point  of  importance  which  had 
been  elsewhere  overlooked.  "  No  man,"  observed  Lord  Lansdowne, 
"  who  had  attentively  watched  the  conduct  of  the  Marquis  of  Welling- 
ton, and  the  ofl&cers  under  his  command,  could  fail  to  have  observed 
that  a  military  school  existed  in  the  Peninsula  in  which  a  race  of 
officers  were  forming,  on  which  the  country  might  rely  with  confidence 
in  the  future  military  career  which  in  all  probability  it  had  yet  to 
run."  "Notwithstanding  the  losses  at  Burgos  and  elsewhere,  many 
officers  must  be  formed  by  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  who,  having 
the  advantage  not  only  of  his  instructions,  but  of  his  example,  before 
them,  must  be  capable  of  rendering  the  highest  service  to  their 
country." ' 

Lord  Soraers,  the  father  of  the  gallant  officer  who  fell  at  Burgos, 
proved  the  humanity  of  Lord  Wellington,  and  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
and  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley,  both  spoke  cordially  in  favour  of  the 
vote,  which  was  agreed  to,  nem.  dis. 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  same  evening,  Lord  Castlereagh 
had  the  honour  of  moving  the  thanks  of  Parliament  to  the  hero  of 
Salamanca.  The  noble  lord's  eloquence  on  the  occasion  acquired 
additional  earnestness  from  the  fact  of  there  being  in  that  House 
some  members  who  felt  it  consistent  to  refuse  thanks  for  a  battle 
which  they  did  not,  or  could  not,  perceive  had  been  attended  by  import- 
ant results.  After  sketching  a  narrative  of  Lord  Wellington's 
achievements,  Lord  Castlereagh  insisted  upon  the  effect  of  the  battle 
of  Salamanca,  in  giving  the  British  commander  an  entire  ascendancy 
over  the  Spanish  mind  ;  an  ascendancy  which  had  led  to  the  unani- 
mous election  of  the  Marquis  to  the  command  of  all  the  military 
means  of  Spain.  The  only  able  opponent  of  the  vote  was  Sir  Francis 
Burdett.  He  placed  the  Ministers  on  the  horns  of  a  dilemma.  He 
justly  contended  that  either  the  Government  or  Lord  Wellington  was 
to  blame  for  the  failure  at  Burgos.  If  the  former  had  done  their  duty 
in  supplying  the  British  commander  with  adequate  means  to  accom- 
plish the  capture  of  Burgos,  Lord  Wellington  was  obnoxious  to  blame 
for  his  failure :  if  Lord  Wellington  had  done  all  that  his  great  talents 
justified  the  world  in  expecting,  what  became  of  the  defence  made  by 

I  Tho  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  spoke  like  a  propliet.  Lord  Combcrraere,  Lord  Keane,  Lord 
Gough,  Sir  A.  Campbell,  Lord  Ilardingc,  Lord  Strafford,  Sir  Harry  Smith,  Sir  Colin  Campbell, 
Sir  Edward  Paget,  Sir  Henry  Fane,  Sir  Charles  Colvillc,  Sir  Colin  Halkctt,  Sir  Willoughby  Cotton, 
Sir  Thomas  Bradford,  Sir  George  Walker,  Sir  Edward  Barnes,  Sir  Robert  Dick,  Sir  Frederic 
Adam,  Lord  Saltoun,  Sir  John  Macdoiiald — and  laal,  not  least,  Lord  Filzroy  Somerset,  all  lived 
to  attest  the  value  of  Peninsular  service  in  qualifying  them  for  responsible  military  offices 
•laewhere. 


1812.]  GRANT  OF  £100,000.  205 

Ministers  on  the  subject  of  supplies  ?  The  point  was  not  argued  by 
the  House,  but  public  opinion  has  long  since  settled  where  the 
blam.e  or  failure  lay,  in  spite  of  the  candid  admissions  of  Wellington 
himself 

The  vote  of  thanks,  which  included  all  the  principal  generals  by 
name  who  had  served  at  Salamanca,  was  carried  unanimously,  and  the 
House  further  resolved  to  raise  a  monument  to  the  memory  of 
Major-General  Le  Marchant,  who  fell  in  the  action. 

On  the  4th  of  December  Lord  Castlereagh  came  down  to  the 
House  of  Commons  with  a  message  from  the  Prince  Regent.  The 
message  intimated  His  Royal  Highness's  desire  to  bestow  such  a 
mark  of  national  munificence  on  General  the  Marquis  of  Wellington, 
as  might  enable  him  to  sustain  the  high  honours  conferred  upon 
him,  and  the  House  was  called  upon  to  adopt  such  measures  as 
might  be  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  "most  important 
object." 

The  House  of  Commons  took  the  subject  into  consideration  on  the 
7th  of  December,  and  a  similar  message  having  been  communicated  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  the  Tories  in  the  latter  House,  in  the  person  of 
Lord  Liverpool,  and  the  Whigs,  personated  by  Lord  Holland,  at  once 
assented  to  the  Prince  Regent's  proposal. 

When  the  House  of  Commons  had  resolved  itself  into  a  committee, 
Lord    Castlereagh   of    course   took   the    initiative   in    proposing    a 
pecuniary  grant  to  Lord  Wellington.     The  main  point  on  which  he 
rested  his  advocacy  of  the  grant,  was  the  inability  of  the  Marquis  to 
wear  his  honours  with  grace  unless  assisted  by  the    country.      It 
never  could  have  been  intended  that  the  honours  so  fairly  earned 
should   be    burdensome   or   painful   to    their   recipient;   and    Lord 
Wellington  was  of  so  disinterested  a  character,  that  he  was  not  able 
to  sustain  his  rank  out  of  his  own  resources  alone.     He  had  declined 
to  receive  the  sum  of  8000/.  a-year  attendant  upon  the  command  of 
the  Portuguese  army,  on  the  ground  that  he  could  not  take  pay  from 
his  own  sovereign  and  that  of  another  country  at  the  same  time.    The 
Grovernment,  nevertheless,  suffered  it  to  accumulate,  and  when  it  was 
tendered  to  him.  Lord  Wellington,  with  a  generosity  never  before 
excelled,  and  with  the  noble  self-denial  of  a  soldier,  begged  that  it 
might  be  disposed  of  for  the  Portuguese  army.     Lord  Castlereagh 
was   satisfied   that   the   House  would  never   recognise   the   French 
system  of  rewarding  military  leaders.     The  marshals  were  rewarded 
with    possessions    granted   out   of    the   countries   which    they   had 
devastated — the  territory  of  one  sovereign  was  made  the  means  of 
desolating  the  dominions  of  another.      "Happily,"  exclaimed  Lord 


206  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

Castlereagh,  "  a  different  system  prevailed,  and  he  trusted  ever  would 
prevail,  in  this  country.  The  troops  of  Great  Britain  went  forth  to 
fight  for  the  interests  and  tranquillity  of  other  nations  as  well  as  of 
their  own  ;  and  their  officers,  although  they  might  accept  the  honours 
conferred  upon  them  by  the  legitimate  sovereign  of  the  country  in 
whose  cause  they  were  contending,  were  not  disposed  to  avail  them- 
selves of  any  pecuniary  advantage  unless  it  flowed  from  the  country 
to  which  they  belonged."  As  it  was  not  considered  desirable  to 
exhaust  the  honours  of  the  crown  and  the  bounty  of  Parliament, 
for  Lord  Castlereagh  yet  anticipated  further  achievements  by  Lord 
Wellington,  he  limited  his  proposal  to  the  grant  of  100,000/.,  to  be 
vested  in  trustees  for  the  purchase  of  lands  to  descend  with  the  title 
of  Wellington,  and  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  future  representatives  of  the 
noble  Marquis. 

Sir  Francis  Burdett  opposed  the  grant  upon  various  grounds.  He 
had  no  idea  of  rewarding  the  retreat  from  Burgos.  It  was  the  first 
time  he  had  ever  heard  that  there  was  merit  or  glory  in  a  disastrous 
retreat.  He  thought  the  campaign  altogether  very  extraordinary,  fur- 
nishing no  ground  for  hope.  The  cause  of  Spain  appeared  to  him  in- 
finitely more  desperate  than  it  was  at  the  commencement.  Moreover, 
if  Ministers  wished  to  reward  military  skill,  they  had  enormous  funds 
to  draw  from  without  applying  to  the  public  purse.  While  the  amount 
of  taxation  was  so  great  and  so  complicated,  as  to  render  its  collection 
in  a  great  degree  impossible,  he  thought  forbearance  was  essential. 
At  all  events  he  proposed  as  an  amendment  the  postponement  of  the 
consideration  of  the  grant. 

Mr.  Robinson  supported  the  grant,  and  cited  the  case  of  the 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  who,  long  before  the  battle  of  Blenheim,  was 
granted  a  pension  of  5000/  a-year.  Sir  Frederick  Flood  only  regret- 
ted that  the  finances  of  the  country  did  not  admit  of  the  grant  being 
doubled ;  and  Mr.  Whitbread,  who  on  former  occasions  had  found 
fault  with  Lord  Wellington,  and  always  with  the  Ministers,  cheerfully 
supported  the  motion  for  the  grant. 

Mr.  Canning  wound  up  the  discusion  with  a  brilliant  harangue, 
seizing  upon  one  or  two  points  which  had  been  overlooked  by  other 
speakers.  He  concurred  in  the  proposal  to  grant  100,000/.,  from  a 
feeling  that  "  we  had  within  the  last  few  years  raised  ourselves  to  the 
same  equality  on  land, — more  than  which  we  had  possessed  at  sea ; 
and  that  to  the  individual  to  whom  we  owed  these  augmentations  of 
glory  and  advantage  no  renumeration  could  be  too  splendid  or  too 
generous.  No  man  who  looked  back  at  what  our  military  policy  was 
Kuue  timo  ago,  and  compared  it  with  our  present  views  and  charactei 


1812.]  COMMAND   OF   THE   SPANISH   ARMIES.  20V 

but  must  see  that  through  the  success  and  merits  of  Lord  "Wellington 
we  had  become  a  military  people,  and  that  by  a  series  of  achievements, 
each  rising  above  the  other  in  grandeur,  he  had,  although  yet  in  the 
youth  of  his  glory,  acquired  for  himself  a  renown  equal  to  that  of  the 
first  captain  of  his  age.  When  the  House  looked  back  at  that  period 
at  which  our  warlike  preparations  were  confined  to  plans  of  fortifying 
the  Thames,  instead  of  driving  the  enemy  beyond  the  Tormes  and  the 
Ebro,  they  could  not  fail,  not  merely  to  recognise  in  Lord  Wellington 
the  deals  ct  tutamen  patrice^  as  one  who  had  not  merely  formed  a 
school,  in  which  others  might  be  taught  to  succeed  and  follow  him  in 
his  career  of  glory,  but  to  perceive  in  him  at  the  same  time  the  hero, 
who,  whilst  he  wielded  the  thunder  of  his  native  land,  was  the  tutelar 
genius  of  allied  and  dependent  states,  the  protector  of  oppressed  and 
prostrate  powers.  The  picture  which  history  would  trace,  for  the  in- 
struction of  posterity,  would  unite  therefore  with  the  figure  of  the 
successful  commander,  the  attributes  of  a  benevolent  spirit,  extending 
a  guardian  influence  over  recovering  though  fallen  nations." 

The  amendment  was   rejected,  and    the  resolutions  carried   with 
acclamation. 

It  has  been  stated  in  a  previous  page  that,  after  the  battle  of 
Salamanca,  the  Spanish  Provisional  government  ofi"ered  Lord 
Wellington  the  command  of  their  armies.  He  did  not  accept  the 
honour  until  he  had  received  the  special  permission  of  the  Prince 
Regent  of  England.  When  that  arrived,  he  at  once  took  upon  him- 
self the  dignity  and  responsibilities  of  the  office,  bringing  to  the  task 
of  reforming  the  troops  all  the  energy,  candour,  and  clear-sightedness 
■which  distinguished  his  management  of  the  British  army.  "  Your 
Excellency,"  writes  Wellington,  addressing  the  Minister  of  War  at 
Cadiz,  "  has  a  right  to  expect  from  me  an  accurate  representation  of 
facts  as  they  shall  appear  to  me  ;  and  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  I 
tvill  perform  this  dutyP  There  was  no  beating  about  the  bush  in 
this  avowal  of  an  honesty  of  purpose — no  fencing  the  necessities  of 
the  hour  with  deferential  phrases  and  official  technicalities.  The 
urgency  of  the  case  was  great,  and  did  not  admit  of  a  waste  of  time 
in  empty  courtesies.  The  discipline  of  the  Spanish  armies  was  in  the 
lowest  state — neither  officers  nor  troops  had  been  paid  for  months, 
"  nay,  some  for  years  ;"  they  had  no  clothing,  were  wanting  in  neces- 
saries, and  destitute  of  provisions.  As  a  natural  consequence,  habits 
of  indiscipline  and  insubordination  prevailed.  Desertions  were 
numerous,  and  sickness  universal.  Lord  Wellington,  who  was 
always  as  averse  to  interfere  with  the  functions  of  others  as  he  was 
jealous  of  any  infringement  of  his  own,  did  not  become  acquainted 


208  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

with  these  circumstances  until  it  was  his  duty  to  inquire ;  and  he  was 
then  so  much  shocked  at  the  spectacle  of  suffering,  and  the  absence  of 
discipline,  that  he  frankly  avowed  that,  had  he  been  aware  of  the  real 
state  of  the  army,  he  would  have  hesitated  before  he  should  have 
charged  himself  with  "  such  an  herculean  labour  as  its  command." 
But  having  accepted  it,  he  did  not  allow  the  prospect  of  labour,  and 
the  doubtfulness  of  success,  to  suggest  its  relinquishment — he  re- 
solved to  exercise  it  so  long  as  he  should  possess  the  confidence  of  the 
authorities. 

With  the  view  of  carrying  out  his  schemes  of  reform  in  the  army 
of  Spain,  the  Marquis,  after  communicating  by  letter  with  the 
Minister  of  War,  to  little  purpose,  determined  to  proceed  to  Cadiz  in 
person.  He  set  off  on  the  24th  of  December,  1812.  "God  knows," 
he  writes  to  Marshal  Beresford,  "  the  prospect  of  success  from  this 
journey  of  mine  is  not  bright ;  but  still  it  is  best  to  try  something." 

If  Lord  Wellington  had  been  fond  of  display,  there  was  enough  in 
the  reception  accorded  to  him  by  the  authorities  at  Cadiz  to  satisfy  his 
most  inordinate  desire.  To  one  of  his  simplicity  of  character,  it  was 
nothing  that  crowds  came  out  to  meet  and  greet  him — that  the  people 
shouted  Vivas,  and  the  householders  illuminated  their  dwellings.  He 
had  learned  to  place  the  exact  proper  value  on  these  popular  demon- 
strations, and  perhaps  conceived  that,  in  the  adoption  of  a  system  the 
very  reverse  of  that  which  was  cherished  by  great  Spanish  command- 
ders,  who  always  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  cavalcade  of  staff  ofiicers, 
he  should  significantly  intimate  the  difference  between  real  business 
and  frivolous  display.  His  ever  faithful  follower.  Lord  Fitzroy 
Somerset,  was  Wellington's  only  aide-de-camp  when  he  met  a  deputa- 
tion from  the  Spanish  Cortes  on  the  27th  December. 

Lord  Wellington's  speech  to  the  Cortes  three  days  subsequently 
was  brief  but  impressive.  He  told  them  that  the  eyes  of  their 
countrymen  were  upon  them,  and  that  the  whole  world  was  interested 
in  the  success  of  their  endeavours  to  save  the  nation  from  the  general 
wreck,  and  to  establish  a  system  of  government  founded  on  just 
principles.  In  his  communications  with  the  Government  upon  the 
subject  of  the  army,  he  was  firm,  but  respectful.  The  point  to  which 
he  strenuously  addressed  himself,  as  the  key  to  reform  and  better 
organisation,  was  the  complete  obedience  and  dependence  of  the  staff 
of  the  army,  the  Chief  of  which,  he  insisted,  should  be  at  his  head- 
quarters, to  act  as  the  channel  for  the  receipt  of  reports,  and  the 
issue  of  orders.  The  authorities  paid  every  attention  to  his  wishes, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  month  he  was  enabled  to  write  to  Sir  Thomas 
Graham,  "  I  have  placed  military  affairs  (at  Cadiz)  on  a  better  footing 


1812.]  THE  CADIZ  GOVERNMENT.  209 

than  they  were  before,  in  the  way  of  organisation  ;  and  I  have  provided 
some  means  to  pay  and  subsist  the  armies ;  and  we  are  beginning  with 
discipline."  That  he  did  not  carry  out  all  his  plans  was  ascribable 
to  the  influence  of  the  corrupt  and  lying  press  of  Cadiz,  which  fired 
the  jealousy  of  the  Spaniards  by  pointing  to  the  (imaginary)  danger 
of  the  union  of  powers  in  the  hands  of  military  officers  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  a  foreigner.  From  the  moment  that  fatal  article  appeared 
in  one  of  the  papers,  the  Cortes  would  do  nothing.' 

1  An  amusing  picture  is  drawn  by  Lord  Vl^ellington,  in  a  despatch  to  Earl  Bathurst,  dated 
"Frende,  27ih  January,  1813,"  of  the  state  of  the  government  of  Cadiz  at  this  time.  His  own 
Conservatism  comes  out  strongly  in  the  sketch. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  state  of  confusion  in  which  affairs  are  at  Cadiz.  The  Cortes 
have  formed  a  constitution  very  much  on  the  principle  that  a  painter  paints  a  picture,  viz.,  to  be 
looked  at ;  and  I  have  not  met  one  of  the  members,  or  any  person  of  any  description,  either  at 
Cadiz  or  elsewhere,  who  considers  the  constitution  as  the  embodying  of  a  system  according  to 
which  Spain  is,  or  can  be,  governed.  They,  the  Cortes,  have  in  terms  divested  themselves  of  the 
executive  power,  and  have  appointed  a  Regency  for  this  purpose.  The  Regency  are,  in  fact,  the 
slaves  of  the  Cortes ;  yet  Cortes  and  Regency  have  so  managed  their  concerns,  as  that  they  have 
no  communication  or  contact  excepting  of  that  kind  which  our  sovereign  has  by  speech  or 
message  to  Parliament,  or  the  Parliament  by  address  to  his  Majesty ;  neither  knows  what  the 
other  is  doing,  or  what  will  be  done  upon  any  point  that  can  occur.  Neither  Regency  nor 
Cortes  have  any  authority  beyond  the  walls  of  Cadiz,  and  I  doubt  whether  the  Regency  have  any 
beyond  the  walls  of  the  room  in  which  they  meet.  Each  body,  I  know,  suspects  the  other, 
notwithstanding,  as  I  have  above  stated,  the  Regency  are  the  creatures  of  the  Cortes.  The 
Regency  suspect  that  the  Cortes  intend  to  assume  the  executive  power  ;  and  the  Cortes  are  so  far 
suspicious  of  the  Regency,  that  although  the  leading  members  admit  the  expediency,  nay, 
necessity,  of  their  removal  from  Cadiz,  the  principal  reason  alleged  for  remaining  there  is,  that 
they  know  the  people  of  Cadiz  are  attached  to  them ;  but  if  they  were  to  go  elsewhere,  to  Seville 
or  Grenada  for  instance,  they  are  apprehensive  that  the  Regency  would  raise  the  mob  against 
them!! 

"  I  wish  that  some  of  our  reformers  would  go  to  Cadiz,  to  see  the  benefit  of  a  sovereign 
popular  assembly,  calling  itself  '  Majesty ;'  and  of  a  written  constitution  ;  and  of  an 
executive  government,  called  '  Highness,'  acting  imder  the  control  of  '  his  Majesty,'  the 
Assembly !  In  truth,  there  is  no  authority  in  the  slate,  excepting  the  libellous  newspapers,  and 
they  certainly  ride  over  both  Cortes  and  Regency  without  mercy.  I  am  astonished  at  the 
patience  of  my  brother,  and  that  he  has  been  able  to  do  anything  with  such  people.  I  am 
quite  certain  that  if  I  had  not  threatened  them  with  my  resignation,  and  had  not  kept  aloof 
from  all  questions  excepting  those  relating  to  my  immediate  business  at  Cadiz,  I  should  have 
done  nothing.  It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  we  must  not  allow  these  people  to  go  to  ruin  as 
they  are  doing.  Hitherto,  having  been  confined  within  the  walls  of  Cadiz,  and  the  whole  of 
Spain  having  been  occupied  by  the  enemy,  their  follies  have  been  of  little  importance ;  but  they 
will  now  become  a  serious  misfortune,  in  proportion  as  the  military  misfortunes  of  France  will 
tacrease  the  means  of  communication  of  the  Cortes  with  the  country.  Several  of  the  leading 
aiembers  with  whom  I  conversed,  are  aware  of  the  folly  of  the  constitution,  and  are  desirous  of 
changing  it,  but  do  not  know  how  to  set  about  the  change,  and  are  terribly  afraid  of  the  Cadiz 
newspapers.  In  fact,  if  we  allow  matters  to  go  on  as  they  are,  we  shall  lose  the  benefit  of  all  that 
we  have  done,  even  if  the  result  of  the  war  should  be  to  force  the  French  to  evacuate  Sjiain  ;  and 
1  propose  to  try  if  I  cannot  prevail  upon  some  of  the  leaders  to  propose  an  alteration  of  the 
constitution,  so  as  to  connect  the  legislative  assembly  with  the  executive  government,  as  our 
Houses  of  Parliament  are,  by  the  ministers  of  the  crown  being  members.  This  wiU  be  one  step 
VOL.  I.  14 


210  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815 

From  Cadiz  Lord  "Wellington  proceeded  to  Lisbon  (January, 
1813).  where  it  was  necessary  to  see  the  authorities,  and  to  stimulate 
them  to  a  greater  degree  of  liberality  and  patriotism,  if  they  had  any 
desire  for  the  regeneration  of  the  country,  and  the  permanent  expul- 
sion of  the  French  from  the  Peninsula.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
people,  on  his  arrival,  exceeded  all  previous  manifestations.  They 
had  learnt  to  appreciate  his  great  worth  ;  albeit  the  Government  had 
been  slow  to  adopt  his  propositions  for  the  improvement  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  army.  Fetes  were  given  by  the  Regency  to  their 
illustrious  visitor,  and  at  San  Carlos  the  festivities  were  also  great. 
Ultimately  the  Government  applied  itself  to  the  amelioration  of  the 
military  force. 

While  upon  his  tour  to  Cadiz  and  Lisbon,  the  Marquis  of  Welling- 
ton received  the  agreeable  tidings  that  he  had  been  appointed 
Colonel  of  the  Royal  Regiment  of  Horse  Guards.*  This  involved  the 
vacation  of  the  Colonelcy  of  the  33rd — the  corps  in  which  he  had 
seen  active  service  in  the  Low  Countries  and  in  India,  and  to  which 
he  had  become  attached.  The  superior  advantages  of  a  Colonelcy 
of  the  Household  Cavalry  made  Lord  Wellington  feel  much  gratified 
by  the  change,  but  he  could  not  leave  the  33rd  without  saying  that 
he  should  ever  feel  an  anxiety  for  their  interest  and  honour,  and 
hear  whatever  might  conduce  to  the  latter  with  the  most  lively 
satisfaction. 

Returned  to  Freneda  in  better  spirits,  and  with  better  hopes  than 
those  which  animated  him  on  his  departure  for  Cadiz,  Lord 
Wellington  awaited,  for  three  months,  the  restoration  of  his  army 
to  health  and  efficiency.  Recruits,  stores,  arms,  and  money  con- 
tinually reached  him,  and  everything  seemed  to  promise  a  brilliant 
campaign.  The  bonhommie  of  his  character,  held  in  reserve  during 
the  stern  operations  of  war,  was  now  allowed  full  play  ;  and  he  exer- 
cised hospitality  upon  as  large  a  scale  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
hour  and  place  would  allow.  "  You  had  better,"  says  he  in  a  note 
to  Graham,  who  had  returned  in  good  health  from  England,  "  direct 
your  steps  towards  this  village,  which  we  have  made  as  comfortable  as 
we  can,  and  where  we  shall  be  happy  to  see  you.  The  hounds  are  in 
very  good  trim  and  the  foxes  very  plentiful." ' 

towards  putting  the  machine  of  government  in  motion ;  and  it  may  be  followed  by  other  improve* 
ments  essentially  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  any  government,  or  for  the  preservation  o' 
any  system  of  order  in  the  country." 

I  1st  of  January,  1813. 

3  A  sketch  of  the  personnel  of  Lord  Wellingtou  at  this  time  is  g^ren  in  a  letter  from  an  officer 
of  the  Light  Division : — 

"  We  know  Lord  Wellington  at  a  great  distance  by  his  little  flat  cocked-hat  (not  a  fraction 


1812.1 


NAPOLEON'S  RUSSIAN  CAMPABN. 


211 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


A  gliiQce  at  Napoleon's  Russian  Campaign,  and  the  State  of  Affairs  In  the  East  of  Spain. 


HILE  the  rival  armies  lay 
inactive  —  at  least  in  re- 
spect to  hostile  operations 
— Napoleon  Bonaparte  re- 
called Soult,  whose  services 
he  required  in  reference  to 
his  new  quarrel  with  Ger- 
many. 

From  this  point  the  suc- 
cesses of  Wellington  in  the 
Peninsula,  and  subsequently 
in  France,  bore  so  directly,  in  connection  with  events  taking  place 
elsewhere,  upon  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  that  a  glance  at  the  proceedings, 


of  an  inch  higher  than  the  crown,)  being  set  on  his  head  completely  at  right  angles  with  his 
person,  and  sitting  very  upright  in  his  hussar  saddle,  which  is  simply  covered  with  a  plain  blue 
shabrack.  His  lordship  rides,  to  all  appearance,  devoid  of  sash,  as,  since  he  has  been  made  a 
Spanish  Field-Marshal,  he  wears  on  his  white  waistcoat,  under  his  blue  surtout  coat,  the  red  and 
gold  knotted  sash  of  that  rank,  ou:  of  compliment  to  our  allies.  From  the  same  motive,  be 
always  wears  the  order  of  the  Toison  cCOr  round  his  neck,  and  on  his  black  cockade  two  others, 
very  small,  of  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  national  colours.  His  lordship,  within  the  last  year, 
has  taken  to  wearing  a  white  neckerchief  instead  of  our  black  regulation,  and  in  bad  weather  a 
French  private  Dragoon's  cloak  of  the  same  colour. 

"I  give  these  details  respecting  our  great  Captain  (who  may  yet  lead  us  to  the  gates  of  Paris), 
as  I  always  found  every  minutiae  of  celebrated  characters  as  much  sought  after  by  the  inquisitive 
as  the  very  deeds  which  have  brought  them  into  notice.  Often  ho  passes  on  in  a  brown  study, 
or  only  returns  the  salutes  of  the  ofiBcers  at  their  posts ;  but  at  other  times  he  notices  those  h« 
knows  with  a  hasty  '  Oh !  how  d'ye  do,'  or  quizzes  good-humouredly  some  one  of  us  with  whom 
he  is  well  acquainted.  His  staff  come  rattling  after  him,  or  stop  and  chat  a  few  minutes  with 
those  they  know,  and  the  cortige  is  brought  up  by  his  lordship's  orderly,  an  old  Hussar  of  the 
First  Germans,  who  has  been  with  him  during  the  whole  of  the  Peninsular  war,  and  who,  when 


212  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812 

which  converted  all  Europe  into  a  vast  theatre  of  war,  is  necessary  to 
a  clear  understanding  of  all  that  may  follow. 

he  speaks  of  him,  uses  a  German  expression,  literally  meaning,  good  old  fellow,  emphatically 
implying  in  that  lang^uage,  attachment  and  regard." 

If  we  may  borrow  a  fact  from  a  fiction,  the  account  given  of  the  hunting  scenes  in  the  Peninsula, 
in  Mr.  Lever's  lively  novel  of  "Charles  O'Malley,"  may  not  inaptly  furnish  an  episode  in  the 
Campaigns  of  Wellington : — 

"  Soon  after  this  army  broke  up  from  Cafa,  and  went  into  cantonments  along  the  Tagiw, 
the  head-quarters  being  at  Portalegre,  we  were  here  joined  by  four  regiments  of  infantry, 
lately  arrived  from  England,  and  the  12th  Light  Dragoons.  I  shall  not  readily  forget  the 
first  impression  created  among*  our  reinforcements  by  the  habit  of  our  life  at  this  period. 
Brimful  of  expectation,  they  had  landed  at  Lisbon,  their  minds  filled  with  all  the  glorious 
expectancy  of  a  brilliant  campaign,  sieges,  storming,  and  battle-fields  floated  before  their 
excited  imagination.  Scarcely,  however,  had  they  reached  the  camp,  when  these  illusions 
were  dissipated.  Breakfasts,  dinners,  private  theatricals,  pigeon  matches  formed  our  daily 
occupation.  Lord  V^ellington's  hounds  threw  off  regularly  twice  a  week,  and  here  might  be 
seen  every  imaginable  species  of  equipment,  from  the  artillery  officer,  mounted  on  his  heavy 
troop  liorse,  to  the  infantry  subaltern,  on  a  Spanish  gennet.  Never  was  anything  more 
ludicrous  than  our  turn-out.  Every  quadruped  in  the  army  was  put  into  requisition,  and 
even  those  who  rolled  not  from  their  saddles  from  sheer  necessity  were  most  likely  to  do  so, 
ttom  laughing  at  their  neighbours.  The  pace  may  not  have  equalled  Melton,  nor  the  fences 
have  been  as  stubborn  as  in  Leicestershire  ;  but  I'll  be  sworn,  there  was  more  laughter,  more 
fun,  and  more  merriment  in  one  day  with  us,  than  in  a  whole  season  with  the  most  organised 
pack  in  England.  With  a  lively  trust  that  the  country  was  open,  and  the  leaps  easy,  every 
man  took  the  field  ;  indeed,  the  only  anxiety  evinced  at  all  was  to  appear  at  the  meet  in 
something  like  jockey  fashion,  and  I  must  confess  that  this  feeling  was  particularly  conspi- 
cuous among  the  infantry.  Happy  the  man  whose  kit  boasted  a  pair  of  cords  or  buckskins ; 
Ihrice  happy  he  who  sported  a  pair  of  tops.  I  myself  was  in  that  enviable  position,  and 
well  remember  with  what  pride  of  heart  I  cantered  up  to  cover,  in  all  the  superior  eclat  of 
my  costume,  though  if  truth  were  to  be  spoken,  I  doubt  if  I  should  have  passed  muster 
among  my  friends  of  the  'Blazers.'  A  round  cavalry  jacket  and  a  foraging  cap,  with  a 
hanging  tassel,  were  the  strange  accompaniments  of  my  more  befitting  nether  garments. 
Whatever  our  costumes,  the  scene  was  a  most  animated  one.  Here  the  shell  jacket  of  a 
haavy  dragoon  was  seen  storming  the  fence  of  a  vineyard.  There  the  dark  green  of  a 
rifleman  was  going  the  pace  over  the  plain.  The  unsportsmanlike  figure  of  a  staff-officer  might 
be  observed  emerging  from  a  drain,  while  some  neck-or-nothing  Irishman,  with  light  infantry 
wings,  was  flying  at  every  fence  before  him,  and  overturning  all  in  his  way.  The  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  service  prevailed  not  here ;  the  starred  and  gartered  General,  the 
plumed  and  alguilletted  Colonel  obtained  but  little  defence  and  less  mercy  from  his  more 
humble  subaltern.  In  fact,  I  am  half  disposed  to  think  that  many  an  old  grudge  of  rigid 
discipline,  or  severe  duty,  met  with  its  retribution  here.  More  than  once  have  I  heard  the 
muttered  sentences  around  me  which  boded  something  like  this.  'Go  the  pace,  Harry  1 
Never  fiinch  it!  There's  Old  Colquhoun — take  him  in  the  haunches— roll  him  over.'  'See 
here,  boys.  Watch  how  I'll  scatter  the  staff.  Beg  your  pardon,  General.  Hope  I  haven't 
hurt  you.  Turn  about;  fair  play.  I  have  taught  you  to  take  up  a  position  now.'  I  need 
scarcely  say  there  was  one  whoso  person  was  sacred  from  all  such  attacks  ;  he  was  weK 
mounted  on  a  strong  half-bred  horse,  rode  always  foremost,  following  the  hounds  with  the 
same  steady  pertinacity  with  which  he  would  have  followed  the  enemy ;  his  compressed  lip 
rarely  opening  for  a  laugh,  when  even  the  most  ludicrous  misadventure  was  enacting  before 
h'm ;  and  when  by  chance  he  would  give  way,  the  short  ha !  ha  1  was  over  in  a  moment,  and 
the  cold  Blcra  features  were  as  fixed  and  impressive  as  before.  All  the  excitement— all  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  hunting-field— seemed  powerless  to  turn  his  mind  from  tlie  pre-oocupatior 


1812.1  RUSSIA  BREAKS   WITH  NAPOLEON.  213 

In  March,  1812,  France  had  entered  into  new  treaties  of  alliance 
between  Austria  and  Prussia.  Neither  of  them  were  of  a  cordial 
nature,  for  the  triumphs  of  Napoleon's  sword  had  dictated  the  terms 
of  both ;  but  the  Emperor  had  cemented  the  connection  with 
Austria  by  a  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Francis  I.,  after  divorcing 
himself  from  his  first  wife,  Josephine.  The  object  of  this  new 
alliance,  on  Napoleon's  part,  was  to  strengthen  his  hands  against 
Russia.  For  two  years  previously,  Alexander,  the  Czar,  had  begun 
to  experience  the  baneful  operation  of  the  "  Continental  system," 
which  had  obliged  him  to  close  the  ports  of  Russia  against  Great 
Britain,  and  seeing  a  prospect  of  being  sustained  by  the  latter  power 
and  by  Sweden,  now  governed  hy  Bernadotte,'  he  determined  upon 
an  assertion  of  the  independence  of  his  empire.  A  correspondence 
was,  therefore,  begun  with  Napoleon  as  a  necessary  preliminary,  for 
Alexander  wished  to  carry  his  point  without  a  resort  to  arms. 
Napoleon,  however,  was  not  disposed  to  yield  an  inch,  and  the  conces- 
sions which  he  offered,  in  reference  to  Poland,  whose  re-establishment 
as  a  kingdom  he  agreed  not  to  countenance,  and  the  tender  of  indem- 
nity of  which  he  made  for  seizing  the  Russian  province  of  Oldenburg, 
were   only    regarded    by    Alexander    as    indications   of    weakness. 

which  the  mighty  intereats  he  presided  over  exacted.  I  remember  once  an  incident, 
which,  however  trivial  in  itself,  is  worth  recording,  as  illustrative  of  what  I  mean.  We 
were  going  along  at  a  topping  pace ;  the  hounds,  a  few  fields  in  advance,  were  hidden  from 
our  view  by  a  small  beech  copse.  The  party  consisted  of  not  more  than  six  persons,  one 
of  whom  was  Lord  Wellington  himself.  Our  run  had  been  a  splendid  one,  and  as  we  were 
pursuing  the  fox  to  earth  every  man  of  us  pushed  his  horse  to  his  full  stride  iu  the  hot  ea- 
thusiasm  of  such  a  moment. 

"  '  This  way,  my  lord ;  this  way,'  said  Colonel  Conyers,  an  old  Melton  man  who  led  the 
way.  '  The  hounds  are  in  the  valley.  Keep  to  the  left.'  As  no  reply  was  made,  after  a  few 
moments'  pause,  Conyers  repeated  his  admonition.  '  You  are  wrong,  my  lord ;  the  hounds  are 
hunting  yonder.' 

" '  I  know  it,'  was  the  brief  answer  given,  with  a  shortness  that  almost  savoured  of  asperity. 
For  a  second  or  two  not  a  word  was  spoken. 

" '  How  far  is  Niya,  Gordon  ? '  Inquired  Lord  Wellington. 

" '  About  five  leagues,  my  lord,'  replied  the  astonished  Aide-de-Camp. 

" ' That's  the  direction,  is  it  not? ' 

" '  Yes,  my  lord.' 

" '  Let's  go  over  and  inspect  the  wounded.' 

"  No  more  was  said,  and  before  a  second  was  given  for  consideration,  away  went  his  lordship, 
followed  by  his  Aide-de-Camp,  his  pacp:,  the  same  stretching  gallop,  and  apparently  feeling  as 
much  excitement  as  he  dashed  onward  towards  the  hospital,  as  though  following  in  all  the 
headlong  enthusiasm  of  a  fox-chase." 

1  Upon  the  death  of  Charles  XIH.  of  Sweden,  a  revolution  took  place,  and,  to  prevent  the 
King  of  Denmark  securing  the  succession  to  the  throne,  the  people  made  choice  of  Bemadotte, 
a  French  general,  who  had  become  favourably  known  to  them  for  his  kindness  to  some 
Swedish  prisoners  taken  in  the  Polish  war  of  1807.  He  was  a  clever  man,  of  humblo 
origin. 

Q 


214  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1812 

The  negotiations  were  broken  off,  and  military  preparations  of  a 
magnitude  that  had  never  before  been  witnessed  were  made  on  both 
sides  for  some  months.  Alexander  exhausted  the  resources  of  his 
gigantic  empire,  and  Napoleon  put  forth  his  utmost  strength,  not 
merely  to  cope  with,  but  to  crush  his  antagonist.  Some  of  Napoleon's 
^ablest  ministers  and  most  attached  counsellors  advised  him  to  desist 
from  his  warlike  undertaking,  but  he  felt  confident  as  to  his  means, 
and  never  doubted  his  ultimate  success.  "  The  war,"  he  said,  "  is  a 
wise  measure,  demanded  by  the  true  interests  of  France  and  the 
general  security.  The  great  power  I  have  attained  forces  me  to 
assume  an  universal  dictatorship.  Ambition  has  no  share  in  my 
views.  I  wish  to  obtain  no  new  acquisition  ;  and  reserve  to  myself 
only  the  glory  of  doing  good,  and  the  blessings  of  posterity.  There 
must  be  an  European  code  ;  one  court  of  appeal ;  one  system  of 
money,  weights,  and  measures ;  equal  justice  and  uniform  laws 
throughout  the  continent.  Europe  must  form  but  one  great  nation^ 
and  Paris  must  be  the  capital  of  tlie  world.''^ 

Hurrying  to  Dresden,  in  the  summer  of  1812,  to  meet  an  assemblage 
of  kings  and  princes  favourable,  or  not  indifferent,  to  his  cause, 
Napoleon  developed  his  plans  ;  but  still  anxious  to  avert  a  war,  he 
dispatched  Count  Lauriston  to  the  Emperor  Alexander,  to  see  if  the 
differences  between  men,  sworn  brothers  at  Tilsit  and  Erfurth,  could 
not  be  reconciled  without  bloodshed.  It  was  of  no  avail.  Alexander's 
mind  was  made  up  to  cast  off  the  yoke  under  which  the  commerce 
of  his  country  groaned  and  her  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilisation 
was  checked,  and  the  integrity  of  his  throne  endangered.  He  refused 
even  to  grant  Lauriston  an  audience.  An  appeal  to  the  sword  was 
then  inevitable.  At  the  head  of  420,000  men  Napoleon  marched 
through  Prussia,  into  Russia  and  Poland,  and  on  the  28th  of  June, 
1812,  entered  Wilna,  the  capital  of  that  part  of  the  empire.  From 
this  point  his  advance  was  vigorously  opposed.  The  Russians  gave 
him  battle  upon  every  possible  occasion,  and  laid  the  country  waste 
in  front  of  his  armies.  Still  he  posted  onwards  until  he  reached 
Borodino,  a  village  on  the  Moskwa,  where  he  found  his  passage  for 
the  moment  arrested  by  the  fortifications  thrown  up  by  the  Russians. 
A  long  and  bloody  contest  here  took  place,"  and  Napoleon,  ultimately 
victorious,  proceeded  to  Moscow,  which  city  he  entered  in  triumph, 
fully  calculating  on  passing  the  winter  in  a  town  so  richy  supplied 


1  On  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Borodino,  or  of  the  Moskwa,  the  intelligence  of  the  victory  ot 
Salamanca  reached  the  Russian  camp,  and  Prince  KutusoflT  made  uao  of  the  circumstaaco  to 
animate  his  troops.    The  English  under  Wellington  were  held  up  to  them  as  an  example. 


1012.]  FRENCH  INVASION  OF  RUSSIA.  215 

with  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  maintenace  of  his  army.  In 
this  lie  was  greviously  mistaken.  Either  from  design  or  accident, 
the  whole  town  was  soon  in  flames.  The  provisions  and  the  shelter 
on  which  the  French  had  calculated,  were  alike  destroyed,  and  the 
condition  of  the  invading  army  became  perilous  in  the  extreme.  It 
was  in  vain  that  Napoleon,  threatened  with  all  the  horrors  of  a 
Russian  winter,  attemped  to  open  a  negotiation  with  Alexander. 
The  Czar  treated  all  his  overtures  with  supreme  contempt.  A  retreat 
was  inevitable,  and  accordingly  commenced.  It  began  on  the  20th 
of  October,  1812.  In  point  of  suffering  to  those  engaged,  it  is 
without  parallel  in  history.  Thousands  of  men  and  horses  perished 
of  hunger,  or  fell  by  the  hands  of  the  infuriated  pursuers.  Such  as 
survived  became  demoralised  or  intimidated,  and  whole  battalions 
fled  from  the  war-whoop  of  a  band  of  Cossacks,  while  the  entire  line 
of  the  route  was  marked  by  white  mounds,  the  snow-clad  graves  of 
those  who  had  sank  down  and  died  on  the  dreadful  march.  Bonaparte, 
seeing  his  army  totally  ruined,  hastily  quitted  it,  and  hurried  back  to 
Paris.  New  troubles  now  awaited  him.  The  King  of  Prussia,  sub- 
servient from  constraint  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  Napoleon,  had  not 
merely  given  the  army  destined  to  invade  Russia  a  passage  through 
his  dominions  ;  he  had  assisted  it  with  a  force  under  General  D'Yoi'ck, 
and  these  troops  being  pressed  by  the  Russians,  under  Wittgenstein, 
on  the  retreat  of  Napoleon,  D'Yorck  concluded  an  armed  neutrality 
with  the  Russians.  Alexander  seized  upon  the  circumstance  as  a 
happy  omen  of  a  renewal  of  the  former  good  understanding  subsisting 
between  Russia  and  Prussia.  He  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  the 
attention  of  the  European  powers  to  the  abortion  of  Napoleon's 
unjust  enterprise  and  the  ruin  of  his  proud  hopes  and  lofty  schemes ; 
stated  his  earnest  desire  to  restore  the  balance  of  power,  and  urged 
the  expediency  of  immediate  exertions  for  the  rescue  of  the  harassed 
continent  from  the  miseries  of  servitude.  The  proclamation  took 
effect.  The  King  of  Prussia  resolved  to  embrace  the  opportunity 
of  effecting  his  own  emancipation,  and  securing  the  independence 
of  his  people.  He  at  once  opened  a  communication  with  Alexander ; 
they  met  at  Breslau,  and  a  treaty  of  close  alliance  for  their  mutual 
interest  and  the  general  advantage  of  Europe  was  concluded. 
Napoleon  received  the  intimation  without  surprise,  merely  observing, 
when  the  hostile  declaration  was  notified  at  St.  Cloud,  "It  is 
better  to  have  a  declared  enemy  than  a  doubtful  ally,"  and  with 
characteristic  resolution  he  addressed  himself  to  new  efforts  to  crush 
the  alliance. 

We  must  now  return  to  Spain,  to  survey  the  operations  which  had 


S16  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813 

taken  place  ia  the  eastern  proviaces,  while  Wellington  lay  inactive  on 
the  banks  of  the  Douro. 

Marshal  Suchet  had  not  so  skilful  an  enemy  to  cope  with  in  the 
eastern  provinces  as  his  contemporary  Marshals  had  met  with  in 
the  west.  Lord  William  Bentinck  preferred  looking  to  British 
interests  in  Sicily  to  grappling  with  the  French  in  Spain,  and  Sir 
John  Murray  was  scarcely  strong  enough  to  make  an  impression  on 
Suchet  single-handed.  At  the  beginning  of  1813,  the  French  were 
70,000  strong  in  Valencia  and  Catalonia,  while  Murray's  force  at 
Alcante  did  not  exceed  30,000  Anglo-Sicilians  and  Spaniards.  True, 
the  greater  part  of  Suchet's  army  was  necessarily  distributed  in 
garrisons,  leaving  him  only  18,000  men  for  active  operations  beyond 
the  Xucor,  but  he  was  gifted  with  rare  military  talents,  and  had  not, 
to  that  hour,  any  strong  reasons  for  respecting  the  military  capacity 
of  his  adversary.  He  was  fated,  for  an  instant,  to  alter  his  opinion  in 
March  1813.  On  the  6th  of  that  month,  Murray,  having  previously 
reconnoitered  the  position  of  Alroy,  and  driven  in  the  advance  guard 
with  loss,  deemed  it  of  importance  to  get  possession  of  the  place. 
On  the  7th  he  attacked  and  carried  it,  but  the  enemy  contrived  to 
effect  his  escape.  The  effect  of  the  capture  was  to  induce  Suchet  to 
quit  Valencia  and  take  the  command,  in  person,  of  the  troops  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Xucor.  Murray,  therefore,  assembled  the  allied 
army  at  Castella,  on  the  20th  of  March,  and  several  small  outpost 
affairs  took  place,  in  which  General  Whittingham '  and  the  Spanish 
troops  signalised  themselves.  Sir  John  Murray  particularly  spoke  in 
his  despatches  of  the  cordial  co-operation  he  had  experienced  from 
General  Elio. 

Sir  John  Murray,  although  serving  at  a  distance  from  the  Marquis 
of  Wellington,  was  acting  under  his  orders,  and  responsible  to  him 
for  his  movements.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  on  the  14th  of  April, 
1813,  Lord  Wellington  drew  up  an  elaborate  memorandum  of  the 
operations  to  be  carried  on  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Peninsula,  as 
Boon  as  the  allied  British  and  Portuguese  army  should  take  the  field 
in  Castile,  which  was  not  intended  until  the  first  days  of  the  month 
of  May.  This  memorandum  is  more  peculiarly  illustrative  of  the 
prescience  of  Lord  Wellington  than  any  which  bears  his  signature. 
Every  contingency  is  anticipated  and  provided  for — every  difficulty  is 
fairly  and  boldly  contemplated,  and  its  removal  devised.  No  doubt 
Murray  would  have  scrupulously  followed  the  injunctions  contained 
in  the  document ;  but  it  happened  that,  on  the  very  day  previous  to 

1  Afterwards  Sir  Stamford  Whittingham,  and  commander  of  a  Division  of  the    Madras 
amv/. 


1813.]  BATTLE  OF  CASTELLA.  217 

that  on  which  the  memorandum  is  dated,  Marshal  Suchet  attacked 
Murray  at  Castella,  and  sustained  a  complete  defeat.  Sir  John  thus 
describes  the  battle  :         • 

"Head-quarters,  Castella,  ^pril  14fA,  1813. 

"  My  Lord, 

"I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  your  Lorship  that  the 
allied  army  under  my  command  defeated  the  enemy  on  the  13th  inst., 
commanded  by  Marshal  Suchet  in  person.  It  appears  that  the 
French  General  had,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  this  army,  for  some 
time  been  employed  in  collecting  his  whole  disposable  force.  His 
arrangements  were  completed  on  the  10th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
11th  he  attacked  and  dislodged  with  some  loss  a  Spanish  corps, 
posted  by  Greneral  Elio,  at  Yecla,  which  threatened  his  right,  whilst 
it  supported  our  left  flank.  In  the  evening  he  advanced  in  consider- 
able force  to  Villena,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  he  captured,  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th,  a  Spanish  garrison,  which  had  been  thrown  into 
the  Castle  by  the  Spanish  General,  for  its  defence.  On  the  12th, 
about  noon.  Marshal  Suchet  began  his  attack  on  the  advance  of  this 
army,  posted  at  Biar,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Adam.  Colonel 
Adam's  orders  were  to  fall  back  upon  Castella,  but  to  dispute  the 
passage  with  the  enemy,  which  he  did  with  the  utmost  gallantry  and 
skill  for  five  hours,  though  attacked  by  a  force  infinitely  superior  to 
that  which  he  commanded.  The  enemy's  advance  occupied  the  pass 
that  evening,  and  Colonel  Adam  took  up  the  ground  in  our  position 
which  had  been  allotted  to  him.  On  the  13th,  at  noon,  the  enemy's 
columns  of  attack  were  formed,  composed  of  three  divisions  of 
infantry,  a  corps  of  cavalry  of  about  1600  men,  and  a  formidable  train 
of  artillery.  The  position  of  the  allied  army  was  extensive.  The 
left  was  posted  on  a  strong  range  of  hills,  occupied  by  Major-General 
Whittingham's  division  of  Spanish  troops,  and  the  advance  of  the 
allied  army,  under  Colonel  Adam.  This  range  of  hills  terminates  at 
Castella,  which,  and  the  ground  to  the  right,  was  occupied  by  Major- 
General  Mackenzie's  division,  and  the  58th  regiment,  from  that 
of  Lieutenant-General  Clinton.  The  remainder  of  the  position 
was  covered  by  a  strong  ravine,  behind  which  Lieutenant-General 
Clinton  was  stationed,  supported  by  three  battalions  of  General 
Roche's  division,  as  a  column  of  reserve.  A  few  batteries  had  been 
constructed  in  this  part  of  the  line,  and  in  front  of  the  castle  of 
Castella.  The  enemy  necessarily  advanced  on  the  left  of  the  position. 
The  first  movement  he  made  was  to  pass  a  strong  body  of  cavalry 
along  the  line,  threatening  our  right,  which  was  refused.     Of  this 


218  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

movement  no  notice  was  taken ;  the  ground  to  which  he  was  pointing 
is  unfavourable  to  cavalry,  and  as  this  movement  was  forseen,  the 
necessary  precautions  had  been  taken,  When  this  body  of  cavalry 
had  passed  nearly  the  half  of  our  line  of  infantry,  Marshal  Suehefc 
advanced  his  columns  to  the  foot  of  the  hills  ;  and  certainly  his  troops, 
with  a  degree  of  gallantry  that  entitles  them  to  the  highest  praise, 
stormed  the  whole  line,  which  is  not  less  than  two  miles  and  a  half 
in  extent.  But,  gallantly  as  the  attack  was  made,  the  defence  of  the 
heights  was  no  less  brilliant :  at  every  point  the  enemy  was  repulsed 
— at  many  with  the  bayonet.  He  suffered  a  very  severe  loss.  Our 
gallant  troops  pursued  him  for  some  distance,  and  drove  him,  after  a 
severe  struggle,  with  precipitation  on  his  battalions  of  reserve  upon 
the  plain.  The  cavalry,  which  had  slowly  advanced  along  our  right, 
gradually  fell  back  to  the  infantry.  At  present  his  superiority  in 
that  arm  enabled  him  to  venture  this  movement,  which,  otherwise, 
he  should  have  severely  repented.  Having  united  his  shattered 
battalions  with  those  he  kept  in  reserve.  Marshal  Suchet  took  up  a 
position  in  the  valley ;  but  which  it  would  not  have  been  creditable 
to  allow  him  to  retain.  I  therefore  decided  on  quitting  mine ;  still, 
however,  retaining  the  heights,  and  formed  the  allied  army  in  his 
front,  covering  my  right  flank  with  the  cavalry,  whilst  the  rest  rested 
on  the  hills.  The  army  advanced  in  two  lines  to  attack  him,  a  con- 
siderable distance  ;  but,  unfortunately.  Marshal  Suchet  did  not  choose 
to  risk  a  second  action,  with  the  defile  in  his  rear.  The  line  of  the 
allies  was  scarcely  formed,  when  he  began  his  retreat,  and  we  could 
effect  nothing  more  than  driving  the  French  into  the  pass  with  defeat, 
which  they  had  exultingly  passed  in  the  morning.  The  action  termi- 
nated at  dusk,  with  a  distant  but  heavy  cannonade.  I  am  sorry  to 
say  that  I  have  no  trophies  to  boast  of.  The  enemy  took  no  guns  to 
the  heights,  and  he  retired  too  expeditiously,  to  enable  me  to  reach 
him.  Those  which  he  used  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day  were  posted 
in  the  gorge  of  the  defile,  and  it  would  have  cost  ua  the  lives  of  many 
brave  men  to  take  them.  In  the  dusk  the  allied  army  returned  to 
its  position  at  Castella,  after  the  enemy  had  retired  to  Biar.  From 
thence  he  continued  his  retreat  at  midnight  to  Villena,  which  ha 
quitted  again  this  morning  in  great  haste,  directing  his  march  upon 
Fuente  de  la  Higuera  and  Onteniente.  But  although  I  have  taken 
no  cannon  from  the  enemy,  in  point  of  numbers  his  army  is  very  co. 
sidcrably  crippled ;  and  the  defeat  of  a  French  army  which  boasted 
it  had  never  known  a  check,  cannot  fail,  I  should  hope,  in  producing 
a  most  favourable  effect  in  this  part  of  the  Peninsula.  As  I  before 
mentioned  to  your  Lordship,  Marshal  Suchet  commanded  in  person. 


1813.J  OPERATIONS   IN  THE  NORTH  OF    SPAIN.  219 

The  Generals  Harispe,  Hubert,  and  Roberts,  commanded  their 
respective  divisions.  I  hear  from  all  quarters  that  General  Harispe 
is  killed ;  and  I  believe,  from  every  account  that  I  can  collect  that 
the  loss  of  the  enemy  amounts  fully  to  3000  men  ;  and  he  admits 
2500.  Upwards  of  800  have  already  been  buried  in  front  of  only 
one  part  of  our  line  ;  and  we  know  that  he  has  carried  off  with  him 
an  immense  number  of  wounded.  We  had  no  opportunity  of  making 
prisoners,  except  such  as  were  wounded,  the  numbers  of  which  have 
not  reached  me.  I  am  sure  your  Lordship  will  hear  with  much  satis- 
faction that  this  action  has  not  cost  us  the  lives  of  many  of  our 
comrades.  Deeply  must  be  felt  the  loss,  however  trifling,  of  such 
brave  and  gallant  soldiers  ;  but  we  know  it  is  inevitable ;  and  I  can 
with  truth  affirm  that  there  was  not  an  officer  or  soldier  engaged  who 
did  not  court  the  glorious  termination  of  an  honourable  life  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty  to  his  King  and  his  country.  The  gallant  and 
judicious  conduct  of  those  that  were  engaged  deprived  much  more  than 
one-half  the  army  of  sharing  in  the  perils  and  glory  of  the  day  ;  but 
the  steady  countenance  with  which  the  divisions  of  Generals  Clinton 
and  Mackenzie  remained  for  some  hours  under  a  cannonade,  and  the 
eagerness  and  alacrity  with  which  the  lines  of  attack  were  formed 
sufficiently  proved  to  me  what  I  had  to  depend  on  from  them,  had 
Marshal  Suchet  awaited  the  attack." 

After  this  action,  the  armies  resumed  their  former  position,  as 
Murray — one  of  whose  divisions  had  been  recalled  to  Sicily  by  Lord 
William  Bentinck — did  not  feel  himself  sufficiently  strong  to  resume 
offensive  operations.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  ought  to  have  pushed 
his  success  immediately  after  the  battle. 

What  was  doing  in  the  north  of  Spain  (Major-General  Cooke 
continued  in  the  south  at  Cadiz)  while  Murray  was  operating  in  the 
east,  and  Lord  Wellington  lay  tranquil  on  the  Douro  ?  The  north 
of  Spain  was  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against  the  French  yoke  ;  the 
insurgents,  stirred  up  and  supported  by  a  squadron  of  British  men- 
of-war  upon  the  Gallician  coasts.  The  Gallicians  are  a  fine  body  of 
men,  and  formed  by  habit  to  share  in  the  semi-savage  kind  of  warfare 
practised  by  the  guerrillei-os.  These  people,  with  the  partidas  of  the 
Asturias  and  Leon,  gave  the  French  no  repose.  They  surprised  a 
French  detachment  returning,  after  a  plundering  expedition  to 
Burgos,  and  killed  or  made  prisoners  1000  men.  They  captured  the 
garrisons  at  Bilboa,  Salinus  de  Arena,  and  Pancabo.  Mina,  to  whom 
allusion  has  previously  been  made,  harassed  the  enemy  in  Arragon 
and  Navarre.  Futile  were  the  efforts  of  Clauzel  to  capture  him.  He 
was   continually    upon   thje   flanks   of    the   enemy,   attacking    small 


220  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  (1815. 

detachments  and  convoys.'     The  name  of  Mina  will  ever  stand  distin- 
guished in  the  history  of  the  guerrillas  of  Spain  ;  two  individuals  of 

1  "  I  was  witness  to  a  transaction  which  must  furnish  you  with  a  correct  idea  of  the 
general  system  of  Guerrillas,  and  to  what  extent  dependence  can  be  placed  on  that  description 
of  force,  which  has  been  so  lavishly  commended.  Four  hundred  well-mounted  Guerrillas  fell 
in  with  sixteen  French  dragoons,  who  immediately  charged  them  ;  away  went  the  Guerrillas,  and 
in  their  route  drove  five  British  light  dragoons  off  the  road ;  but  the  latter,  the  12th  Dragoons,  in 
their  turn  cliarged  the  enemy,  who  immediately  fled.  Don  Julian,  the  Guerrilla  chief,  in  support 
of  this  affair,  stated,  that  ^his  forces  are  not  intended  for  the  charge,  hut  merely  to  harass  the 
French,  and  cut  off  their  supplies.''" — Private  letter  from  an  officer  in  Camp  near  Burgos^ 
October,  1812. 

Another  officer,  writing  from  Valladolid,  gives  a  better  account  of  the  uses  of  the  Guerrillas. 

"Valladolid. — We  reached  this  city  early  to-day;  assuredly  we  shallleam  one  lesson  from 
the  French,  who,  willing  to  impede  the  advances  of  our  troops,  most  effectually  prevented  a 
way  over  the  bridges  by  completely,  and  in  a  masterly  manner,  destroying  the  centre  arch ; 
but  tliey  are  adepts  in  the  art  of  destruction.  We  forded  the  Douro,  but  it  was  low ;  perhaps, 
in  a  month's  time,  the  bridges  will  be  wanted,  but  we  can  build  well  and  rapidly.  Our  road 
to-day  was  through  a  forest  of  pine-trees,  whose  beautiful  green  tops  (for  they  resemble  the 
figure  of  a  mop  reversed)  formed  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  yellow,  burnt  surface  of  the 
country.  This  city  is,  in  comparison  to  all  I  have  seen  in  Spain  or  Portugal,  except  Lisbon, 
much  the  finest  and  best  paved  ;  in  the  latter  respect  it  surpasses  Lisbon.  The  streets  are 
wide,  and  have  been  neatly  flagged  on  each  side,  an  improvement  suggested  by  the  French, 
To-day,  the  houses  are  a  display  of  tapestry,  &c.,  in  honour  of  Ferdinand  the  Seventh,  whose 
portrait  is  hung  amidst  a  profusion  of  crimson  velvet,  in  the  great  square.  A  few  days  since. 
King  Joe  received  the  same  compliment.  These  people  are  fond  of  grand  display,  fireworks, 
and  illuminations  ;  whether  for  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  a  saint,  a  king,  or  a  victory,  out  flows 
the  tapestry  over  the  balconies,  and  all  go  to  church.  I  will  give  you  an  idea  of  military 
distress :  a  few  days  past  we  could  not  get  food  for  ourselves  ;  here  wo  cannot  get  food  for 
our  cattle,  an  important  embarrassment,  for  both  an  Englishman  and  his  horse  require  the 
substantial  to  enable  them  to  fight  the  climate,  the  fatigue,  and  the  enemy.  As  an  instance 
of  Spanish  poliiesse  and  hospitality — arriving  here  somewhat  fatigued  and  dusty,  with  an 
irre-sistible  inclination  for  breakfast,  we  only  washed,  put  on  clean  linen,  and  a  sliirht  covering, 
and  sat  down  to  breakfast  sans  ceremonie  ;  my  lady,  the  Donna  of,  the  house,  two  young 
Donnas,  and  the  Don,  soon  after  entered,  made  us  imdcrsland  we  were'  welcome,  chatted  and 
retired.  You  must  know,  we  are  billeted  according  to  rank.  I  have  been' lucky  hitherto  to 
lodge  with  Dons,  and  in  mansions  that  would  afford  materials  to  build  a  tolerable  village,  with 
a  parson's  burn ;  the  oak  table  I  am  now  writing  upon,  would  easily  cut  into  three  tolerably 
heavy  ones,  and  my  landlord's  chariot  would  supply  wood  to  fit  up  a  turnpike-house,  gate, 
and  posts  ;  conceive  doors  and  window-shutters  three  inches  thick,  of  solid  wood — it  serves 
to  keep  out  heat.  Tlio  French  that  garrisoned  this  city  and  the  village  we  came  through, 
by  the  ingenuity  they  have  displayed  in  the  defences  against  the  attack  of  the  Guerrillas, 
have  left  a  convincing  proof  how  formidable  they  considered  those  j)artisan  warriors 
—houses  at  the  extremity  of  the  village  surrounded  by  a  deep  ditch,  a  parapet, 
embrasures  of  field-pieces,  and  loop-holes  for  musketry,  a  deep  ditch,  with  a  parapet,  cut 
across  all  the  roads  leading  into  the  villages— in  short,  these  Guerrilla  gentlemen  must  have 
created  great  alarm,  and  consequently  have  risen  in  our  estimation.  Regular  action  is  out 
of  their  way,  but  for  la  petite  guerre  they  are  admirable.  To  be  sure,  their  appearance  is 
horribly  grotesque  ;  anything  of  a  jacket,  anything  of  a  cap,  anything  of  a  sword,  or  jjistol, 
or  carbine,  and  anything  of  a  horse.  As  mercy  is  not  in  the  calendar  of  their  virtues,  you 
may  readily  imagine  what  a  terror  they  are  to  the  French.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  describing 
the  loss  or  the  enemy,  in  rencontres  with  the  Guerrillas,  to  have  been  20,000  men,  and  I  am 
borne  out  by  the  opinion  of  many  intelligent   Spaniards ;  000,000  of  the  French  have  come 


1813.]  MINA,   THE   GUERRILLA,  221 

tLi3  name  became  the  scourge  and  terror  of  the  invading  French  army 
and  its  supporters  from  an  early  period  in  1809.  The  younger  Mina 
was  a  student  of  Navarre :  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  this  heroic 
Spaniard  was  wounded,  and  carried  prisoner  into  France ;  his  uncle, 
D.  Francisco  Espozy  Mina,  having  gained  reputation  for  courage  and 
other  necessary  qualifications  for  a  guerrilla  chief,  succeeded  to  the 
command,  in  which  his  nephew  had  made  himself  so  famous  and 
formidable.  This  warrior  was  not  thirty  years  of  age  when  he  became 
leader  of  the  guerrillas^  and  commander  of  the  province  of  Navarre ; 
his  habits  and  temperament  were  admirably  calculated  for  the  bold 
and  romantic  exploits  which  he  undertook  ;  with  a  frame  of  uncommon 
physical  power,  he  possessed  a  mind  equal  to  danger  and  privation, 
and  insensible  to  the  weaknesses  of  human  nature,  when  they 
interfered  with  his  duty  as  the  soldier,  the  servant,  and  the  defender 
of  his  country.  When  Mina  laid  down  to  rest,  it  was  always  with 
pistols  in  his  girdle,  and  if  under  the  shelter  of  a  roof,  which  was 
seldom  the  case,  he  always  secured  the  door  against  surprise.  Two 
hours'  sleep  was  sufficient  to  recruit  the  strength  of  this  hardy  patriot. 
His  powder  was  manufactured  among  the  mountains,  and  his  hospital 
was  at  a  mountain  village ;  and  whenever  the  French  made  an  attempt 
on  it,  mountaineers  always,  on  the  first  intimation  of  their  approach, 
were  sure  to  remove  the  sick  and  wounded  to  places  of  greater  security. 
The  mode  adopted  by  Mina  for  raising  money  to  pay  his  soldiers,  and 
reward  his  emissaries,  was  arbitrary,  but  the  times  and  circumstances 
perhaps  rendered  it  not  only  excusable,  but  justifiable.  He  exacted 
certain  sums  from  the  rich  traders,  for  passports  and  protection,  and 
he  permitted  dealers  of  every  rank  to  traffic  with  the  French,  by 
which  means  his  men  were  supplied  with  many  things  of  which  they 
otherwise  must  have  stood  in  need.  The  Alcaldes  of  the  villages 
Mina  kept  true  to  his  cause,  by  never  allowing  them  an  opportunity 
of  betraying  it.  If  they  were  ordered  by  the  French  to  make  a 
requisition,  and  did  not  immediately  acquaint  Mina  with  the  circum- 
stance, he  went  in  the  night,  seized  them  in  their  beds,  and  punished 
them  on  the  spot  with  the  death  of  a  traitor.  When  his  linen  was 
dirty,  he  made  a  practice  of  repairing  to  the  nearest  house  and  taking 
clean  from  its  owner.  The  dress  of  this  chieftain  and  his  followers 
was  as  free  from  ostentation  as  their  patriotism.  There  was  nothing 
remarkable  about  them,  but  their  sandals,  which  were  worn  to  affi)rd 
them  a  greater   facility  in    climbing   mountains   or  precipices,  when 

into  this  country,  100,000  have  been  ordered  back,  and  what  remains  Is  certainly  not  150,000,  all 
included ;  so  say  the  French,  and  so  say  the  Spaniards.  We  have  20,000  prisoners ;  in  short,  we 
may  estimate  their  loss  at  300,000  men  since  the  war." 


222  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

pursued.  To  the  morals  of  his  followers  Mina  was  strictly  attentive ; 
he  would  not  allow  of  gaming  nor  plunder ;  when  the  battle  was 
over,  every  man  was  permitted  to  take  what  he  could  obtain,  but 
until  his  duties  were  done,  it  would  have  drawn  upon  him  the 
vengeance  of  his  chief,  had  he  thought  of  appropriating  to  himself 
any  part  of  the  spoil.  The  arms  of  his  guerrillas  were  all  in  excellent 
order  for  battle,  though  their  external  appearance  did  not  warrant 
this  idea  ;  they  were  rusty  and  clumsy,  and  their  bayonets  all  stained 
with  the  blood  of  the  invaders.  Whenever  a  spy  of  the  French  was 
detected,  he  was  brought  into  the  presence  of  the  chief,  whose  guards 
were  expert  in  executing  a  summary  and  disgraceful  punishment  on 
the  delinquent:  his  right  ear  was  cut  off  with  a  sword,  and  then  the 
words  "  Viva  Mina  !  "  branded  on  his  forehead.  The  army  of  Mina 
never  exceeded  5000  men,  because  he  knew  that  a  greater  number 
would  not  be  so  manageable.  In  this  war,  in  which  the  best  feelings 
of  a  brave  people  were  enlisted,  old  men,  boys,  and  women,  did  not 
shrink  from  bearing  a  part ;  husbandmen  quitted  their  flocks,  the 
lame  and  halt  put  on  a  warrior's  garb,  and  all  rushed  forward  to 
defend  their  country,  or  perish  in  her  cause.  In  one  province,  J^l 
JPasto);  the  shepherd,  was  the  leader,  in  another.  El  Medico,  or  the 
doctor.  El  Manco,  or  the  cripple,  in  a  third  ;  another  band  was  headed 
by  El  Ca?itarero,  or  the  Potter  ;  and  a  chief,  known  by  the  whimsical 
epithet  of  Francisquite,  or  Little  Francis,  led  his  countrymen  to  the 
field  in  another.  In  the  country  surrounding  Madrid,  a  man,  whose 
age  obtained  for  him  the  title  of  El  Albvilo,  or  the  Grandfather,  made 
himself  formidable  to  the  enemy ;  and  in  Rioja,  the  celebrated 
Cuovillos  was  accompanied  by  his  son  and  daughter-in-laiv,  the 
Gildippe  of  Spain.  In  one  action  this  Amazon  was  said  to  have  killed 
three  of  the  enemy  with  her  own  hand.  By  the  impolicy  of  Napoleon, 
the  priesthood  were  driven  from  their  convents,  and  many  of  them 
served  in  the  guerrillas,  whilst  the  old  and  the  eloquent  preached  a 
crusade  against  the  invaders. 


1813J 


CAMPAIGN  PREPARATIONS. 


223 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Old  soldiers — Second  in  command — Preparations  for  the  ensuing  Campaign — Remonstrances 
addressed  to  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Governments — Advance  into  Spain — Battle  of 
Vittoria. 


FTER  his  visit  to  Cadiz,  the  Marquis  of 
Wellington,  on  his  return  to  Freneda, 
gave  all  his  time — all  the  energies  of 
his  mind — to  the  preparations  for  such 
an  advance  into  Spain  as  would  render 
another  regression  quite  unnecessary. 
The  position  of  the  French  was  not 
formidable — they  occupied  the  towns  of 
Foro,  Zamora,  Tordesillas,  and  Valla- 
dolid,  on  the  right  hank  of  the  Douro, 
and  continued  recruiting  for  a  fresh 
contest.  Napoleon  did  indeed  with- 
draw some  of  the  best  troops  from 
service  in  Germany,  but  King  Joseph 
still  remained  in  sufficient  strength  to 
offer,  under  good  generalship,  a  for- 
midable obstruction  to  the  meditated 
advance  of  the  English.  But  this 
"  good  generalship"  was  wanting.  He  had  abandoned  Madrid,  and 
fixed  his  head-quarters  at  Valladolid  ;  and  unfortunately  for  him,  he 
and  his  generals  did  not  agree,  so  that  instead  of  being  "  concen- 
trated at  the  right  point,  and  under  one  head,  the  troops  were  scat- 
tered under  officers  who  agreed  in  nothing  but  opposition  to  his 
military  command." 

It  was  a  great  object  with  Lord  Wellington  to  have  as  many  old 
soldiers  in  his  army  as  possible.  There  was  a  very  natural  desire 
among  some  of  the  regiments  to  be  relieved  after  five  years  of  such 


224  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813- 

hard  semce,  followed  by  the  severe  comments  upon  their  discipline,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made  ;  but  the  feeling  among  the 
officers  was  generally  in  favour  of  a  continuance  on  the  Peninsula  until 
the  great  object  of  expelling  the  French  had  been  accomplished. 

To  neither  the  desire  to  go  nor  the  honourable  wish  to  remain  did 
Lord  Wellington  vouchsafe  much  heed.  He  continually  urged  upon 
the  Duke  of  York,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  the  importance  of  leaving 
the  old  soldiers  with  him.  From  Cadiz  he  had  written,  "  Experience 
has  shown  us  in  the  Peninsula  that  a  soldier  who  has  got  through  one 
campaign  is  of  more  service  than  two  or  even  three  newly  arrived  from 
England.  #  #  *  *  I  should  prefer  to  keep  as  many  of 
the  old  regiments  as  I  can  with  the  army."  And  this  sentiment  he 
iterated  in  nearly  the  very  same  words  in  his  communications  with 
Earl  Bathurst  after  his  return  to  Freneda.* 

Another  subject  which  occupied  no  small  share  of  Lord  Wellington's 
attention  at  this  period  was,  the  quality  of  the  general  officers  sent 
out  to  assist  him,  and  the  folly  of  troubling  him  with  a  "  second  in 
command."  Upon  the  latter  point,  he  evinced  some  degree  of  irrita- 
tion, but  his  arguments,  as  usual,  were  far  from  devoid  of  reason.  He 
conceived  that  Marshal  Beresford,  as  the  next  in  rank  to  himself,  and 
as  enjoying  the  confidence  of  the  Portuguese,  was  preferable  to  any 
lieutenant-general  who  might  be  sent  out  as  the  successor  to  himself 
in  the  command  of  the  allied  armies,  and  for  any  other  purpose  he 
deemed  an  officer  of  high  rank  quite  unnecessary. 

"In  my  opinion  [despatch  to  Earl  Bathurst,  January  20,  1813], 
the  office  of  second  in  command  of  an  army  in  these  days,  in  which 
the  use  of  councils  of  war  has  been  discontinued,  and  the  chief  in 
command  is  held  severely  responsible  for  everthing  that  passes,  is 
not  only  useless,  but  injurious  to  the  service.  A  person  without 
defined  duties,  excepting  to  give  flying  opinions,  from  which  he  may 
depart  at  pleasure,  must  be  a  nuisance  in  moments  of  decision  ;  and 
whether  I  have  a  second  in  command  or  not,  I  am  determined  always 
to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  my  own  judgment,  being  quite 
certain  that  I  shall  be  responsible  for  the  act,  be  the  person  who  he 
may,  according  to  whose  opinion  it  has  been  adopted.  One  person  in 
that  situation  may  give  mc  a  little  more  trouble  than  another ;  but 

I  In  order  to  encourage  the  old  soldiers  to  remain,  all  those  who  had  entered  the  service  in 
1806,  and  whose  term  of  service  had  expire*!,  were  offered  large  bounties  to  re-enter.  Men  not 
above  thirty-flve  years  of  ago  were  allowed  to  enlist  for  life,  and  received  sixteen  guineas. 
Those  above  thirly-flvc  for  seven  years  only,  and  rcceivo<l  eleven  guineas  of  bounty.  The 
temptation  was  sufficiently  strong,  especially  to  those  who  looked  only  to  present  enjoyment,  to 
induce  many  to  renew  their  cogatfcmcnts. 


1812.J  PENINSULA  SERVICE.  .  225 

substantially  I  must  be  indifferent  as  to  whether  it  is  the  Marshal,  or 
any  of  the  Lieutenants-General  who  have  been  named  on  the  occa- 
sion. I  must  be  out  of  the  way  when  any  one  of  them  should  be 
called  upon  to  act  in  command  ;  and  excepting  that  feeling,  which 
every  man  must  have  for  what  is  to  occur  after  he  is  gone,  which  is 
not  of  a  personal  nature,  I  can  have  no  preference  to  one  officer  over 
another  as  my  successor." 

The  winter  of  1812  was  very  inclement,  and,  in  spite  of  all  the 
efforts  which  humanity  and  policy  could  dictate,  both  officers  and 
men  suffered  from  the  severity  of  the  season.  It  will  serve  to  convey 
some  notion  of  the  character  of  Peninsula  service,  during  a  suspension 
of  arms,  and  at  such  a  period,  if  a  few  extracts  from  letters,  written 
at  the  time,  are  here  given  : — 

"  iMoNASTERio,  nth  October,  1812, 

"  We  left  our  delightful  tinkering,  and  came  forward  to  this  vile 
village.  I  think  the  description  of  the  scenes  at  the  advanced  post 
will  not  be  unentertaining.  You  may  suppose  a  village  on  the  high- 
road, about  nine  miles  from  head-quarters,  the  army  occupying 
strong  positions  near  to  that  place,  the  enemy  about  fifteen  miles  in 
our  front.  Imagine,  also,  all  the  villages  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great 
road,  left  and  right,  to  be  occupied  by  the  Spanish  cavalry.  Guerrillas, 
and  infantry  ;  and  suppose  a  village  about  six  miles  in  front  of  our 
advanced  position,  on  the  great  road.  During  the  day,  we  occupy 
this  village  in  front  with  a  subaltern's  picket  of  cavalry,  about  eigh- 
teen men  ;  having  on  the  road,  also,  between  the  two  villages,  an 
infantry  picket  of  seventy  men.  At  night,  our  subaltern's  picket 
retires  from  the  village  in  advance,  leaving  a  corporal  and  six  men 
about  two  miles  on  the  road ;  he  retires  to  the  infantry  picket,  which 
has  a  small  picket  of  one  sergeant  and  eight  men  in  its  front,  about 
150  yards  :  this  we  consider  as  the  night  position.  In  the  village, 
at  our  advance,  are  posted  three  squadrons  of  cavalry,  two  field-pieces, 
and  a  regiment  of  light  infantry ;  and  in  a  village  contiguous  more 
light  infantry. 

"  I  will  give  you  the  occurrences  of  twenty-four  hours,  and  then 
you  will  judge  of  the  nature  of  our  post-duty.  At  eleven  p.m.,  by 
intelligence  from  the  front,  report  is  made,  the  enemy  is  advancing  in 
full  speed.  '  Turn  out  Turn  out !  Send  the  baggage  to  the  rear  !  Form 
the  battalion  !'  Out  we  turn — away  goes  the  baggage,  with  all  our 
meat,  drink,  and  clothing,  except  what  is  on  our  backs  ;  it  rains  in 
torrents.  Having  continued  two  hours  in  expectation  of  a  move, 
ordered  to  quarters,  not  to  unarm,  but  to  be  ready  at  a  moment's 

VOL.  I.  15 


•26  »    LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1812. 

warning  to  turn  out;  the  rest  of  the  night,  and  till  four  in  the 
morning,  sitting  over  a  few  cold  ashes,  cold  and  wet ;  turn  out  at 
four  as  customary — wait  till  daylight — no  appearance  of  an  enemy 
— ordered  to  quarters  all  wet,  dirty,  cold,  and  our  baggage 
nine  miles  off ;  in  sis  hours  the  baggage  returns  ;  just  turned  in. 
An  alarm  again — the  Guerrillas  come  galloping  in — the  enemy  are 
coming  on — away  goes  the  baggage  again — out  we  turn — form  in  a 
field — wait  until  an  attack  would  be  most  desirable — another  false 
alarm — return  to  our  quarters  quite  wet,  dirty,  cold,  and  comfortless. 
From  a  variety  of  causes  these  alarms  arise,  and  an  extreme  caution 
is  highly  necessary.  We  are  continually  exposed.  As  for  the  habi- 
tations and  mode  of  living,  they  beggar  all  description.  As  the 
straw  palliasse  found  in  the  houses  is  a  receptacle  for  all  kinds  of 
vermin,  we  prefer  a  blanket  on  the  floor  ;  but  whether  it  is  the  heat 
that  draws  them,  search  of  prey,  or  a  roaming  disposition  in  the 
vermin,  but  so  it  is,  we  have  a  regular  hunt  after  every  hour's  rest, 
and  I  assure  you  the  slaughter  is  immense.  In  regard  to  what  we 
eat  and  drink,  I  suppose  an  ordinary  in  St.  Griles's  would  be  a  luxury  ; 
and  often  when  nature  is  so  exhausted  that  wet,  cold,  and  hunger  is 
borne  away  by  weariness  and  fatigue,  and  we  sink  on  the  dirty  hearth 
of  a  miserable  fire  absorbed  in  sleep,  the  horrid  and  incessant  squalling 
of  children  deprive  us  of  that  comfort,  and  we  must  appear  savage  to 
favour  exhausted  nature.  Conceive,  then,  fine  elegant  young  men, 
who  have  paraded  Bond-street,  the  very  quintessence  of  fashion, 
whose  stainless  leathers  and  varnished  tops,  muslin  folds  and  smooth 
chins,  have  stamped  them  the  votaries  of  fashiqn,  yo^i  see  here  with 
huge  dirty  mustachios  or  whiskers,  ragged  jackets,  greasy  shirts, 
filthy  pantaloons,  half  a  hat  or  foraging  cap,  and  misery  depicted  in 
strong  colors  in  each  feature.  I  think  the  idea  of  what  an  oflScer  or 
soldier  should  be  in  this  country  is  well  described  on  the  wall  of  a 
room  at  Castle  lo  Bromeo,  by  a  French  oflicer.  He  says,  '  to  live  in 
this  country  one  should  have  the  heart  of  a  lion,  the  strength  of  a 
horse,  the  appetite  of  a  mouse,  and  the  feelings  of  a  savage ;'  to 
which  I,  amongst  the  general  opinion,  heartily  subscribe.  But  the 
grand  consideration,  that  we  are  sustaining  a  conflict  here  to  preserve 
our  dear  country  from  the  local  horrors  of  war,  is  paramount  to  every- 
thing ;  it  gives  us  fortitude  and  resolution,  braces  our  nerves,  and 
renders  us  irresistible  ;  which  I  humbly  hope  God,  in  his  infinite 
mercy  and  goodness,  will  continue  unto  us  until  we  have  defeated  our 
enemies." 


1812.]  PENINSULA  SERVICK  227 

"  MoNTGAUL,  4^th December,  1812. 

"The  dismal  and  harassed  march  has  ceased,  and  the  divisions 
settling  themselves  in  their  winter  quarters :  our  friends  in  England, 
it  is  likely,  have  little  idea  how  much  we  have  to  do  when  once  our 
particular  quarter  is  allotted  to  us.  A  good  lodging,  comfortably 
furnished,  generally  receives  us  when  going  into  winter  quarters  at 
home ;  here  how  great  the  difference  :  a  brigade  is  huddled  into  a 
Portuguese  village,  of  which  it  is  not  possible  to  convey  any  idea  to 
our  friends  at  home ;  but  I  will  explain  what  I  have  to  do  ere  I  can 
reach  a  sensation  bordering  on  what  is  called  comfort.  In  order  to 
have  light,  without  sharing  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  I  have  a 
frame  made  to  a  window  ;  this  frame  is  divided  by  string  into  squares, 
to  which  is  attached  oiled  paper — a  clumsy  imitation  of  what  we 
sometimes  observe  in  carpenters'  shops — this  is  my  window.  The 
floor  of  my  apartment  is  fortunately  without  holes  ;  but  that  must 
be  scraped  and  washed,  an  operation  it  never  before  has  experienced. 
I  have  next  to  stop  up  the  holes  in  the  walls  of  my  room,  and.  if  I  can 
procure  a  little  white-wash,  give  a  similarity  of  appearance  to  what 
never  had  changed  from  the  first  formation,  except  by  the  effect  of 
damp,  and  the  filthy  customs  of  the  natives.  Plaster  or  white-wash 
is  very  seldom  found  here.  The  roof  must  remain,  as  it  serves  not 
only  to  keep  out  the  rain,  but  also  to  let  out  the  smoke.  The  labour 
of  man  cannot  wash  the  blackamoor  white.  Conceive,  now,  my  apart- 
ment, in  some  degree  cleared  from  its  native  filth  and  dungeon-like 
appearance  ;  a  bundle  of  clean  straw,  nicely  disposed  of  in  one  corner, 
with  two  blankets,  composes  my  bed ;  a  rough,  heavy  table,  and  a 
ricketty  stool  finishes  the  catalogue  of  my  furniture  ;  a  dirty  tin 
lamp,  with  oil,  lights  me  to  bed.  In  regard  to  any  other  comfort,  as 
the  Portuguese  have  scarcely  an  idea  beyond  the  brute  creation, 
you  may  conceive  their  astonishment  when  they  beheld  me  raising  a 
little  fabric  in  a  corner  of  the  yard  ;  it  was  totally  beyond  their  com- 
prehension. Now,  my  friends,  here  I  am  settled  for  winter-quarters, 
master  of  just  sufficient  philosophy  to  save  a  rope  the  trouble  of 
ending  a  life  of  less  importance  at  this  moment  to  me  than  ever. 
The  weather  is  fine  and  warm ;  should  it  change,  and  oblige  me  to 
keep  within  doors,  without  books,  without  any  resource,  but  what 
my  fancy  raises — and  you  will  allow  a  man's  imagination  must  be 
prolific,  who  can,  under  such  circumstances,  form  anything  like  a 
lively  sentiment — what  a  prospect !" 


228  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

Another  writer  furnishes  the  following  description  of  Portugal : — 
"  I  must  confess,  I  felt  astonished  at  the  almost  sudden  change 
in  the  face  of  the  country,  on  entering  Portugal.  From  Ciudad 
Rodrigo,  in  the  direction  to  Guarda,  you  at  once  advance  amidst 
mountains  of  rocks,  on  the  surface  of  which  you  continually 
see  immense  piles  of  loose  stones,  and  many  of  those  of  an 
enormous  size,  to  every  appearance  the  effect  of  eruptions ;  but  which 
present  such  a  savage  aspect  to  the  view,  that,  when  astonishment 
has  ceased,  a  sensation  of  horror  ensues  ;  conceive  that  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach  from  mountain  to  mountain,  over  an  expanse  of  valleys, 
you  still  encounter  this  rough  and  barbarous  appearance.  A  few 
acres,  badly  cultivated,  a  few  stunted  oaks,  or  the  more  flourishing 
chesnut,  now  and  then  present  a  little  relief  to  the  disgusted 
traveller.  On  descending  from  Guarda,  a  city  situated  on  the  summit 
of  a  mass  of  rocks,  and  which,  from  its  extreme  height,  is  all  winter 
weeping  as  it  were,  under  a  dense  cloud  ;  you  travel  for  some  miles 
winding  down  into  the  valley,  which  certainly  presented  to  our  view 
the  nearest  approaches  to  civilisation  we  had  encountered  for  some 
time  ;  the  opposite  side  of  the  mountain  was  enlivened  by  two  or 
three  apparently  neat  villages,  which  was  increased  by  some  of  the 
habitations  being  whitewashed  ;  a  few  buildings  were  also  interspersed 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  the  imagination  fondly  clinging  to 
what  it  had  been  accustomed  to,  readily  converted  into  country- 
houses,  gardens,  orchards,  &c.,  but  from  whatever  cause,  certainly 
the  eye  was  delighted.  I  am  led  to  think,  from  the  quantities  of  olive 
trees  we  observed,  that  that  branch  of  business  was  carried  on  in  this 
place,  as  we  saw  a  few  well-built  stone  houses,  which,  though  now 
desolated,  gave  evident  proof  of  previous  opulence,  and  conveyed 
some  degree  of  grandeur.  On  leaving  the  vajley,  although  here  and 
there  the  searching  eye  would  penetrate  for  miles  around,  the  general 
appearance  was  nature  in  its  roughest  state  ;  towns,  villages,  roads, 
rivers,  and  cultivation,  all  in  the  most  barbarous,  savage  state ;  bor- 
dering on  the  idea,  that  of  being  seen  once,  and  that  once  too  much  ; 
there  seems  to  us  some  description  of  fruit,  and  vegetables  ;  apples 
and  currants,  cabbages  and  onions,  potatoes  and  turnips ;  goats'  milk 
and  tolerable  bread,  so  that  we  can  make  our  broth  ;  but  fuel  seems 
scarce,  the  natives  using  charcoal.  As  yet  the  weather  is  fine,  but 
fihould  the  wintry  storms  confine  us  to  our  uncomfortable  quarters, 
and  the  luxury  of  the  sun  be  denied  us,  I  am  not  clear  whether 
a  Hottentot  is  not  more  comfortable ;  no  doubt  infinitely  more  so 
according  to  his  ideas."  .. 

To  receive  the  reinforcements  arriving  from  England,  and  despatch 


f 

1813.]  PROVISIONING  THE  ALLIED  ARMIES.  229 

them  to  the  army,  Major-General  Peacocke  was  stationed  at  Lisbon. 
The  reinforcements  of  cavalry  especially  were  of  a  very  high  order. 
The  10th,  the  15th,  and  the  18th  Hussars,  now  came  out  to  strengthen 
the  light  troops,  and  the  whole  of  the  Household  Brigade,  the  two 
Regiments  of  Life  Guards,  and  the  "Royal  Horse  Guards  (Blue), 
were  added  to  the  Heavy  Cavalry.  The  excellent  discipline  of  the 
latter  compensated  for  their  want  of  experience  in  the  field :  the 
better  part  of  the  Hussars  had  honourably  distinguished  themselves 
under  Lord  Paget  (now  Marquis  of  Anglesey),  at  Coruna.  Munitions 
of  war  were  poured  into  the  hands  of  Lord  Wellington,  with  suitable 
profusion,  and  he  at  length  (April,  1813)  began  to  feel  that  he  might 
place  every  reliance  upon  the  English  part  of  his  army.  But  he  was 
terribly  plagued  with  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese.  There  was  no 
lack  of  energy  in  the  business  of  recruiting.  Men  were  obtained  in 
great  numbers,  and  officers  were  full  of  zeal.  It  was  in  the  financial 
department,  and  the  matter  of  supply,  that  all  the  vexation  was  pro- 
duced. Both  the  Junta  and  the  Cortes  were  loth  to  supply  the 
needful,  believing  that  the  British  commander  would  feed  the  allies 
as  well  as  his  own  troops.  Against  this  Lord  Wellington  decidedly 
set  his  face,  and  his  correspondence  establishes  that  he  was  influenced 
by  no  other  feeling  than  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  foreign  troops,  and 
to  the  people  of  Great  Britain.  Addressing  the  Conde  de  la  Bisbal, 
he  expresses  his  apprehension  that  instead  of  having  too  few  troops 
in  a  state  of  discipline  to  take  the  field  there  will  be  more  men  clothed, 
armed,  and  disciplined,  than  the  means  of  the  country  could  support, 
unless  the  Government  should  carry  out  the  measures  they  had 
arranged  with  him,  and  give  the  armies  the  real  nine-tenths  of  t/ie 
revenue  fairly  collected  and  honestly  administered.  "  It  will  answer 
no  purpose  to  bring  to  the  theatre  of  war  on  the  Douro,  or  the  Ebro, 
crowds  of  starving  soldiers.  We  shall  only  lose  them  by  desertion, 
and  with  them  our  own  characters ;  and  increase  our  difficulties, 
without  reaping  any  advantage  for  the  trouble  taken  in  forming 
them."  '  To  Don  Jose  de  Carrajal,  Lord  Wellington  writes,  "  Officers 
and  soldiers  without  discipline  are  worse  than  useless,  and  discipline 
and  subordination  cannot  be  established  in  any  army  that  is  neither 
paid  nor  fed ;  and  the  Spanish  officers  cannot  be  paid  or  fed  unless 
the  Government  shall  carry  into  execution  the  measures  which  were 
arranged  with  me  under  the  decree  of  the  Cortes." 

Nor  was  it  only  upon  the  subject  of  the  means  of  paying  and 
feeding  the  allied,  and  especially  the  Spanish,  troops,  that  Lord 
Wellington    experienced   anxieties    and    annoyances.      The  Spanish 

1  Letter  to  the  Conde  de  la  Bisbal,  dated  Frened.i,  28th  March,  1813. 
R 


230  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOK  [1813. 

Ministers  and  Generals  were  continually  encroaching  upon  his 
authority,  and  taking  upon  themselves  responsibilities  which  were 
solely  the  prerogative  of  the  English  generalissimo.  Hear  what 
he  says  to  Sir  Henry  Wellesley,  the  British  Minister  at 
Madrid  : — 

"  I  wish  and  propose  to  open  the  campaign  on  the  1st  of  May,  *  *  * 
If  there  was  money  I  should  entertain  no  doubts  of  the  results  of  the 
next  campaign  in  respect  to  the  Peninsula.  But  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment have  so  contrived  their  matters,  that  the  arrangements  concerted 
and  agreed  upon  with  me,  have  not  yet  produced  a  shilling,  and  as 
far  as  I  can  judge,  are  not  likely  to  produce  much.  However,  I 
cannot  yet  write  decisively  and  officially  upon  this  subject,  as  I  have 
not  the  official  reports ;  but  I  have  certainly  the  most  obstinate  and 
worst  tempered  people  to  deal  with  that  I  have  yet  met  in  my  life. 
*  *  *  *  Depend  upon  it  that  the  result  of  the  nest  campaign  depends 
on  our  financial  resources.  *  *  *  *  If  we  cannot  relieve  the  subsidies 
without  falling  on  the  resources  of  the  British  army,  and  can  get 
nothing  from  the  country,  we  shall  end  the  next  compaign  as  we  did 
the  last.  *  *  *  *  The  Minister  of  War  is  going  on  just  as  usual ; 
and  I  must  either  resign,  or  throw  him  and  the  Government  on  their 
responsibility,  and  desire  some  member  of  the  Cortes  to  call  for  the 
letters.  He  sends  orders  to  the  troops,  and  so  do  I,  and  the  conse- 
quence is  that  neither  are  obeyed." 

And  again,  in  a  letter  to  Don  Andres  Argel  de  la  Vega,  he 
vehemently  protests  against  the  conduct  of  the  Government,  in  their 
interference  with  his  prerogative  and  duties.  They  had  removed 
officers  from  their  stations  and  placed  them  in  others,  without  any 
recommendation  from  Lord  Wellington  ;  without,  in  fact,  acquainting 
him  that  they  had  made  such  arrangements.  They  had  appointed 
other  officers  to  stations  of  importance  unknown  to  him,  and  had 
moved  corps  of  cavalry  and  infantry  about,  without  any  reasons  of  a 
public  nature. 

All  the  chafing  and  irritability  produced  by  this  indecent  and 
truly  impolitic  disregard  of  Wellington's  instructions  and  positions, 
did  not,  however,  deter  him  from  continuing  to  offer  friendly  counsel 
to  the  governments  of  the  two  nations.  Late  in  January,  and  again 
early  in  April,  he  addressed  long  letters  to  a  member  of  the  Spanish 
Cortes  and  to  the  Prince  Kegent  of  Portugal,  full  of  the  soundest 
practical  advice,  and  exhibiting  those  rare  administrative  talents 
which  afterwards  gave  him  as  lofty  a  position  as  a  British  statesman 
and  diplomatist  as  he  had  earned  for  himself  as  a  soldier.  These 
lettersj,   monuments    at    oace    of   Wellington's    judgment   and    dis- 


1813.J  BAGGAGE  OF  THE  BRITISH  ARMY.  231 

interestedness,  will  be  found  elsewhere.'  If  read  and  pondered  in 
connection  with  all  his  military  operations,  involving  at  this  period  a 
prodigious  amount  of  correspondence,  some  notion  will  be  arrived  at 
of  the  marvellous  personal  labour  employed  to  execute  the  suggestions 
of  a  singularly  clear  and  active  mind. 

Early  in  May,  1813,  Lord  Wellington  commenced  his  march 
towards  Spain.  It  is  instructive,  in  a  military  view,  to  notice  the 
arrangements  that  had  been  made  for  the  soldiery  preparatory  to  the 
movement.  The  entire  force  consisted  of  200,000  men,  of  whom 
70.000  formed  the  Anglo-Portuguese  army,  with  ninety  pieces  of 
artillery.  The  English  troops,  previous  to  the  advance,  were  directed 
to  deliver  their  great  coats  into  store,  and  blankets  were  supplied  in 
their  stead — an  excellent  arrangement,  as  the  blanket  formed  a  suf- 
ficient covering  under  the  canopy  of  tents  now  served  out,  in  the  pro- 
portion of  three  to  each  company. 

No  army  ever  had  less  baggage  :  besides  two  calashes,  one  belonging 
to  Lord  Wellington,  and  another  to  the  officer  commanding  the  corps 
of  Guides,  a  waggon  containing  the  printing  press  for  the  publication 
of  general  orders  and  circulars,  and  the  common  ammunition  waggon 
and  forges,  there  was  not  another  carriage  in  the  army.  Three 
tents  were  allowed  to  each  compan/of  infantry.  The  French  system^ 
grown  up  during  the  revolutionary  wars,  of  striking  direct  at  great 
objects,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  dogma,  that  the  end  sanctifies  the 
means  to  political  objects,  made  the  health  or  welfare  of  the  soldiers 
of  little  importance,  and  camp  equipage  became  incompatible  with  the 
velocity  of  their  movements.  But  Lord  Wellington  thought  the 
lives  of  Englishmen  more  valuable  than  the  French  marshals  con- 
sidered those  of  Frenchmen,  and  by  a  little  arrangement,  managed  to 
give  to  the  troops  those  shields  from  the  dew  (which  is  the  real  use  of 
tents)  which  no  chief  who  values  the  health  of  his  men,  or  any 
country  that  respects  its  armed  citizens,  should  ever  allow  soldiers  to 
be  without. 

By  taking  for  the  tents  the  mules  previously  employed  in  carrying 
the  camp  kettles,  the  difficulty  of  carriage  was  overcome  ;  while  the 
culinary  utensils  were  reduced  in  size  and  altered  in  composition, 
(from  a  utensil  for  ten  men  to  one  serviceable  for  six,  and  from  iron  to 
tin,)  becoming  in  consequence  capable  of  being  carried  in  turns  by 
the  men.  This  was  an  invention  by  one  of  the  English  officers 
attached  to  Marshal  Beresford,  and  was  in  use  among  our  faithful 
allies  a  year  previous  to  the  employment  of  them  by  the  British. 
This  arrangement  united  the  advantages  of  cover,  and  overcoming  the 

1  Appendix,  Nos.  I.  anrt  II. 


232  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

uncertainty  of  the  arrival  of  the  soldiers'  batterie  de  cuisitie  ambulante. 
Though  these  ''  bell  tents"  were  only  intended  for  twelve  men,  and  thus 
only  able  to  hold  about  half  a  complete  company,  what  with  sick  and 
men  on  duty,  and  other  contingencies,  they  generally  covered  four- 
fifths  of  those  who  had  a  right  to  be  in  a  state  of  repose.  Each  man 
was  provided  with  a  reasonable  supply  of  necessaries.  The  daily 
allowance  of  rations  to  soldiers  and  officers  consisted  of  one  pound  of 
beef,  one  of  biscuit,  and  a  small  allowance  of  rum  and  wine.  But  the 
weight  was  still  more  than  soldiers  ought  to  have  carried  on  such  a 
service.  In  these  days  efforts  have  been  made  to  lighten  the 
burthen  of  the  soldier,  and  when  a  change  has  been  effected  in  the 
weight  and  construction  of  the  knapsack,  there  will  not  be  more  on  a 
soldier's  back  than  he  can  carry  with  case  and  comfort  on  a  long 
day's  march.  In  the  olden  time — for  the  march  of  improvement  has 
made  forty  years  an  age — more  men  were  killed  by  the  burthens  they 
bore,  than  by  the  bullets  and  bayonets  of  the  enemy.* 

The  plan  of  Lord  Wellington  was  to  form  his  army  into  one 
grand  line,  extending  from  one  end  of  the  confines  of  Spain  and 
Portugal  to  the  other,  and  to  march  with  it  "  all  abreast"  upon  the 
"  scattered  French,  and  drive  them  refluent  to  the  Pyrenees."  The 
line  was  divided  into  three  columns!  The  right  column  was  composed 
of  the  second  division  of  the  Grand  Army  under  Hill,  and  was  to 
advance  along  the  line  of  the  Tagus  to  Toledo,  where  it  was  to  form 
a  junction  with  the  army  of  Alicant,  under  Sir  John  Murray.  Of 
the  second  or  centre  column.  Lord  Wellington  took  the  command  in 
person.  The  object  of  this  column  was  to  advance  by  way  of 
Salamanca,  forcing  the  enemy  from  his  positions  on  the  Douro.  The 
third,  or  left  column,  was  entrusted  to  Graham.  It  was  to  march  at 
first  directly  northward  within  the  Portuguese  frontier,  through  the 
province  of  Tras  Los  Montes  to  Braganza,  whence  it  was  to  enter 
Spain,  turning  the  French  troops  on  the  Douro,  and  hastening  their 
retreat  if  they  should  not  have  retired  previously.  Sir  Thomas 
Graham  was  then  to  take  the  line  of  Benevente  to  Burgos.     The 

1  An  idea  may  1)C  fomiod,  from  the  subjoined  enumeration  of  the  articles  carried  by  a  riflemen, 
of  the  weight  the  infantry  liad  to  bear  on  the  march : — 

"  Knapsack  and  8traj)s,  two  shirts,  two  pairs  of  stockings,  three  pairs  of  shoes,  one  pair  of 
soles  and  heels,  three  brushes,  a  box  of  blacking,  razor,  soap-box  and  strap,  and  an  extra  pair 
of  trowsers,  a  mess-tin,  a  centro-tin  and  lid,  horse-sack  and  canteen,  blanket,  a  powder  flask 
filled,  a  ball-bag  containing  30  loose  balls,  a  small  wooden  mallet  used  to  hammer  the  ball  into 
the  muzzle  of  the  rifles,  belt  and  pouch  (tlio  latter  containing  50  rounds  of  ammunition),  sword- 
belt  and  ride,  besides  other  odds  and  ends.  Each  squad  had  to  carry  four  bill-hooks,  weighing 
lix  pounds  each,  the  labour  of  which  was  divided  among  the  men.  Often  the  men  were  required 
to  fill  their  canteens  with  water  on  setting  forth  on  tho  march." 


1813.]  MARCH  INTO  SPAIN.  233 

Duke  del  Parques'  army  and  the  Spanish  reserves,  at  the  same  time, 
moved  forward  from  Andalusia  into  La  Mancha,  thereby  inducing  the 
belief  that  a  combined  attack  on  Madrid  was  intended.  "  A  grand 
design,  and  grandly  executed."  At  the  head  of  this  strong  well-com- 
bined, and  well-equipped  army,  Wellington  crossed  the  frontier  stre^, 
and  rising  in  his  stirrups  and  waving  his  hand  as  he  looked  back,  cried 
out,  Adieu  Portugal !  * 

Moving  rapidly,  by  the  26th  of  May  Lord  Wellington's  army  had 
reached  Salamanca.  The  enemy,  under  General  Villatte,  still  held 
the  town  with  a  division  of  infantry,  three  squadrons  of  cavalry,  and 
some  cannon ;  but  they  evacuated  on  the  approach  of  the  British. 
The  latter  were  again  cordially  welcomed  by  the  inhabitants.' 

1  Napier. 

2  "  On  entering  the  great  square,  we  observed  the  priucipal  inhabitants,  full-dressed,  flocking 
towards  the  cathedral,  a  very  handsome  stone  structure,  where  we  alighted,  and,  following  the 
crowd  through_the  grand  entrance,  found  a  great  multitude  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  Duke, 
who  soon  entered  escorted  by  a  numerous  retinue  of  Spanish  generals  and  other  stafif 
officers,  in  a  variety  of  uniforms  magnificently  embroidered.  I  was  much  struck  with  the 
simplicity  of  Lord  Wellington's  attire.  He  wore  a  very  light-grey  pelisse  coat,  single-breasted, 
without  a  sash,  and  white  neck-handkerchief,  with  his  sword  buckled  round  his  waist, 
underneath  the  coat,  the  hilt  merely  protruding,  with  a  cocked-hat  under  his  arm.  He  stood 
with  his  face  towards  the  altar  during  the  prayer  offered  up  for  the  success  of  our  arms.  The 
deep-toned  organ  played  some  fine  pieces  during  the  ceremony.  At  the  conclusion,  the  ladies, 
by  way  of  benediction,  dipped  their  delicate  fingers  into  a  marble  basin  at  the  door  and  sprinkled 
it  with  holy  water." — Journal  of  an  Officer. 

In  the  simplicity  of  his  costume,  Lord  Wellington  imitated  his  great  rival  Napoleon.  There 
was  probably  design  in  this.  His  lordship  felt  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  easily  distinguished 
at  a  distance,  and  he  therefore  occasionally  wore  in  the  field  the  white  cloak  of  a  French  trooper. 
But  apart  from  the  desire  to  be  seen  when  much  wanted,  he  was  always  indifferent  to  appear- 
ances, and  even  availed  himself  of  his  simple  costume  to  avoid  notice.  The  following  anecdote 
may  be  relied  upon  : — 

"  The  costume  of  the  staff  of  head-quarters  generally  conformed  to  that  of  our  Chief,  laying 
aside  in  the  morning  the  red  coat  for  a  blue  surtout,  with  the  sash,  sword,  and  belt 
over  it,  and  the  telescope  slung  across  the  shoulder,  with  plain  blue  or  grey  overalls.  I 
recollect  in  1009,  at  Thomar,  Lord  Wellington  escaping  by  his  plain  mode  of  dress  the  honour 
and  ceremonies  intended  him  by  the  Portuguese  General,  Mirando,  who  commanded  at  that 
place.  To  understand  the  circumstance,  it  will  be  right  to  observe  that  this  officer  was 
exceedingly  fond  of  parade  and  state,  and  before  Marshal  Beresford  reformed  the  staff,  not 
only  of  Saint  Antonio,  but  of  the  Generals,  he  had  forty-three  aides-de-camp.  On  hearing 
that  Lord  Wellington,  on  his  road  from  Coimbra  to  Abrantes  was  to  lodge  at  Thomar,  he 
put  on  his  very  best,  and  sallied  out  at  the  head  of  his  staff  to  meet  the  victorious  General, 
whom  he,  no  doubt,  judging  of  others  from  himself,  depicted  as  surrounded  with  innumerable 
officers,  and  probably  a  body  guard.  He  rode  on  and  on,  only  meeting  single  officers,  to 
all  appearance  beneath  his  notice,  till  his  continued  ride  at  last  made  hira  doubt  if  he  should 
be  back  early  enough  to  preside  at  the  dinner  he  had  prepared  for  the  British  Cliief  and 
the  officers  at  head-quarters.  At  last  his  Excellency  thought  it  was  well  to  enquire,  and  was 
told  that  he  must  have  met  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley.  And  sure  enough  he  had,  but  he  never 
suspected  the  Coramander-in-Chief  could  or  would  ride  without  ostentation,  in  a  plain  blue 
great-coat,  unattended  by  his  staff,  and  with  but  a  single  orderly.  Sir  Arthur,  giiessing 
from  the  clatter  on  the  road  what  was  intended,  anxious  to  avoid  it,  got  on  one  side  the  road. 


234  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [181J 

The  stay  at  Salamanca  was  brief.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of 
May,  the  Marquis  of  Wellington  reviewed  his  troops  in  order  of 
march.  The  morning  was  beautiful ;  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen.  The 
appearance  of  the  troops  was  magnificent.  As  Sir  Rowland  Hill's 
dijrision  passed,  each  corps  received  from  the  Commander-in-Chief 
some  flattering  compliment,  and  when  the  last  company  saluted,  he 
turned  round  and  said  smilingly,  "  Sir  Rowland,  I  will  take  the  gloss 
oflFyour  corps  this  campaign."  How  far  the  Marquis  kept  bis  promise 
the  sequel  will  show. 

From  this  point  to  the  Pyrenees  the  progress  of  the  allied  armies 
was,  with  one  memorable  exception  to  be  presently  noticed,  an  unin- 
terrupted parade  march,  as  far  as  it  could  be  possible  in  such  a  coun- 
try as  Spain.  To  understand  aright  the  character  of  the  land,  the 
reader  will  not  find  his  time  unprofitably  spent  in  perusing  Lavallee's 
description  of  the  military  topography  of  the  Peninsula  It  will  at 
once  impart  a  just  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  which  had  at 
different  periods  impeded  the  troops,  and  vindicate  their  courage  and 
endurance. 

The  centre  of  the  Peninsula  is  occupied  by  a  vast  plateau,  rising 
to  a  height  of  from  1312  to  1640  feet,  which  is  ascended  from  the 
east  and  west  coasts  by  groups  and  chains  of  mountains  forming  long 
platforms ;  and  where  the  northern  and  southern  faces  form  two 
enormous  walls  of  unequal  elevation ;  one,  the  Pyrenees,  terminating 
abruptly  at  the  ocean,  and  the  other,  the  Alpujarras,  or  Sierra  Nevada, 
rising  perpendicularly  above  the  Mediterranean.  Notwithstanding 
the  disadvantages  resulting  from  this  singular  configuration,  that  is 
to  say,  the  barrenness  of  the  soil  in  the  centre  of  the  Peninsula,  the 
general  deficiency  of  water,  and  the  difference  of  temperature  expe- 
rienced in  localities  lying  under  the  same  parallels  of  latitude,  this 
region  is  not  the  less  esteemed  as  one  which  nature  has  the  most 
favoured  in  its  skies  and  its  soil,  which  belong  much  rather  to  Africa 
than  to  Europe ;  in  the  great  extent  of  its  coasts  ;  in  its  advanced 
position  between  two  seas,  the  communication  between  which  it 
commands ;  in  the  almost  complete  isolation  of  its  entire  mass ;  in 
its  system  of  mountains  and  rivers,  which  serve  both  as  barriers  and 
as  lines  of  passage ;  lastly,  in  the  variety  of  its  climate,  and  the 
abundance  of  its  products.  The  line  of  water-parting  runs  generally 
in  a  direction  from  south-west  to  north-east,  describing  a  tortuoua 


.«tting  them  all  pass  without  notice,  and,  highly  amused  at  the  circumstance,  reached  quietly  his 
quarters,  without  trouhlesome  formalities.  VV^e  have  since  this  time  gone  still  farther  in  neglect 
of  dress,  and  General  Picton,  during  tlio  Ualtle  of  Vittoria,  only  wore,  while  directing  his 
Division,  instead  of  a  cocked,  a  round  and  very  old  hat." — JVotcs  of  a  Subaltern. 


1813.]  GEOGRAPHY  OF  SPALST.  235 

course,  somewhat  like  an  S.  Commencing  at  Cape  Tarifa,  it  follows 
the  line  of  the  Alpujarras  from  west  to  east,  then  turns  due  north 
traverses  the  central  plateau,  forming  the  arc  of  a  circle  whose  con- 
cavity is  towards  the  ocean  ;  reaches  the  Pyrenees  about  the  middle 
of  the  chain,  where  the  Ebro  has  its  source,  and  follows  them  from  west 
to  east,  as  far  as  the  point  of  junction  of  the  Corbieres.  This  line  is 
far  from  being  distinct  and  continuous.  With  the  exception  of  the 
stongly  marked  ridges  of  the  Alpujarras  and  the  Pyrenees,  its  direc- 
tion is  over  confused  groups,  whose  connection  is  uncertain,  and  over 
plateaux,  where  the  waters  seem  undecided  as  to  the  course  they 
should  take. 

From  this  line  descend  four  slopes,  those  on  the  south  and  east 
towards  the  Mediterranean,  those  on  the  north  and  west  towards  the 
ocean.  The  eastern  and  western  slopes  are  connected  with  the  central 
plateau,  from  which  they  gradually  descend,  while  the  others  form 
narrow  and  steep  bands  at  its  extremities. 

On  these  four  inclined  plains  the  general  character  of  the  soil  is 
as  follows : — Beginning  at  the  coast,  we  find  low  plains  of  extreme 
fertility,  a  mild  climate,  with  an  active  and  intelligent  population. 
These  plains  rise  gradually  into  valleys,  where  rice,  maize,  and  olives 
are  cultivated,  and  the  sides  of  which  are  covered  with  vineyards  and 
cornfields.  From  these  plains  we  ascend  to  the  plateaux  of  the  Cen- 
tral Region,  where  we  find  the  parameros,  vast  and  barren  plains, 
without  water  and  bare  of  trees,  and  almost  without  inhabitants,  and 
resembling  the  deserts  of  Africa.  Finally,  this  table-land  is  itself 
crowned  by^  sierras,  or  jagged  mountains,  covered  with  snow,  so  that 
the  whole  forms  a  series  of  concentric  circles,  beginning  at  the  coast 
and  diminishing  successively  in  fertility  and  population  towards  the 
centre,  where  all  is  sterility  and  solitude. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  chaos  of  mountains,  where  we  meet  at  every 
step  huge  fallen  masses  of  rock  and  earth,  yawning  fissures,  deep  and 
narrow  defiles,  where  300  men  would  suffice  to  check  an  army  ;  naked 
plains,  whose  uniformity  is  unbroken  by  any  living  object,  save  by  the 
heather  and  the  broom  ;  precipices  now  bare,  that  no  longer  collect 
the  clouds,  but  from  whose  rocky  ledges  the  water  runs  down  in 
impetuous  torrents ;  ravines,  impracticable  in  winter  from  their 
waters,  in  summer  from  their  rugged  steepness  ;  rivulets,  enclosed 
between  narrow  belts  of  verdure,  marking  the  lines  of  plantations 
and  villages  ;  rivers,  scant  of  water,  their  banks  denuded,  their 
channels  interrupted  by  numerous  rocky  ledges  and  falls,  rendering 
navigation  almost  impossible  ;  their  fords  dangerous,  and  bridges 
imfrequent  ;  few  roads,  and   these  passing  either  through  defiles  or 


236  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1818 

over  marshes ;  isolated  towns,  either  perched  upon  eminences  or  en 
closed  within  walls  ;  villages  remote  from  each  other,  and  half  savage ; 
a  people,  proud,  sober,  brave,  and  ferocious  ;  such  are  the  elements 
which  render  this  a  country  emineutly  adapted  for  defensive  warfare, 
and  almost  impossible  to  be  conquered.  "  A  large  body,"  says  Mar- 
shal Suchet,  "  which  is  wanting  in  corpulence,  but  which,  nevertheless, 
has  both  nerves  and  muscles." 

By  the  31st  of  May,  Lord  Wellington  had  reached  Carvajales, 
where  he  found  the  troops  under  Sir  Thomas  Graham  on  the  Esla, 
as  he  had  intended  they  should  be.  Their  left  was  at  Tabira,  and  in 
communication  with  the  Gallician  army.  His  lordship  immediately 
directed  the  passage  of  the  river.  A  bridge  was  thrown  over  for  the 
infantry  in  two  hours  and  a  half,  the  cavalry  forded,  but  the  river  was 
so  deep  that  some  men  perished  in  the  enterprise. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  order  and  regularity  of  the  march.  To 
the  officers  it  was  a  species  of  pleasure  tour,  in  contrast  with  what 
they  had  previously  undergone.  The  time  and  manner  of  the  daily 
operations  very  much  resembled  the  progress  of  armies  in  India.  At 
three  in  the  morning  the  signal  was  given  to  rise,  and  that  set  every- 
thing in  motion.  When  the  hum  and  buzz  of  the  camp  commenced, 
tents  were  struck,  baggage  packed,  &c.,  and  by  four  o'clock  the  men 
fell  in.  The  pace  was  easy — three  miles  an  hour.  By  half-past  eight 
or  nine,  if  there  had  been  no  occasion  to  force  a  march,  the  next  camp- 
ing ground  was  reached.  The  army  moved  in  columns  of  divisions  on 
parallel  roads,  generally  two  divisions  in  a  column.  Field  hospitals — 
Iwspiteaux  d)  ambulance^  an  excellent  idea  borrowed  from  Marmont — 
now  formed  part  of  the  equipment,  and  the  consequence  was  an  amaz- 
ing difference  between  the  number  of  sick,  who  encumbered  the  rear 
or  died  on  the  road  in  the  previous  year's  advance  towards  Madrid. 
On  the  latter  occasion  at  least  two  men  in  ten  fell  to  the  rear  ;  upon 
the  present,  not  more  than  eight  men  in  five  hundred  dropped  upon 
the  march.  No  better  proof  could  be  afforded  of  the  excellent  man- 
agement of  the  General-in-Chief,  when  it  is  considered  that  there  were 
not  less  than  80,000  men  moving  forward  at  the  same  time  within 
view  of  each  other  in  the  same  direction,  with  cavalry,  artillery,  tents 
and  baggage. 

By  the  12th  of  June  the  army  was  within  twelve  leagues  of  Burgos 
the  light  troops  in  front  driving  back  the  retreating  enemy's  rear- 
guard, who  every  now  and  then  turned  to  make  a  stand,  or  were 
overtaken  by  the  Hussars.  After  crossing  the  Esla,  the  latter  took 
some  hundred  prisoners  near  a  village  on  the  31st  of  May. 

The  recollection  of  the  former  failure   at   Burgos,  led  to  a  sup- 


v^^'g  'Wfp/^y^'^^^^^^^'n 


'ML 


1813.]  MARCH  TO   BURGOS.  237 

position  that  the  place  would  again  hold  out.  Orders  were  therefore 
issued  for  a  general  inspection  of  the  troops.  The  result  was  most 
satisfactory.  In  Lord  Dalhousie's  division,  comprising  600C  men,  not 
more  than  1 20  men  were  found  liens  de  combat  from  sickness,  after 
marching  250  miles.  Dalhousie  was  a  good  soldier,  though  his  expe- 
rience in  the  field  had  not,  to  this  moment,  been  considerable.  He 
combined  with  the  most  easy  urbanity  of  manners,  a  feeling  and  a 
gallant  heart.  In  the  hour  of  relaxation  he  was  the  quiet,  easy,  well 
bred  gentleman,  extremely  temperate  in  manners  as  in  habits,  and  the 
kind,  liberal,  humane,  friendly  soldier. 

In  the  field  he  was  cool,  collected,  penetrating,  and  prompt. 
Called  upon  by  his  country  for  his  personal  services,  his  lordship  at 
once  left  his  family,  his  friends,  the  comforts  and  enjoyments  of  his 
situation,  his  fortune,  his  domains,  and  amusements,  of  which  the 
pursuit  of  agriculture  made  a  chief  part,  and  came  to  the  field  of 
warfare  cheerfully  encountering  the  reverse  of  what  he  had  left  in  his 
native  soil' 

Lord  Wellington  expected  a  check  upon  the  Carrion,  for  Joseph 
Bonaparte  had  55,000  men,  exclusive  of  a  Spanish  division,  escorting 
the  convoys  and  baggage.  But  Joseph  had  not  deemed  the  position 
advantageous,  and  retired  behind  the  Upper  Pisuerga.  Summoning 
Generals  Clauzel,  Foy,  Suchet,  and  Sarrat,  with  their  forces,  he 
purposed  delivering  battle  on  the  heights  of  Burgos,  and  therefore 
despatched  Jourdan  to  examine  the  castle.  The  report  of  the  Mar- 
shal was  unfavourable — the  place  could  not  be  held.  The  repairs 
of  the  old  works  had  been  delayed — there  were  no  magazines  of  pro- 
visions. In  vain  did  he  despatch  letters  to  Clauzel  and  Foy — their 
divisions  could  not  be  brought  up.  Joseph  at  once  retired  behind  the 
Ebro,  falling  back  upon  Vittoria,  encumbered  with  the  artillery  depots 
of  all  the  towns  successively  evacuated,  Madrid,  Valladolid,  and 
Burgos. 

General  Reille  had  remained  behind  the  Hormaza  barring  the  way 
to  Burgos.  Coming  up,  as  we  have  said,  on  the  12th,  the  gallant 
Light  Division,  preceded  by  the  hussars  and  dragoons,  turned  his 
right,  while  the  rest  of  the  troops  attacked  the  whole  range  of 
heights  to  Estepar.  The  French  retired  behind  the  rivers  Urzel  and 
Alanzon,  after  mining  the  Castle  of  Burgos.  "  Now  everything  was 
done  confusedly."     The  mines  exploded  outwardly  at  the  moment  a 

1  After  the  war  in  the  Peninsula,  he  received  the  appointment  of  Commander-in-Chief  in  India. 
His  son,  raised  to  a  marquisate,  now  worthily  occupies  the  responsible  post  of  Governor-General. 
lo  his  energy  and  decision  England  owes  the  conquest  of  the  Punjaub,  and  the  annexation  of  the 
country  to  the  British  dominions  in  the  East. 


238  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

column  of  infantry  was  defiling  beneath  in  its  retreat,  numerous  streets 
were  laid  in  ruins,  ''  thousands  of  shells  and  other  combustibles  were 
driven  upwards  with  a  horrible  crash,  the  hills  rocked  above  the  de- 
voted column,  and  showers  of  iron,  timber,  and  stony  fragments  falling 
on  it  in  an  instant  destroyed  more  than  300  men."  ' 

Marching  by  his  left  towards  the  sources  of  the  Ebro,  masked  by 
the  country  and  a  swarm  of  Spanish  irregulars  under  Julian  Sanchez, 
Lord  Wellington  now  got  between  the  Ebro  and  the  great  mountains 
of  Regrosa,  thus  cutting  off  the  French  communications  with  the  sea 
coast,  and  all  the  ports  except  Santona  and  Bilboa,  which,  however, 
the  enemy  immediately  evacuated.  Santona  was  invested  by  the 
Spaniards,  the  English  ships  entered  Sant  Andero.  where  a  depot  and 
hospital  stations  were  immediately  established. 

After  a  few  affairs  with  Reille's  troops,  who  continued  to  dispute 
the  mountain  passages,  Lord  Wellington,  early  in  the  morning  of  the 
19th  of  June,  crossed  the  Bayas,  and  encamped  upon  its  northern 
bank. 

Up  to  this  time  King  Joseph  Bonaparte  had  heard  nothing  of  the 
corps  under  Sachet,  Clauzel,  aud  Toy,  which  he  had  anxiously  sum- 
moned. Oppressed  with  a  mass  of  baggage  and  stores  that  would 
have  fitly  composed  the  tail  of  Xerxes,  he  was  encamped  in  the 
rough  valley  of  the  Zadora,  eight  miles  broad  by  ten  long,  at  the 
extreme  end  of  which  stood  Vittoria.  Several  roads  into  France  and 
the  Pyrenees  lay  behind  him  ;  but  none  of  them  were  of  a  character 
to  ensure  a  rapid  and  easy  retrograde  movement  in  case  such  were  to 
become  necessary.  He  accordingly  meditated  a  move  to  Durango,  in 
order  to  form  a  junction  with  Foy's  troops ;  but  this  appearing 
impracticable,  he  next  resolved  upon  a  retreat  to  Pampeluna,  and  to 
bring  up  Suchet's  army  from  Zaragoza.  This  oscillation  of  purpose 
was  fatal  to  him.  It  caused  delay,  and  in  the  meanwhile  Wellington 
came  up  with  the  whole  of  his  army.  What  followed  is  best  told  in 
the  words  of  the  British  General  addressing  Earl  Bathurst  on  the 
22nd  of  June  : — 

"  Wc  attacked  the  enemy  yesterday,  and  I  am  happy  to  inform 
your  lordship  that  the  allied  army  under  my  command  gained  a  com- 
plete victory,  having  driven  them  from  all  their  positions,  taken  from 
them  151  pieces  of  cannon,  415  waggons  of  ammunition,  all  their 
baggage,  provisions,  cattle,  treasure,  &c.,  and  a  considerable  number 
of  prisoners. 

"  The  operations  of  the  day  commenced  by  Lieutenant-General 
Sir  Rowland  Hill  obtaining  possession  of  the  heights  of  La  Puebla, 

1  Napier. 


1813.]  BATTLE  OF  VITTORIA.  239 

on  which  the  enemy's  left  rested,  which  heights  they  had  not  occupied 
in  great  strength. 

"  He  detached  on  this  service  one  brigade  of  the  Spanish  division 
under  General  Murillo  ;  the  other  brigade  being  employed  in  keeping 
the  communication  between  his  main  body,  on  the  high  road  from 
Miranda  to  Vittoria,  and  the  troops  detached  to  the  heights.  The 
enemy,  however,  soon  discovered  the  importance  of  the  heights,  and 
reinforced  their  troops  there  to  such  an  extent,  as  that  Lieutenant- 
General  Sir  Kowland  Hill  was  obliged  to  detach,  first,  the  71st  Regi- 
ment, and  the  Light  Infantry  Battalion  of  Major-General  Walker's 
brigade,  under  the  command  of  the  Hon.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cadogan, 
and  successively  other  troops  to  the  same  point ;  and  the  allies  not 
only  gained,  but  maintained  possession  of,  these  important  heights 
throughout  their  operations,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  the 
enemy  to  retake  them. 

"  The  contest  here,  however,  was  very  severe,  and  the  loss  sustained 
considerable.  General  Murillo  was  wounded,  but  remained  in  the 
field  ;  and  I  am  coneerned  to  have  to  report  that  the  Hon.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Cadogan  has  died  of  a  wound  which  he  received.  In  him  his 
Majesty  has  lost  an  officer  of  great  zeal  and  tried  gallantry,  who  had 
already  acquired  the  respect  and  regard  of  the  whole  profession,  and 
of  whom  it  might  be  expected,  that  if  he  had  lived  he  would  havo 
rendered  the  most  important  services  to  his  country.' 

"  Under  cover  of  the  possession  of  these  heights.  Sir  Rowland  Hill 
successively  passed  the  Zadora  at  La  Puebla,  and  the  defile  formed 
by  the  heights  and  the  river  Zadora,  and  attacked  and  gained  possess- 
ion of  the  village  of  Sabijana  de  Alava,  in  front  of  the  enemy's  line, 
which  the  enemy  made  repeated  attempts  to  regain. 

"  The  difficult  nature  of  the  country  prevented  the  communication 
between  our  different  columns  moving  to  the  attack  from  their 
stations  on  the  river  Bayas  at  as  early  an  hour  as  I  had  expected,  and 
it  was  late  before  I  knew  that  the  column  composed  of  the  3rd  and 
7th  Divisions,  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  had 
arrived  at  the  station  appointed  for  them. 

The  4th  and  Light  Divisions,  however,  passed  the  Zadora  imme- 
diately after  Sir  Rowland  Hill  had  possession  of  Sabijana  de  Alava  ; 

1  Lord  Wellington  felt  much  the  death  of  Cadogan.  In  communicating  the  circumstance 
U)  Su-  H.  Wellesley,  he  said:  "His  private  character  and  his  worth  as  an  indiWdual  were  not 
greater  than  his  merits  as  an  officer,  and  I  shall  ever  regret  him.  It  is  a  curious  instance  of 
his  attachment  to  his  profession,  and  of  the  interest  he  felt  In  what  was  going  on,  that  after  he 
was  wounded,  and  was  probably  aware  that  he  was  dying,  he  desired  to  be  carried  and  left  in  a 
situation  from  which  he  might  be  able  to  see  all  that  passed." 


240  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

the  former  at  the  bridge  of  Nanclaus,  and  the  latter  at  the  bridge 
of  Tres  Puentes,  and  almost  as  soon  as  these  had  crossed,  the 
column  under  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie  arrived  at  Mendenza,  and  the 
3rd  Division,  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Thomas  Picton,  crossed 
at  the  bridge  higher  up,  followed  by  the  7th  Division,  under  the  Earl 
of  Dalhousie. 

"  These  four  Divisions,  forming  the  centre  of  the  army,  were  des- 
tined to  attack  the  heights  on  which  the  right  of  the  enemy's  centre 
was  placed,  while  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Rowland  Hill  should  move 
forward  from  Sabijana  de  Alava  to  attack  the  left.  The  enemy,  how- 
ever, having  weakened  his  line,  to  strengthen  his  detachment  in  the 
hills,  abandoned  his  position  in  the  valley  as  soon  as  he  saw  our  dispo- 
sition to  attack  it,  and  commenced  his  retreat  in  good  order  towards 
Vittoria. 

"  Our  troops  continued  to  advance  in  admirable  order,  notwithstand- 
ing the  difficulty  of  the  ground. 

"  In  the  meantime,  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  who 
commanded  the  left  of  the  army,  consisting  of  the  1st  and  5th 
Divisions,  and  Generals  Pack's  and  Bradford's  brigades  of  infantry, 
and  Generals  Bock's  and  Anson's  brigades  of  infantry,  and  who  had 
been  moved  on  the  20th  to  Margina,  moved  forward  from  thence  on 
Vittoria,  by  the  high  road  from  that  town  to  Bilboa.  He  had, 
besides,  with  him  the  Spanish  Division  under  Colonel  Longa,  and 
General  Giron,  who  had  been  detached  to  the  left  under  a  different 
view  of  the  state  of  affairs,  and  had  afterwards  been  recalled, 
and  had  arrived  on  the  20th  at  Orduna,  marched  that  morning 
from  thence,  so  as  to  be  in  the  field  in  readiness  to  support 
Lieutenant-General  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  if  his  support  had  been 
required. 

"  The  enemy  had  a  division  of  infantry  and  some  cavalry  advanced 
on  the  great  road  from  Vittoria  to  Bilboa,  resting  their  right  on 
some  strong  heights  covering  the  village  of  Gamarra  Maior.  Both 
Gamarra  and  Abechuco  were  strongly  occupied  as  t-Qtes-de-pont  to  the 
bridges  over  the  Zadora  at  these  places.  Brigadier-General  Pack, 
with  his  Portuguese  brigade,  and  Colonel  Longa,  with  the  Spanish 
division,  were  directed  to  turn  and  gain  the  heights,  supported  by 
Major-General  Anson's  brigade  of  Light  Dragoons,  and  the  5th 
Division  of  Infantry,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Oswald, 
who  was  desired  to  take  the  command  of  all  these  troops. 

"  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Thomas  Graham  reports,  that,  in  the 
execution  of  this  service,  the  Portuguese  and  Spanish  troops  behaved 
admirably.     The  4th  and  8th  Ca^adores  particularly   distbguished 


1813.]  BATTLE  OF  VITTORIA.  241 

themselves.     Colonel  Longa,  being  on  the  left,  took  possession  of 
Gamarra  Menor. 

"As  soon  as  the  heights  were  in  our  possession,  the  village  of 
Gamarra  Maior  were  most  gallantly  stormed  and  carried  by  Brigadier- 
General  Robinson's  brigade  of  the  5th  Division,  which  advanced  in 
columns  of  battalions,  under  a  very  heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  mus- 
quetry,  without  firing  a  shot,  assisted  by  two  guns  of  Major  Lawson's 
brigade  of  artillery.  The  enemy  suffered  severely,  and  lost  three 
pieces  of  cannon. 

"  The  Lieutenant-General  then  proceeded  to  attack  the  village  of 
Abeehuco,  with  the  1st  Division,  by  forming  a  strong  battery  against 
it,  consisting  of  Captain  Dubourdieu's  brigade,  and  Captain  Ramsay's 
troop  of  horse  artillery,  and  under  cover  of  this  fire,  Colonel 
Halkett's  brigade  advanced  to  the  attack  of  the  village,  which  was 
carried,  the  light  battalion  having  charged  and  taken  three  guns  and 
a  howitzer  on  the  bridge.  This  attack  was  supported  by  General 
Bradford's  brigade  of  Portuguese  infantry. 

"  During  the  operation  at  Abeehuco,  the  enemy  made  the  greatest 
efforts  to  re-possess  themselves  of  the  village  of  Gamarra  Maior,  which 
were  gallantly  repulsed  by  the  troops  of  the  5th  Division,  under  the 
command  of  Major-General  Oswald.  The  enemy  had,  however,  on 
the  heights  on  the  left  of  the  Zadora,  two  divisions  of  infantry  in 
reserve ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  cross  by  the  bridges  till  the  troops 
which  had  moved  upon  the  enemy's  centre  and  left  had  driven  them 
through  Vittoria. 

"  The  whole  then  co-operated  in  the  pursuit,  which  was  continued 
by  all  till  after  it  was  dark. 

"  The  movement  of  the  troops  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir 
Thomas  Graham,  and  their  possession  of  Gamarra  and  Abeehuco, 
intercepted  the  enemy's  retreat  by  the  high  road  to  France.  They 
were  then  obliged  to  turn  to  the  road  towards  Pampeluna ;  but  they 
were  unable  to  hold  any  position  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to 
allow  their  baggage  and  artillery  to  be  drawn  off.  The  whole,  there- 
fore, of  the  latter  which  had  not  already  been  taken  by  the  troops,  in 
their  attack  of  the  successive  positions  taken  up  by  the  enemy  in 
their  retreat  from  their  first  position  on  Arinez  and  on  the  Zadora, 
and  all  their  ammunition  and  baggage  and  everything  they  had, 
were  taken  close  to  Vittoria.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the 
enemy  carried  off  with  them  one  gun  and  one  howitzer  only. 

"  The  army  under  Joseph  Bonaparte  consisted  of  the  whole  of  the 
armies  of  the  south  and  of  the  centre,  and  of  four  divisions,  and  all 
the  cavalry  of  the  armv  of  Portugal,  and  some  troops  of  the  army  of 

VOL.  I.  16 


242  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

the  north.  General  Foy's  divisioa  of  the  army  of  Portugal  was  ia 
the  neighbourhood  of  Bilboa,  and  General  Clauzel,  who  commands 
the  army  of  the  north,  was  near  Logrono  with  one  division  of  the 
army  of  Portugal,  commanded  by  General  Taupin  and  General  Van- 
dermaessen's  division  of  the  army  of  the  north." 

Such  was  the  glorious  Battle  of  Vittoria — a  victory  which 
consummated  the  grand  project  of  expelling  the  French  from  the 
countries  they  had  for  five  years  desolated  with  their  rapine  and 
cruelty. 

In  the  dispatch  partly  given  above  Wellington  describes  the  fight, 
and  follows  it  up  with  a  prodigality  of  encomium  his  officers  and  troops 
had  fairly  earned.  He  confesses  his  great  obligations  to  Hill  and 
Graham,  and  recognises  frankly  the  excellent  advice  and  assistance 
he  had  received  from  Marshal  Sir  William  Beresford.  He  extols 
William  Stewart,  Murillo  (the  Spanish  General),  and  the  Conde 
d'Amarante  (the  Portuguese  leader) — all  of  whom  served  in  Hill's 
divisions.  To  Lord  Dalhousie,  Sir  Thomas  Picton,  Sir  Lowry  Cole, 
and  General  Charles  Alten,  the  Hanoverian,  he  awards  the  highest 
praise,  and  Major-General  C.  Colville,  Vandeleur,  and  Murray  (the 
Quartermaster-General),  likewise  received  a  meed  of  eulQgium.  But 
Wellington  does  not  speak  of  himself  It  was  reserved  for  others,  in 
after  years,  to  relate  how  that  he  was  seen  "  in  the  midst  oftlie  battle^^ 
fearlessly  exposing  himself  wherever  his  presence  seemed  desirable. 

It  will  readily  be  conceived,  from  what  has  been  said  respecting  the 
amount  and  nature  of  the  baggage  of  King  Joseph  and  his  court, 
that  a  scene  of  indescribable  confusion  and  immense  plunder  occurred 
upon  the  roads  to  Pampeluna  and  Bayonne,  blocked  up  as  they  were 
by  the  waggons  and  carriages  of  the  royal,  the  wealthy,  and  terrified 
fugitives.  Numbers  of  the  vehicles,  bearing  royal  and  noble  coats  of 
arms  and  other  emblazonments,  were  filled  with  imploring  ladies, 
Jilks  de  chambre.  and  elderly  gentlemen.  Several  of  the  waggons 
bore  specie  to  a  great  amount,  wines  of  the  most  exquisite  character, 
and  vast  quantities  of  preserved  delicacies,  calculated  to  pamper  a 
royal  appetite.  Mingled  with  all  these,  in  a  chaotic  mass,  were  carts 
laden  with  ammunition  and  wounded  men,  droves  of  oxen,  sheep, 
goats,  milch  cows,  mules,  horses,  asses.  "  In  fact,"  writes  one  of  the 
spectators  of  the  confused  sceae,  "  such  a  jumble  never  was  witnessed 
before ;  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  domestic  animals  in  the  world  had 
been  brought  to  this  spot,  with  all  the  utensils  of  husbandry,  and  all 
the  finery  of  palaces,  mixed  up  in  one  heterogeneous  mass." 

Every  human  efi"ort  was  made  by  the  British  officers  commanding 
regiments  and  companies  to'  prevent  the  men  from  laying  hands  upon 


1813.] 


PLUNDER  AT  VirrORIA. 


243 


the  property  which  was  spread  about  in  every  direction  in  the  most 
inviting  form.  But  exertion  was  bafBed.  The  temptation  was  too 
great  for  resistance.  To  the  honour  of  the  troops  at  hirge  it  must  be 
recorded  that  they  passed  on  in  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  without 
quitting  their  ranks  for  a  moment ;  but  there  were  many  who,  disre- 
garding the  threats  and  injunctions  of  authority,  rushed  to  the  heaped 


PLUNDERING    B.\GGAGE,    VITTORIA. 

ap  spoil,  and,  loading  themselves  with  dollars  and  doubloons,'  drank 
•'  Success  to  the  British  arms  and  confusion  to  the  enemy !"  in  goblets 
of  burgundy  and  hock  I'' 

Night  put  an  end  to  the  pursuit  and  the  pillage.  The  growling 
artillery  ceased — the  enemy  scrambled  away  unmolested — and  the 
exhausted  troops  bivouacked  a  league  or  two  around  Vittoria.  The 
half-famished  soldiers,  disencumbering  themselves  of  their  knapsacks. 


1  Lord  Wellington  computed  the  plunder  in  money  at  nearly  a  million  sterling. 

2  The  writer  has  heard  an  old  Peninsular  officer  say,  that  whatever  might  be  predicated  of  the 
generalship  of  Jose>h  Bonaparte,  there  was  no  disputing  the  excellence  of  his  cellar!  Better 
claret,  &c.,  were  drunk  after  the  battle  than  had  been  tasted  for  years. 

S 


244 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1813 


went  forth  to  forage,  and  from  amidst  the  wreck  of  military  stores, 
which  were  scattered  in  every  direction  for  miles  around,  they  pro- 
cured sheep,  pigs,  goats,  and  sacks  of  flour.  Large  fires  were  then 
kindled,  and  blazed  up.  illuminating  the  country,  over  which  were 
strewed  innumerable  dead  and  wounded  men  and  officers.  At  length 
the  living  sank  to  repose,  and  after  midnight  of  the  memorable  21st 
of  June,  1813,  all  was  hushed  on  Vittoria's  plain,  save  when  the  sen- 
tinel's "  All's  well  !"  or  the  groan  of  some  suffering  warrior  broke  the 
Stillness  of  the  hour. 

Aipongst  the  carriages  stopped  and  plundered  on  the  Bayonne 
road  were  six  which  belonged  to  King  Joseph.  They  bore  the  arms 
of  Spain,  with  the  imperial  eagle  on  an  escutcheon  pretence.     Much 


M.\R.SU.\I,   JOURDAN. VITTORIA. 


valuable  property  was  found  in  these  equipages,  and  not  the  least 
interesting  of  the  trophies  was  the  baton  of  Marshal  Jourdan,  le 
Major-Genhral  du  Roi.  The  honour  of  this  capture  belonged  to  a  man 
of  the  87th  Royal  Irish  Fusiliers,  then  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Sir  Hugh  Gough.     The  lieutenant-colonel,  of  course,  handed 


1818.]  WELLINGTON   A  FIELD   MARSHAL.  245 

the  baton  to  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  and  the  trophy  was  despatched 
by  his  lordship  to  the  Prince  Regent  by  the  hands  of  Captain  Fre- 
mantle,  the  aide-de-camp  of  the  Marquis.  Captain  Fremantle  laid  the 
prize  at  the  feet  of  the  Prince  Regent,  together  with  the  colours  of 
the  fourth  battalion  of  the  100th  regiment. 

The  Prince  Regent  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  had,  by  the  pecu- 
liar grace  of  his  manner,  acquired  the  appellation  of  "  the  first  gentle- 
man in  Europe."  He  vindicated  the  title  by  immediately  sending  the 
baton  of  an  English  Field  Marshal  to  Lord  Wellington,  with  the  fol- 
lowing letter  in  autograph  : — 

"  Carlton  House,  July  3d,  1813. 

"  My  dear  Lord, 

"  Your  glorious  conduct  is  beyond  all  human  praise,  and  far 
above  my  reward.  I  know  no  language  the  world  afi"ords  worthy  to 
express  it.  I  feel  I  have  nothing  left  to  say  but  devoutly  to  ofi"er  up 
my  prayers  of  gratitude  to  Providence,  that  it  has,  in  its  omnipotent 
bounty,  blessed  my  country  and  myself  with  such  a  General.  You 
have  sent  me,  among  the  trophies  of  your  unrivalled  fame,  the  staff  of 
a  French  Marshal ;  and  I  send  you,  in  return,  that  of  England.  The 
British  army  will  hail  it  with  enthusiasm,  while  the  whole  universe 
will  acknowledge  those  valorous  efforts  which  have  so  conspicuously 
called  for  it. 

"  That  uninterrupted  health  and  still  increasing  laurels  may  con- 
tinue to  crown  you  through  a  glorious  and  long  career  of  life,  are  the 
never  ceasing  and  most  ardent  wishes  of,  my  dear  Lord,  your  very 
sincere  and  faithful  friend, 

«  Gt.  P.  R. 

"The  Marquis  of  Wellington." 


24iS 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 


[1813. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


Reception  of  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Vittoria  in  England  —  Failure  of  Sir  John  Murray 
at  Tarragona  —  Advance  into  the  Pyrenees  —  Reappearance  oi  Marshal  Soult  — His  Pro- 
clamations. 


N  looking  at  the  masterly  arrangements 
which  the  Marquis  of  Wellington  had 
made  for  the  expulsion  of  the  French 
from  Spain,  it  is  impossible  to  suppose 
that  he  would  not  have  triumphed  in 
the  face  of  any  resistance  the  best 
troops  of  the  Empire  could  have  of- 
fered. But  there  is  no  denying  that 
the  French  were  infamously  command- 
ed at  Vittoria.  Putting  aside  the  im- 
becility of  Joseph  Bonaparte  himself, 
he  was  most  unfortunate  in  his  Major- 
General.  A  more  skilful  soldier  than 
Jourdan  would  never  have  committed  the  mistake  of  posting  a  few 
light  troops  only  on  the  heights  of  Puebla,  when  they  should  have 
been  crowned  by  a  numerous  and  effective  force.  He  would  never 
have  allowed  his  right  wing,  which  preserved  the  principal  and 
direct  line  of  communication  with  France,  to  have  been  driven 
back,  nor  suflfercd  both  wings  to  be  turned,  and  thrown  back  upon 
the  centre,  and  ultimately  forced  upon  an  outlet  scarcely  broad 
enough  to  secure  the  retreat  of  a  single  division  upon  an  emergency. 
Assuredly,  Ney,  or  Soult,  or  Massena,  would  have  held  the  ground 
for  a  much  longer  period,  and  effected  an  orderly  and  honourable 
retreat. 

The  usual  demonstrations  of  joy  occupied  the  people  of  England 
npon  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Vittoria,  and  Parliament 


1813.]  MURRAY  AT  TARRAGONA.  247 

again  found  itself  called  upon  to  tender  its  acknowledgments  to  the 
successful  Field-Marshal.  The  newspapers  of  the  day  were  diffuse  of 
panegyric,  and  poets  invoked  the  Muses  to  sing  of  "Wellington's 
triumphs.  But  the  Muses  were  not  propitious.  Since  the  days  of 
Homer,  war  has  been  rarely  so  well  sung  as  it  has  been  narrated. 
The  rugged  subject  loses  its  force  wedded  to  the  jingle  of  rhyme,  and 
even  heroics,  in  the  best  hands,  degenerate  into  bathos  and  bombast. 
Walter  Scott  made  some  very  respectable  attempts  to  narrate  border 
frays,  and  in  the  spirit-stirring  verses  of  "  Marmion"  carries  the  imagin- 
ation into  the  midst  of  Flodden  Field  ;  but  with  this  exception,  no 
one  but  our  Campbell — immortal  by  his  "  Hohenlinden"  and  "  Battle 
of  the  Baltic" — has  done  honour  to  the  shock  of  hostile  armies.  Never- 
theless, the  difficulty  of  the  subject  did  not  deter  strong-minded 
poetasters  from  marrying  the  Peninsular  struggle  to  bouts  rimes. 
Every  battle  supplied  an  excuse  for  the  indiscretions  of  some  Fitz- 
gerald or  Pratt,  and  even  John  Wilson  Croker,  incomparable  in 
criticism,  graceful  in  biography,  graphic  in  prose  narrative,  and  elo- 
quent in  speech,  could  not  find  anything  better  than  a  post-prandial 
Ode  wherein  to  signalize  the  exploits  of  the 


"  Victor  of  Assaye's  eastern  plain, 
Victor  of  all  the  fields  of  Spain, 
Victor  of  France's  despot  reign." 


If  the  genius  of  Wellington  could  have  been  infused  into  the  men 
who  were  exercising  command  beyond  the  immediate  range  of  his 
observation,  the  pleasure  diffused  by  the  victory  of  the  21st  of  June 
in  the  North  of  Spain  would  have  been  unalloyed.  Unfortunately,  in 
Sir  John  Murray,  who  was  in  the  south-east,  the  same  elements  of 
military  greatness  were  not  found  to  abide.  After  long  contentions 
with  Suchet,  his  incapability  of  following  up  the  advantages  already 
detailed  became  painfully  manifest  in  the  melancholy  issue  of  his  at- 
tempt upon  Tarragona.'  In  obedience  to  the  orders  of  Lord  Welling- 
ton, he  had  sailed  with  the  force  under  his  command,  and  capturing 
Fort  St.  Phillippe,  which  commanded  the  road  from  Tortosa  to  Tar- 
ragona, invested  Tarragona  on  the  9th  of  June  ;  but  in  less  than  a 
week  from  that  time  he  raised  the  siege,  and  embarked  on  board  his 
Majesty's  ship  Malta. 

It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  General  Murray  that  he  should  tell  his 
story  in  his  own  way : — 

»  Anciently  Tarraco,  and,  in  1813,  a  fortified  town  on  the  Catalonian  coast. 


248  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 


"  His  Majesty's  Ship  Malta,  June  litk,  1813. 

"  My  Lord, — Admiral  Halliwell  has  just  decided  on  sending  a  ship 
to  Alicant,  and  I  have  merely  time  to  state  to  your  lordship,  and  I  do 
BO  with  great  regret,  that  I  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  raising 
the  siege  of  Tarragona,  and  embarking  the  army  under  my  command. 
In  my  private  letter  of  the  7th  instant,  I  mentioned  to  your  lordship 
the  reports  of  the  assemblage  of  the  French  forces  at  Barcelona,  and 
that  Marshal  Suchet  was  likewise  in  march  from  Valencia,  and  stated 
it  as  my  opinion,  that  should  these  reports  be  confirmed,  the  object 
your  lordship  had  in  view  could  not  be  accomplished. 

"  Unfortunately  these  rumours  proved  true ;  and  reluctantly  I 
resolved  on  raising  the  siege  and  embarking  the  army,  as  the  only 
means  of  avoiding  a  general  action,  which  must  have  been  fought 
under  every  disadvantage.  I  cannot  at  this  moment  refer  to  dates, 
but  it  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  state,  that  the  French  force  at 
Barcelona  was  never  rated  to  me  at  less  than  8000,  and  that  previous 
to  their  march  it  would  amount  to  10,000,  with  fourteen  pieces  of 
artillery.  I  have,  however,  no  account  that  it  ever  exceeded  eight, 
and  that  is  the  number  on  which  my  calculation  was  formed.  This 
force,  upon  the  evening  of  the  9th,  or  morning  of  the  10th,  marched 
out  from  Barcelona,  and  entered  Villa  Franca  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  the  1 1  th,  from  whence,  it  was  reported  to  me,  to  march  at 
twelve  o'clock  at  night  for  Vendrella,  distant  only  eighteen  or  twenty 
miles  from  Tarragona  by  the  great  road,  and  a  few  miles  further  by 
another  road,  by  which  cannon  can  easily  pass.  On  the  9th  or  10th, 
the  arrival  of  Marshal  Suchet  at  Valencia  was  made  known  to  me ; 
his  exact  force  was  never  perfectly  ascertained,  but  from  the  intel- 
ligence received  from  Valencia,  he  marched  from  thence  with  9000 
men,  and  certainly  in  the  rear  of  that  place,  had  the  power  of  drawing 
great  reinforcements  to  his  army. 

"  To  these  corps  must  be  added  a  body  of  1000  men,  which  had 
previously  arrived  at  Tortosa,  and  another  corps,  independent  of  the 
garrison  of  2500  men,  who  had  arrived  at  Lerida.  These  corps,  which 
I  am  sure  I  do  not  exaggerate,  amount  to  20,500  men,  with  which,  in 
four  or  five  days,  Marshal  Suchet  could  attack  the  allied  army  if  he 
thought  proper,  or  avoid  an  action  if  he  wished  still  more  to  reinforce 
his  army.  Your  lordship,  on  the  other  hand,  will  observe  that  I 
could  scarcely  bring  into  the  field  12,000  men,  and  that  the  army  of 
Catalonia  was  stated  to  me  at  8500,  making  20,500,  of  which  two 
Britisli  and   two  Spanish  divisions  were  at  the  Col  de  Balaguer,  and 


1813.]  FAILURE   AT  TARRAGONA.  249 

could  not  be  withdrawn,  and  I  could  not  leave  less  than  2500  to  cover 
the  artillery  and  stores,  and  to  contain  the  garrison  of  Tarragona. 
The  two  corps,  at  the  least,  would  amount  to  upwards  of  4500  men, 
leaving  me  16,000  men  to  meet  the  best  French  troops  in  Spain, 
amounting  to  upwards  of  20,000. 

"  I  am  sure  there  is  nobody  more  willing  to  give  full  credit  to  the 
gallantry  of  the  Spanish  troops  than  I  am,  but  your  lordship  well 
knows  that  they  are  unable  to  move,  and  I  could  not  therefore  depefid 
upon  the  execution  of  any  order  which  necessarily  obliged  them  to 
make  a  movement ;  and  of  troops  of  this  description  I  had  about 
13,000  men  ;  unless,  therefore,  I  could  place  them  in  position,  (as  the 
French  had  the  option  of  fighting  when  and  where  they  pleased)  it 
was  impossible  I  could  place  any  reliance  upon  them. 

"  My  British  and  German  troops  amount  only  to  4500.  Perhaps 
your  lordship  may  be  of  opinion  that,  under  these  circumstances,  I 
ought  to  have  risked  an  action,  had  no  other  unfavorable  objections 
existed ;  but  when  your  lordship  is  informed  that  I  had  no  possibility 
of  retreat,  if  unsuccessful,  that  there  would  have  been  no  hopes  of 
embarkation  if  followed,  and  that  the  army  must  have  been  unavoidably 
lost  if  beat,  I  venture  to  hope  that  your  lordship  will  think,  however 
much  it  is  to  be  regretted,-  that  I  have  adopted  the  only  means  of 
maintaining  entire,  or,  indeed,  of  saving  an  army  on  which  so  much 
depends.  I  feel  the  greater  confidence  in  this  hope,  on  reverting  to 
the  thirteenth  paragraph  of  your  lordship's  general  instructions  for 
the  conduct  of  the  campaign. 

"  I  am  fully  aware  that  there  are  many  circumstances  which  may 
require  further  information,  and  upon  all  parts  I  shall  be  happy  to 
give  every  explanation  in  my  power.  Your  lordship  perhaps  may 
be  of  opinion  that  the  place  should  have  been  taken ;  but  as  it  was ' 
far  too  strong  to  storm,  I  believe  it  not  only  to  have  been  impossible, 
but  that  we  should  not  have  taken  it  in  eight  or  ten  days  ;  my  only 
regret  is,  that  I  continued  the  siege  so  long,  induced  by  the  hopes  of 
the  reinforcements  I  expected.  I  continued  it  to  the  last*  moment, 
and  fortunately  the  weather  proving  favourable,  the  troops  were 
embarked  without  molestation.  On  this  favourable  circumstance 
I  could  not  depend  for  another  day,  and  therefore,  having  taken  my 
part,  I  immediately  put  it  in  execution,  and  I  regret  to  say,  that  I 
was,  in  consequence,  obliged  to  leave  the  guns  in  the  most  advanced 
batteries.  Had  I  remained  another  day,  they  might  have  been 
brought  oflF,  but  this  risk  I  would  not  run,  when  the  existence  of  the 
army  was  at  stake,  not  only  from  unfavourable  weather,  but  from 
the   appearance  of   an   enemy,  in  whose  presence  I  could  not  have 


250  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   "WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

embarked  perhaps  at  all,  certainly  not  without  suffering  a  great  loss, 
and  without  the  possibility  of  deriving  any  advantage. 

"  I  have  only  further  at  this  time  to  add,  should  blame  be  attached 
to  the  failure  of  the  expedition,  no  share  of  it  can  fall  on  Admiral 
Halliwell,  who  conducted  the  naval  branch  of  it.  From  that  dis- 
tinguished officer  I  have  met  with  every  assistance  and  co-operation 
in  his  power ;  and  I  think  it  only  justice  to  him  to  state,  that  it  was 
his  opinion  that  the  cannon  in  the  batteries  might  have  been  saved  by 
remaining  till  the  night,  and  that  they  then  could  have  been  brought 
off.  This,  however,  was  a  risk  I  did  not  wish  to  run  for  so  trifling  an 
object,  and  preferred  losing  them  to  the  chance  of  the  embarkation 
being  opposed,  and  of  an  eventual  much  more  serious  loss. 
« (Signed) 

"  J.  Murray,  Lieutenant-General. 

"To  THE  Marquis  of  Welmnoton,  K.  G.,  &c.  &c." 


In  the  opinion  of  Lord  Wellington,  and  of  military  judges  in 
general,  the  most  reprehensible  part  of  this  business  was  the  aban- 
donment of  the  artillery  and  stores,  trophies  of  which  the  enemy 
would  not  have  failed  to  make  good  use.  .Sir  John  Murray  followed 
up  the  folly  by  one  or  two  other  pieces  of  indiscretion,  and  was  tried 
by  court  martial  for  his  professional  errors  on  his  return  to  England. 
From  some  defects  in  evidence  and  technical  informalities,  he  was 
acquitted  on  two  charges,  and  simply  admonished  on  the  third. 

The  sequel  to  the  victory  of  Vittoria  is  now  to  be  related. 

Sir  Thomas  Graham,  at  the  head  of  his  division  was  ordered 
towards  the  French  frontier  by  the  high  road  leading  from  Vittoria 
to  Irun.  He  chased  the  enemy  to  the  very  foot  of  the  mountains, 
and  had  crossed  the  Bidassoa  when  Foy,  who  had  united  the  garrisons 
of  Bilboa,  Torlosa,  and  Montdragon  to  his  own  division  of  the  army 
of  Portugal,  stood  fast  for  a  moment  and  fought  with  a  bravery  and 
courage  which  went  far  to  restore  the  damage  done  to  the  reputation 
of  the  arms  of  France  by  the  inglorious  flight  from  Vittoria.  But 
Graham  was  irresistible ;  he  drove  the  French  before  him  with  the 
utmost  impetuosity,  and  descending  to  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  invested  the  strong  fortress  of  San  Sebastian. 

Meanwhile  the  Marquis  of  Wellington  pushed  forward  with  the 
3rd,  4th,  and  Light  Divisions  to  Pampcluna,  which  place,  occupied 
by  a  strong  French  garrison,  was  immediately  put  into  a  state  of 
blockade. 

Had  no  other  general  than  the  incompetent  Jourdan  remained  at 


1813.]  REAPPEARANCE   OF  SOULT.  251 

the  head  of  the  French  armies,  the  onward  progress  of  WelliDgton 
into  the  territory  of  France — for  to  that  soil  he  now  directed  his  at- 
tention— would  have  been  comparatively  simple.  But  Napoleon  was 
now  enabled  to  spare  Marshal  Soult/  and  that  superior  soldier  wa^s 
despatched  immediately  to  the  Pyrenees  to  arrest  the  torrent  of  coun- 
ter-invasion meditated  by  the  triumphant  Englishman. 

Soult's  first  measure  was  to  collect  the  fugitive,  and  re-unite  the 
scattered  forces,  and  then  to  raise  their  drooping  spirits  by  a  proclam- 
ation, in  which  the  odium  of  recent  defeats  was  cast  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  their  leader.  He  told  them  that  a  "  skilful  general"  might, 
by  selecting  good  positions,  have  braved  and  discomfited  the  "  motley 
levy"  of  English,  Spaniards,  and  Portuguese ;  but  that  timorous  and 
pusillanimous  councils  had  prevailed,  and  a  veteran  army,  small  in- 
deed in  number,  but  great  in  all  that  constitutes  the  military  charac- 
ter, which  had  fought,  bled,  and  triumphed  in  every  province  in  Spain, 
beheld  with  indignation  its  laurels  tarnished  and  itself  compelled  to 
abandon  all  its  acquisitions — the  trophies  of  many  a  well-fought  and 
bloody  day. 

"  Let  us  not,  however,"  continued  the  Marshal,  "  defraud  the  enemy 
of  the  praise  which  is  due  to  him.  The  dispositions  and  arrangements 
of  their  general  have  been  prompt,  skilful,  and  consecutive.  The  val- 
our and  steadiness  of  his  troops  have  been  praiseworthy.  Yet  do  not 
forget  that  it  is  to  the  benefit  of  your  example  they  owe  their  present 
military  character ;  and  that,  wherever  the  relative  duties  of  a  French 
general  and  his  troops  have  been  ably  fulfilled,  their  enemies  have 
commonly  had  no  other  resource  than  flight." 

Then  came  the  flourishing  periods  which  were  intended  to  go  home 
to  the  hearts  of  the  crest-fallen  legions. 

"  Soldiers  !  I  partake  of  your  chagrin,  your  grief,  your  indignation. 
I  know  that  the  blame  of  the  present  situation  of  the  army  is  impu- 
table to  others ;  be  the  merit  of  repairing  it  yours.  I  have  borne 
testimony  to  the  Emperor  of  your  bravery  and  zeal.  His  instructions 
are  to  drive  the  enemy  from  those  lofty  heights  which  enable  him 

J  Soult  waa  at  Dresden  with  Napoleon  at  this  time,  and  did  not  at  all  relish  proceeding 
to  Spain.  To  Madame  Soult  the  destination  was  equally  distasteful.  She  wished  him  to  re- 
fuse the  trust,  and  when  she  found  he  was  not  to  be  prevailed  upon  to  decline  acceding  to  Na- 
poleon's orders,  she  herself  resolved  to  try  what  effect  her  representations  might  have  on  the 
Emperor.  She  sought  and  obtained  an  interview,  in  which  she  pleaded  her  husband's  shattered 
frame,  his  need  of  repose,  and  complained  of  the  injustice  of  sending  him  back  to  a  country 
where  blows  only  were  to  be  found.  «  Madam,"  replied  Napoleon,  "recollect  lam  not  yonr 
husband ;  but  if  I  were,  you  dare  not  treat  me  thus."  He  then  ordered  her  to  desist,  and  not 
to  thwart  her  husband  from  his  duty.  There  was  no  remedy,  and  the  Marshal  was  constramed 
to  obeji 


252  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

proudly  to  survey  our  fertile  valleys,  and  chase  them  across  the  Ebro. 
It  is  on  the  Spanish  soil  that  your  tents  must  next  be  pitched,  and 
from  thence  your  resources  drawn.  No  difficulties  can  be  insurmount- 
able to  your  valour  and  devotion.  Let  us  then  exert  ourselves  with 
mutual  ardour  ;  and  be  assured  that  nothing  can  give  greater  felicity 
to  the  paternal  heart  of  the  Emperor  than  the  knowledge  of  the 
triumphs  of  his  army,  of  its  increasing  glory,  of  its  having  rendered 
itself  worthy  of  him,  and  of  our  dear  country. 

"  Extensive  but  combined  movements  for  the  relief  of  the  fortresses 
are  upon  the  eve  of  taking  place.  They  will  be  completed  in  a  few 
days  Let  the  account  of  our  success  be  dated  from  Vittoria,  and 
the  birth  of  his  imperial  majesty  be  celebrated  in  that  city  :  so 
shall  we  render  memorable  an  epoch  deservedly  dear  to  all  French- 
men. 

"  SoULT,  Due  DE  DaLMATIE, 

"  Lieutenant  de  rEmpereur.^' 


Soult  pretty  well  understood  the  character  of  his  countrymen. 
He  was  assured  that  all  this  bombast  would  awaken  a  fresh  enthu- 
siasm in  the  troops,  and  fill  them  with  expectations  of  future  success. 
They  respected  him,  because  the  Emperor  reposed  in  him  perfect  con- 
fidence. Yet,  if  the  antecedents  of  his  Peninsular  service  had  been 
critically  examined,  nothing  could  have  been  found  in  him  to  justify 
either  his  contemptuous  references  to  Jourdan,  or  the  hopes  he  endea- 
voured to  inspire.  What  had  Soult  achieved  in  Spain,  in  Portugal, 
after  Wellington  had  landed  at  Lisbon  1  He  was  driven  out  of 
Oporto  after  his  surprise  and  defeat  on  the  banks  of  the  Duoro  ;  he 
was  repulsed  by  Beresford  at  Albuera  ;  he  had  failed  to  take  Cadiz  ! 
small  warranty  here  for  license  of  stricture,  or  confidence  in  future 
success.  These  things,  however,  the  French  were  in  no  mood  to 
remember  ;  and  it  is  doubtful,  if  they  remembered  them,  whether 
they  had  read  the  disasters  of  the  Marshal  aright.  Napoleon  had  the 
art,  by  his  announcements  in  the  Moniteur^  to  convert  every  reverse 
into  a  victory,  and  to  find  some  reason,  antagonistic  to  the  true  one 
for  each  movement  taken  in  opposition  to  those  dictated  by  his 
wishes  or  his  policy.  He  reserved  his  true  sentiments  for  the  pri- 
vate ear  of  the  blunderers.  A  distribution  of  the  cross  of  the  Le- 
gion of  Honour  not  unfrequently  followed  upon  some  repulse,  as  a 
salve  to  the  w^ounded  amour-propre  of  the  soldiers,  and  a  blind  to 
the  French  multitude.  If  it  did  not  recover  the  past,  it  strengthened 
the  hopes  of  the  future.     The  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honour,  or  any 


1813.]  FRENCH  COURAGE.  253 

other   little  decoration,  was  a   great   incentive  to   the  valour  of  the 
troops. 

Bonaparte,  aware  of  this  weak  point  in  their  character,  fed  it  in 
every  wa}',  and  the  desire  to  wear  a  paltry  piece  of  enamel  gained  him 
many  battles.  But  this  sort  of  created  courage  is  not  capable  of 
standing  a  severe  test,  and  the  French  have  always  been  in  their 
military  character  more  Gauls  than  Franks.    What  Cassar  said  of  the 


SOULT. — PTRENEES. 


former  eighteen  centuries  ago,  is  still  applicable  to  the  races  now 
occupying  their  fine  country.  If  stoutly  opposed  at  first,  this  spurious 
kind  of  courage  not  only  diminishes  but  evaporates,  and  has  failed, 
does  fail,  and  will  ever  fail,  before  that  of  the  British.  As  soldiers, 
taking  the  expression  in  its  widest  sense,  the  French  are  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  us  in  many  points  ;  but  on  one,  that  of  individual  courage, 
our  soldiers  rise  far  superior  to  them.     It  is  remarkable  how  often 


254  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

they  evinced  a  knowledge  of  this,  and  in  nothing  more  than  their 
subterfuges  of  all  kinds  to  keep  it  from  resting  on  their  minds.  All 
France,  aware  of  this  inferiority,  by  every  species  of  casuistry, 
attempted  to  conceal  it ;  and,  in  order  not  to  shock  their  national 
vanity,  blamed  every  unsuccessful  ofl&cer  opposed  to  Wellington, 
even  should  his  dispositions  have  been  good,  and  calculated,  but  for 
the  daring  courage  of  the  British  soldier,  to  have  succeeded. 

If  little  was  to  be  apprehended  from  the  efflorescent  prognostica- 
tions and  encouraging  appeals  addressed  by  Soult  to  his  troops,  and 
less  from  a  careful  retrospect  of  his  previous  campaigns  in  Portugal 
and  Spain,  his  dispositions  gave  ground  to  believe  that  the  struggle 
in  the  Pyrennees  would  be  fierce.  His  army,  including  the  Spanish 
levies  which  had  always  adhered  to  the  French  cause,  giving  some- 
thing of  the  character  of  a  civil  war  to  the  six  years'  contest,  consisted 
of  77,500  men  in  the  field,  of  whom  7000  were  cavalry,  always  a 
strong  and  efficient  branch  of  the  French  establishments.  In  addition 
to  these  there  were  20,000  men  in  the  garrisons  of  Pampeluna, 
Bayonne,  San  Sebastian,  and  Santona.  But  the  administration  of 
the  army  had  been  disorganised  ;  and  it  became  necessary  to  establish 
a  general  system  of  supplies,  to  stimulate  the  civil  authorities,  excite 
the  national  spirit,  and  restore  discipline,  before  even  this  force  could 
be  expected  to  operate  with  efi"ect.  Soult's  exertions  were  gigantic, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  had  established,  if  not  a  secure,  certainly  a 
formidable  base  of  operations.  Bayonne  was  surrounded  by  an 
entrenched  camp,  and  Napier  thus  describes  the  disposition  of  the 
troops  on  the  field : — 

"  His  army  was  divided  into  three  corps  of  battle  and  a  reserve. 
Clausel  with  the  left  was  at  St.  Jean  Pied  de  Port,  and  in  commu- 
nication by  the  French  frontier  with  a  division  under  General  Paris 
at  Jaca,  belonging  to  Suchet,  yet  under  Soult's  orders.  Drouet 
Count  d'Erlon,  with  the  centre,  occupied  the  heights  near  Espeletto 
and  Aintoa.  Ptcille  with  the  right  wing,  was  on  the  mountains 
overlooking  Vera  from  the  side  of  France.  The  reserve  under 
Villatte,  guarded  the  right  bank  of  the  Bidassoa  from  the  north  to 
Irun.  The  heavy  cavalry  under  Treillard,  and  the  light  horsemen 
under  Pierre  Soult,  the  Marshal's  brother,  were  on  the  banks  of  the 
Nive  and  the  Adour." 

As  Lord  Wellington  could  not  possibly  advance  until  San  Sebastian 
and  Pampeluna  were  wrested  from  the  enemy,  his  position  in  the 
mountains  was  purely  defensive.  Soult,  therefore,  took  the  initiative 
in  aggressive  movements.  But,  as  already  shown,  he  was  not  in  a 
state  of  preparation  for  some  days  after  Wellington's  positions  had 


1818.]  PASSAGES  OF  COURTESY.  255 

been  taken  up.  These  latter  were  remarkably  contiguous  to  the 
French — sometimes  within  half  cannon-shot — and  the  sentries  were 
often  within  150  yards  of  each  other.  This  gave  occasion  for  more 
of  those  reciprocal  passages  of  courtesy  between  the  officers  and  men 
which  have  already  been  noticed  as  characteristic  of  the  civilised 
character  of  modern  warfare.  It  is  pleasant  to  place  them  on  record. 
— Ex.  gr. 

"  The  Hussar  brigade  connected  the  infantry  with  Morillo's  corps 
of  Spaniards,  which  was  on  the  right,  and  which  again  communicated 
with  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Jean  Pied  de  Port,  an  advanced  post  on  the 
Bayonne  road.  At  first,  when  the  troops  assembled,  there  was  great 
abundance  of  forage,  hay  of  good  quality,  and  straw ;  but  the  district 
was  limited  in  extent,  and  forage  soon  became  so  scarce  as  to  make 
it  necessary  to  seek  supplies  on  the  flanks  of  the  French  posts,  and 
even  behind  their  videttes.  This  system  of  foraging  gave  rise  to  some 
very  agreeable  little  affairs.  Sometimes  it  was  effected  by  placing 
videttes  on  the  high  ground  in  the  rear,  who  were  to  apprise  the 
foragers  of  approaching  danger,  while  the  foragers  were  by  stealth  to 
take  the  hay  out  of  houses  in  the  vicinity  of  the  enemy's  posts.  At 
other  times,  the  enemy's  outposts  were  driven  in  by  a  small  party, 
and  before  the  French  had  time  to  rally  and  resume  their  ground,  the 
foragers  had  loaded  their  horses  and  mules  and  got  off ;  sometimes 
the  enemy  advanced  so  rapidly,  as  to  place  their  foragers  in  danger ; 
a  few  shots  were  generally  fired  by  the  French,  and  a  few  mules  were 
lost.  On  one  or  two  occasions,  a  captain  of  the  7th  Hussars  was 
wounded,  and  soon  afterwards  strict  orders  were  issued  that  this 
mode  of  foraging  should  be  discontinued.  We  were  sorry  for  it,  and 
the  only  remaining  means  to  support  the  horses  was  by  chopping  up 
the  gorse,  the  young  shoots  of  which  make  a  very  palatable  and 
wholesome  food  for  horses  during  moderate  work  ;  but  as  the  Hussars 
were  a  good  deal  on  duty;  and  as  it  happened  frequently  that  no 
corn  was  issued  for  several  consecutive  days,  the  horses  lost  both 
flesh  and  strength,  and  many  became  mangy.  Meanwhile,  the  ad- 
verse posts  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hasparren  carried  on  their  duty 
in  the  most  peaceable  manner,  avoiding  every  species  of  hostility. 
A  picket  of  the  Hussars  was  upon  the  high  road,  and  two  detached 
pickets  on  the  bank  were  under  the  charge  of  the  captain  who  com- 
manded the  main  body  on  the  high  road.  For  a  long  time  no 
change  of  position  was  made  by  either  party ;  each  occupied  a  hill, 
and  in  the  valley  below  the  videttes  were  placed  within  about  300 
yards  of  each  other.  The  French,  however,  seemed  desirous  to  occupy 
the  neutral  ground,  and  occasionally  pushed  forward  their  videttes. 


256  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

This  having  been  observed,  the  captain  of  the  picket  received  orders 
not  to  allow  this  to  be  done.  On  the  following  morning  he  observed 
that  the  French  vidette  had  been  advanced  about  fifty  yards,  and  he 
thought  it  most  advisable  to  demand  an  interview  with  the  French 
captain  of  Chasseurs.  A  peasant  was  despatched,  and  returned  with 
a  message  that  the  commandant  would  wait  upon  the  British  ofl&cer 
immediately,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  parties  met  on  the  neutral 
ground.  The  Englishman  stated  the  order  he  had  received,  and  ex- 
plained that  to  avoid  so  Idche  a  proceeding  as  to  fire  upon  a  vidette, 
he  had  solicited  a  meeting  with  the  brave  chasseur.  The  Frenchman 
expressed  himself  in  the  most  flattering  terms,  and  begged  that  the 
hussar  would  point  out  a  situation  which  would  be  agreeable  to  him. 
A  thorn-bush  about  100  yards  behind  the  spot  the  French  vidette  was 
posted  upon  was  mentioned  as  equally  advantageous  for  the  securing 
of  the  French  picket,  while  it  would  be  such  as  the  hussar  was  per- 
mitted by  his  orders  to  allow.  The  chasseur  gave  orders  accordingly. 
The  vidette  was  placed  at  the  very  spot  which  was  recommended,  and 
the  Frenchman  having  expressed  his  satisfaction  at  the  interview,  pro- 
duced a  bottle  of  cognac.  Two  or  three  officers  on  each  side  joined 
the  party,  a  happy  termination  of  the  war  was  drunk,  and  the  cap- 
tain (Le  Brun)  said  politely,  "  he  trusted  it  would  not  be  the  fate  of 
the  war  to  bring  into  collision  the  parties  who  had  met  in  so  amicable 
a  manner.'" 

"  Life  in  the  Pyrenees"  was  sufficiently  pleasant  in  the  valleys 
The  scenery  was  agreeable  to  the  eye — lofty  mountains  covered  with 
foliage,  and  plains  of  a  verdant  hue — but  the  posts  on  the  summit  of 
the  elevations  were  rendered  inconvenient  by  the  continued  mists  and 
heavy  falls  of  rain.     Holding  communication  with  the  sea,  supplies 

1  Here  is  another  illustration  of  rough  courtesy,  from  a  private  communication :— "  Colonel 
Doyle,  who  commands  the  19th  Portuguese,  a  very  good  officer,  a  good  frieud,  and  a  most 
pleasant  companion,  is  encamped  with  his  regiment  rather  in  advance.  The  Colonel,  who 
loves  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  as  much  as  his  neighbour,  seeing  a  village  with 
some  tolerable  houses  in  his  front,  and  only  occupied  by  a  small  picket  of  the  French,  sent 
his  compliments  to  the  French  officer,  and  told  him  he  would,  with  his  permission,  take  pos- 
session of  the  village,  as  a  good  house  was  certainly  preferable  to  a  tent.  The  French  offi- 
cer immediately  retired,  and  the  Colonel  took  up  his  quarters  in  the  village  with  some  Caca- 
dores ;  but  as  it  did  not  accord  with  the  French  General's  idea  of  having  so  near  a  neigh- 
bour, by  way  of  a  broad  hint  he  sent  two  regiments  to  take  the  village.  The  French  officer, 
on  approaching  with  his  troops,  waved  his  hand  as  a  signal  of  courtesy,  but  Doyle's  officer 
not  imderstanding  the  thing,  stood  his  ground  ;  a  firing  commenced,  but  the  Colonel  found  iv 
necessary  to  decamp,  without  leaving  his  compliments.  In  another  instance,  a  French  officer 
on  picket  came  forward,  and  made  a  handsome  apology  for  his  sentinel  having  fired  upon 
ours,  adding,  'his  men  wore  not  to  act  hostilely.'  The  roughness  of  warfare,  by  this  con- 
duct, is  rendered  a  reciprocity  of  civility,  and  the  ferocity  which  hard  service  implants  in  us  la 
humanised."  , 


1813.]  BATTLES   OF  THE   PYRENEES.  257 

were  abundant,  and  the  health  of  the  troops  suffered  no  detriment  but 
what  arose  from  intemperance  and  the  nocturnal  exposure  incidental 
to  plundering — a  nefarious  sort  of  occupation  in  which  the  soldiers' 
wives  proved  active  coadjutors. 

By  the  24th  July,  1813,  Marshal  Soult's  dispositions  for  an  advance 
were  completed.  Collecting  the  right  and  left  wings  of  his  army,  he 
commenced  by  attacking,  with  30,000  to  40.000  men,  the  post  at 
Roncesvalles,  held  by  Major-General  Byng,'  with  scarce  5000  men. 

The  4th  division,  under  Sir  Lowry  Cole,  advanced  to  B3'ng's  sup- 
port, but  after  a  few  hours'  severe  fighting  they  were  obliged  to  retire. 
Simultaneously  with  these  operations,  Sir  Rowland  Hill  was  placed  on 
his  defence  by  two  divisions  of  the  enemy's  centre,  who  attacked 
his  position  in  the  Puerto  de  Maya,  at  the  head  of  the  valley  of 
Bazten.  General  Barnes,  with  a  brigade  of  the  7th  division,  ru^ed 
to  Hill's  assistance,  when  the  overwhelming  number  of  the  French 
troops  compelled  the  former  to  give  way.  Hill,  also,  deemed  it 
prudent  to  fall  back.  Lord  Wellington,  who  was  at  a  distance  from 
the  scene,  came  up  on  the  night  of  the  26th,  and  altered  the  dis- 
position of  the  divisions,  still  providing  for  the  siege  of  San  Sebas- 
tian, and  the  blockade  of  Pampeluna.  The  new  ground  was  taken 
up  on  the  27th  July — the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Tala- 
vera,  an  omen  of  victory  which  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  the 
minds  of  the  men,  who  remembered  the  triumph  over  Victor.  Scarcely 
were  they  posted  under  the  eye  of  Wellington  himself,  when  the 
enemy  renewed  the  attack  with  characteristic  impetuosity. 

Sustained  only  by  the  British  40th  Regiment,  the  Portuguese  and 
Spanish  allies  drove  the  foe  from  a  hill  on  the  right  of  the  4th 
division,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  At  the  same  time  the  enemy 
took  possession  of  the  village  of  Sauroren,  and  kept  up  a  fire  on  the 
British  line  until  it  was  dark.  The  next  day  the  French  troops  at 
Sauroren  affronted  the  6th  division  with  great  gallantry.  With  equal 
resolution  the  division  drove  them  back,  while  the  4th  division, 
posted  on  the  surrounding  heights,  poured  a  fire  upon  their  fiauks  and 
rear.  The  French  were  "  in  a  difficulty"  in  the  valley  of  the  Lanz, 
and  to  extricate  themselves  from  this  was  the  object  of  continual 
attacks  upon  the  heights.  .  The  battle  at  length  became  general,  and 
upon  various  points,  and  at  different  tunes,  lasted  from  the  28th  until 
the  night  of  the  30th. 

The  French  never  fought  better.  The  allies  surpassed  themselves. 
Lord  Wellington  declared,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  William  Bentinck,  he 
bad  "  never  seen  such  fighting."     It  was  "  fair  bludgeon  work."     The 

1  Afterwards  Lord  Strafford. 
VOL.  I.  17 


258  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813 

brunt  fell  upon  the  4tli  division,  every  regiment  in  ■wliicli  charged 
with  the  bayonet — the  7th.  20th,  23rd,  and  40th,  from  different 
times.  The  officers  set  them  an  admirable  example.  The  Portuguese 
and  Spanish  troops  behaved  most  creditably.  Lord  Wellington  was 
moved  by  the  gallantry  of  which  he  was  an  eye-witness  to  an  enthu- 
siasm of  expression  very  rare  with  one  who  looked  upon  the  brightest 
achievements  as  a  mere  conformity  to  "  duty."  The  battles  of  the 
Pyrenees  are  severally  called  by  him,  who  has  described  them  with 
the  minuteness  demanded  by  professional  readers,  the  ^  combats" 
at  Roncesvalles,  Llnzoln,  Maya,  Zabaldica,  Buenza,  Sauroren,  Dona 
Maria,  Echallar,  and  Ivantelly — the  names  of  passes,  villages,  and 
heights.  The  last  three  combats  took  place  on  and  after  the  31st 
July,  and  were  fought  between  the  British  pursuing  troops  and  the 
Fr*  nch  columns  in  retreat — for  retreat  had  now  become  unavoidable. 
Soult  found  the  passages  into  Spain  barred  against  him  with  fire  and 
sword.  Every  effort  that  good  soldiers  could  make  to  carry  out  the 
wishes  of  a  brave  and  anxious  commander,  and  to  prevent  the  British 
from  planting  foot  upon  the  fertile  valleys  of  France,  was  made  with 
cheerfulness, — not  a  man  In  the  army  but  was  prodigal  of  his  blood 
in  this  great  spasmodic  effort  to  retrieve  the  disasters  of  the  past. 
All  was  unavailing.  In  one  unbroken  mass  the  allied  divisions  now 
offered  an  impenetrable  wall  to  the  assailants,  and  even  became  the 
offensive  party  in  their  turn,  sending  the  French  back  into  the 
plains  and  defiles.  At  length,  wedged  in  a  hollow,  at  the  foot  of  an 
almost  circular  chain  of  precipitous  rocks,  Soult  was  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  four  British  divisions,  placed  behind  the  crests  of  the  hills. 
He  was  unaware  of  the  proximity  of  the  unconquerable  English,  and 
halted  preparatory  to  another  backward  movement.  In  a  few  hours 
his  surrender  or  complete  destruction  must  have  been  Inevitable.  The 
infamous  thirst  of  plunder  which  beset  the  English  soldiery  was  his 
salvation.  Approaching  his  pickets,  they  gave  token  of  the  contiguity 
of  the  foe.  Soult  instantly  broke  up  from  his  dangerous  prison. 
"  The  way  was  narrow,  the  multitude  great,  the  baggage  and  the 
wounded  men  borne  on  their  comrade's  shoulders  filed  In  long  pro- 
cession, and  Clauzel's  troops,  forming  the  rear-guard,  were  still  near 
San  Estevan  the  next  morning.  Scarcely  had  they  marched  a  league, 
when  Cole's  skirmishers  and  the  Spaniards,  thronging  along  the 
heights  on  their  flank,  opened  a  fire  to  which  little  reply  could  be 
made.  The  soldiers  and  baggage  then  got  mixed  in  disorder,  numbers 
fled  up  the  hills,  and  the  energy  of  Soult,  whose  personal  exertions 
were  conspicuous,  could  scarcely  prevent  a  general  dispersion. 
However,   prisoners   and   baggage   Were   taken   at    every   step;    the 


1813.]  PLIGHT  OF   THE   LIGHT   DIVISION.  259 

boldest  were  dismayed ;  and  worse  would  have  awaited  them  if 
Wellington  had  been  in  other  points  well  seconded  by  his  subordinate 
generals."  ' 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  subordinate  generals  who 
failed  to  give  zealous  co-operation  were  not  Englishmen.  The  Spanish 
general,  Longa,  incurred  the  odium  of  neglect. 

Hitherto,  the  loss  and  brunt  of  battle  had  been  borne  by  the 
divisions  of  Hill  and  Dalhousie,  the  brigades  of  Cole,  Stewart,  Byng, 
Barnes,  and  Pakenham.  Where  was  the  intrepid  Light  Division, 
under  Charles,  Baron  Alten,  the  gallant  Hanoverian?  Wandering 
amidst  the  wild  regions  of  the  Pyrenees,  in  the  mazy  depths  and 
amidst  the  darkness  of  night,  they  sought  a  channel  of  communi- 
cation with  the  troops  they  were  destined  to  support.  Waving 
faggot-torches  as  guides  and  beacons,  and  calling  aloud,  they  only 
confused  each  other ;  for  the  torches  sparkled  like  fire-flies  on  every 
height  and  in  every  ravine,  bewildering  those  they  were  intended  to 
assist. 

The  tale  has  been  partly  told  by  others  ;  let  one  of  the  participators 
in  the  toils  and  anxieties  of  the  division  complete  the  familiar  narra- 
tive by  carrying  them  into  the  presence  of  the  enemy : — 

"  At  daybreak  a  scene  of  complete  confusion  presented  itself,  the 
greater  part  of  the  division  being  scattered  over  the  face  of  a  steep 
and  woody  mountain,  and  positively  not  half  a  league  from  whence 
they  had  started  on  the  previous  evening.  As  soon  as  the  various 
corps  had  grouped  together,  they  followed  the  only  road  in  sight,  and 
soon  met  a  mounted  officer,  who  directed  them  towards  Leyza. 
Near  that  place  one  half  of  the  division  were  already  bivouacked, 
Laving  reached  the  valley  before  the  pitchy  darkness  had  set  in.  It 
was  now  the  third  day  since  we  had  retired  from  Vera,  and  General 
Baron  Charles  Alten  became  so  uneasy,  that  he  ordered  some  of  the 
best  mounted  regimental  officers  to  go  in  various  directions,  to  ascer- 
tain if  possible,  some  tidings  of  the  army,  with  which  he  had  no  com- 
munication for  three  days,  and  were  now  isolated  among  the  wilds  of 
the  Pyrenees,  on  the  left  of  the  Bidassoa,  half  way  between  San  Sebas- 
tian and  Pampeluna.  At  six  o'clock  the  same  evening  we  broke  up.  and 
marched  two  leagues  in  the  direction  of  Areysa,  and  then  bivouacked 
in  a  wood,  with  an  order  not  to  light  fires,  to  prevent  any  of  the 
enemy's  scouts  or  spies  ascertaining  our  route.  Two  hours  after 
nightfall  the  troops  were  again  put  in  motion,  and  I  was  left  in  the 
forest,  with  directions  to  continue  there  all  night,  to  bring  ofi"  in  the 
morning  any  baggage  or  stragglers  that  might  happen  to  go  astray. 

1  Napier's  "English  Battles  in  the  Peninsula." 
T 


260  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [lSi3 

At  daylight  on  the  30th,  having  collected  together  a  few  women,  who 
dared  not  again  encounter  another  toilsome  march  along  the  verge  of 
the  precipices,  it  was  a  droll  sight  to  see  this  noisy  group  defiling  from 
the  forest,  many  dressed  in  soldiers'  jackets,  battered  bonnets,  and 
faded  ribbons,  with  dishevelled  locks  hanging  over  their  weather-beaten 
features,  as  they  drove  along  their  lazy  borricas  with  a  thick  stick ; 
and  when  the  terrific  blows  laid  on  ceased  to  produce  the  desired 
effect,  they  squalled  with  sheer  vexation,  lest  they  might  be  overtaken, 
and  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy's  light  horse. 

"  Having  travelled  for  two  hours,  as  a  sort  of  guide  to  these  poor 
women,  I  perceived  an  ofl&cer  at  some  distance  in  front,  and,  on  over- 
taking him,  he  expressed  the  greatest  joy  at  seeing  me,  and  declared 
that  he  had  been  wandering  for  some  hours  in  the  most  agitated  state 
of  mind,  not  knowing  whither  to  bend  his  footsteps.  The  division 
had  drawn  up  again  during  the  night,  and,  having  laid  down  on  the 
flank  of  the  column,  he  had  fallen  into  a  profound  slumber,  out  of 
which  he  had  awaked  at  broad  day-light,  with  the  rays  of  the  sun 
shining  full  on  his  face,  and,  when  somewhat  recovering  from  his  be- 
wildered recollections,  he  wildly  gazed  round  for  the  column  which 
had  vanished,  and,  springing  on  his  feet,  halloed  with  all  his  might; 
but  no  answer  was  returned, — a  solemn  silence  reigned  around,  save 
the  fluttering  of  the  birds  amongst  the  luxuriant  foliage  of  the  trees, 
the  morning  dew  no  longer  bespangled  the  sod,  nor  did  the  print  of  a 
single  footstep  remain  to  guide  his  course.  At  length,  in  a  fit  of  des- 
peration, he  hastily  tore  a  passage  through  the  thicket,  and  luckily 
reached  the  roads,  and,  at  random,  sauntered  along  in  no  very  pleasant 
mood,  until  I  overtook  him. 

"  Soon  after  this  we  heard  to  our  left  sounds  like  those  of  distant 
thunder.  As  the  sky  was  perfectly  serene,  we  concluded  that  the 
noise  must  be  caused  by  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry.  On  reaching 
Areysa  we  found  most  of  the  doors  closed.  However,  we  succeeded 
in  purchasing  a  loaf,  and  then  seated  ourselves  on  the  margin  of  a 
clear  mountain  stream,  where  we  devoured  it,  and  then  solaced  our- 
selves with  a  hearty  draught  of  the  refreshing  beverage.  This  stream 
looked  so  inviting,  that  we  threw  off  our  clothes,  and  plunged  into  it. 
Notwithstanding  the  cooling  effects  of  the  bathe,  the  feet  of  my  com- 
panion were  so  much  swollen,  owing  to  previous  fatigue,  that  with  all 
his  tugging  he  could  not  pull  on  his  boots  again.  Fortunately,  mine 
were  old  and  easy,  so  we  readily  effected  an  exchange ;  and  then 
followed  a  road  across  a  high  mountain,  from  whose  summit  we  saw 
the  division  bivouacked  to  the  right  of  the  broad  and  well-paved  road 
(near  Lecumberri)  which  leads  from  Pampeluna  to  Tolosa ;  from  thia 


1813.]  THE  LIGHT   DIVISION  AT   WORK.  261 

position  we  could  march  to  either  of  those  places,  being  half-way 
between  them.  Here  the  division  awaited  the  return  of  its  scouts  the 
whole  of  the  following  day. 

"  The  French  army  being  completely  worn  out,  and  having  suffered 
terribly  in  killed  and  wounded,  continued  to  retreat  during  the  31st, 
followed  by  five  divisions  of  the  British,  in  three  columns,  by  roads 
of  Roncesvalles,  Maya,  and  Donna  Maria.  On  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  although  obliquely  to  the  rear  of  the  pursuing  columns, 
we  received  orders,  if  possible,  to  overtake  the  enemy,  and  attack 
them  wherever  they  might  be  found.  Accordingly,  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  we  got  under  arms,  and  began  our  march  towards  the  middle 
of  the  following  day  (the  1st  of  August)  ;  having  marched  already 
twenty-four  miles,  we  descended  into  a  deep  valley,  between  Ituren 
and  Elgoriaga,  where  the  division  drew  up  in  column  to  reconnoitre 
the  right  flank  of  the  enemy,  who  were  still  hovering  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  San  Estevan.  After  an  hour's  halt,  we  continued  our 
movement  on  the  left  of  the  Bidassoa,  and  for  three  hours  ascended, 
or  rather  clambered,  the  rugged  asperities  of  a  prodigious  mountain, 
the  by-path  of  which  was  composed  of  overlapping  slabs  of  rock,  or 
Blipping-stones.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  flying  dust  was 
descried,  glistening  with  the  bright  and  vivid  flashes  of  small  arms,  to 
the  right  of  the  Bidassoa,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Lerin.  A  cry  was 
instantly  set  up — '  The  enemy  !'  The  worn  soldiers  raised  their  bent 
heads,  covered  with  sweat  and  dust.  We  had  nearly  reached  the 
summit  of  this  tremendous  mountain,  but  nature  was  quite  exhausted. 
Many  of  the  soldiers  lagged  behind,  having  accomplished  more  than 
thirty  miles  over  the  rocky  roads,  intersected  with  loose  stones. 
Many  fell  heavily  on  the  naked  rocks,  frothing  at  the  mouth,  black  in 
the  face,  and  struggling  in  their  last  agonies  ;  whilst  others,  unable  to 
drag  one  leg  after  the  other,  leaned  on  the  muzzles  of  their  firelocks, 
looking  pictures  of  despair,  muttering  in  disconsolate  accents  that  they 
had  never  fallen  out  before." 

Ascertaining  the  real  strength  of  Marshal  Soult — no  easy  matter 
in  its  dispersed  condition — and  getting  information  as  to  his  exact 
course  of  movement,  Lord  Wellington  sent  the  Light  Division  to  cut 
in  upon  the  enemy  and  interrupt  his  march.  With  stupendous 
exertion  they  got  to  the  summit  of  a  precipice  near  the  bridge  of 
Yanzi,  where  they  caught  view  of  Reille's  division  hurrying  forward 
along  a  narrow  defile.  A  fire  of  musketry  commenced.  The  French, 
pent  up  by  the  Light  Division,  who  were  in  front  and  all  around 
and  above  them,  fell  by  scores,  and  the  most  frightful  confusion 
was    created.      The    wounded   were    cast    down    in    the    rush  and 


262  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

trampled  upon— the  cavalry  drew  their  swords  and  endeavored  to 
charge  up  the  pass — men  and  horses  were  alike  rolled  back  into  the 
Bidassoa. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  details.  Sufl&ce  to  say,  that  aftei 
nine  days  of  continual  movement,  during  which  ten  serious  actions  had 
been  fought,  the  operations  ceased.  Lord  Wellington's  effective  force 
had  in  this  interval  been  diminished  by  7,300  officers  and  soldiers, 
who  were  either  killed,  wounded,  taken  by  the  enemy,  or  dispersed. 
The  French  loss  has  been  computed  by  themselves  at  13,000  ! 

None  of  the  battles  previously  fought  by  Wellington — none,  it 
may  be  said,  at  any  time — have  caused  him  half  the  anxiety  and 
personal  risk  which  attended  the  operations  in  the  Pyrenees.  It  was 
truly  a  pursuit  of  victory  under  difficulties.  Hitherto  he  had,  with 
few-  exceptions,  been  able  to  keep  his  enemy  in  view,  and  to  survey 
the  ground  on  which  his  own  army  and  that  of  the  adversary  stood — 
giving  his  orders  as  the  movements,  successes,  or  reverses  of  either 
side  might  suggest.  But  in  the  Pyrenees  he  groped  in  the  dark. 
Sometimes  he  was  with  one  division,  sometimes  with  another — 
occasionally  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  French  battalions,  and  once 
was  within  a  very  short  distance  of  their  leader,  Soult,  and  that 
was  all.  Rocks  and  ravines  were  ever  in  the  way.  What  the 
telescope  accomplished  upon  the  broad  and  open  plain,  or  from  the 
summit  of  an  overlooking  height,  was  only  to  be  achieved  in  the 
Pyrenean  labyrinth  by  hard  riding.'  He  galloped  from  place  to  place 
with  the  speed  of  a  hunter,  and  in  his  locomotion  incurred  continual 
hazards  of  surprise  and  capture,  for  it  was  impossible  at  any  moment 
to  ascertain  with  precision  how  near  to  him  parties  of  the  enemy 
might  be.  After  a  brief  reconnaissance  at  Sauroren,  attended  by 
Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset,  he  only  escaped  the  French  dragoons  by  a 
two  minutes'  start.  At  Echallar  he  was  examining  his  maps,  when  a 
French  detachment  came  upon  him  unawares.  A  sergeant  of  the 
43rd  was  just  in  time  to  warn  him  of  the  danger,  and  he  got  away. 
But  the  most  striking  example  of  his  ubiquity — if  the  term  may  not 
be  unfairly  used — was  a  nocturnal  visit  to  Pampeluna.  The  com- 
mander of  the  investing  force  required  his  advice  and  assistance. 
Wellington  was  asleep  when  the  messenger,  or  officer,  came  to  him, 
and  the  aide-de-camp  in  attendance  declined  to  awake  him.  The 
matter  was  urgent — the  officer  importunate.  At  length  Lord  Wel- 
lington was  aroused.  He  heard  the  message,  and  with  the  simple 
words,  "  Go  back  to  your  regiment,  sir,"  turned  again  to  sleep.  The 
repose   was    but    momentary.      As   the  officer  in  melancholy  mood 

1  See  A]^nUix  III.,  for  a  description  of  the  Pyrenees. 


1 813.] 


"WELLINGTON"  IN  THE  PYRENEES. 


263 


wended  his  way  along  the  mountain  paths,  his  hack  jaded,  he  himself 
half  slumbering  on  his  saddle,  a  horseman  passed  him  at  full  gallop. 
He  could  not  distinguish  him  in  the  darkness  of  the  night ;  but  the 
wildest  flight  of  fancy  never  would  have  suggested  that  the  horseman 


was  Wellington.  The  next  morning,  howevei*,  the  Marquis  was  met 
returning  from  Pampeluna,  having  given  all  the  necessary  instructions 
for  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  blockade  ! 

One  of  the  most  gratifying  features  of  the  battles  in  the  Pyrenees 
was  the  greatly  improved  discipline  of  the  Portuguese  battalions. 
Never  wanting  in  courage,  their  only  defect  was  a  deficiency  in 
steadiness.  Much  was  to  be  said  for  them.  Until  the  battle  of 
Busaco,  in  1810,  they  had  never  been  under  fire,  and  from  that 
time,  with  the  simple  exception  of  the  cantonment  of  the  allied  army 
during  the  winter  of  1812-13,  everything  had  been  unfavourable 
to  their  economy  and  organisation.  They  were  either  fighting, 
marching,  or  working  in  trenches.  The  tranquillity  and  leisure 
afforded  Marshal  Beresford,  during  the   prolonged   inaction   on   the 


264  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

Agueda,  had  enabled  bini  to  repair  the  damage  to  discipline  occa- 
sioned by  continual  employment  in  the  field,  and  we  now  find  Lord 
Wellington,  always  ready  to  award  praise,  stating  in  his  despatch 
descriptive  of  the  Pyrenean  fights — 

"  The  good  conduct  of  the  Portuguese  officers  and  troops  in  all  the 
operations  of  the  present  campaign,  and  the  spirit  which  they  show 
on  every  occasion,  are  not  less  honourable  to  that  nation  than  they 
are  to  the  military  character  of  the  officer  (Marshal  Beresford)  who, 
by  his  judicious  measures,  has  re-established  discipline  and  revived  a 
military  spirit  in  the  army." 

And  in  a  previous  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  dated  25th  of  July,  he 
gives  a  reason  for  the  improvement  that  had  taken  place  in  the 
Portuguese  army,  apart  from  Beresford's  instrumentality  : — 

"  Notwithstanding  that  the  Portuguese  are  now  the  fighting  cocks 
of  the  army,  I  believe  we  owe  their  merits  more  to  the  care  we  have 
taken  of  their  pockets  and  their  bellies  than  to  the  instructions  we 
have  given  them.  In  the  end  of  the  last  campaign  they  behaved,  in 
many  instances,  exceedingly  ill,  because  they  were  in  extreme  misery, 
the  Portuguese  Government  having  neglected  to  pay  them.  I  have 
forced  the  Portuguese  Government  to  make  arrangements  to  pay 
them  regularly  this  year,  and  everybody  knows  how  well  they  behave." 

The  establishment  of  a  communication  with  the  sea  enabled  Lord 
Wellington,  after  he  had  got  into  the  Pyrenees,  to  cause  the  pay  of 
the  troops  to  be  issued  with  greater  regularity  than  heretofore.  Oa 
the  3rd  of  August  the  men  and  officers  were  six  months  in  arrear, 
and  now,  in  paying  what  was  due  to  the  24th  of  February,  the 
Commander  of  the  Forces  adopted .  a  plan,  for  the  prevention  of 
wasteful  extravagance  in  drink  and  other  pernicious  indulgences,  which 
was  at  a  much  later  period  rendered  universal  in  the  British  service. 
He  caused  the  pay  to  be  issued  daily.     The  eflFect  was  excellent. 

Two  great  objects  now  remained  to  be  accomplished  before  the 
allied  army  could  venture  upon  another  forward  movement.  These 
were  the  capture  of  San  Sebastian  and  Pampeluna.  Lord  Wellington 
took  up  his  quarters  at  Lesaca,  to  be  at  hand  whenever  and  wher- 
ever he  might  be  required. 

San  Sebastian  is  a  fortified  town,  built  on  an  isthmus  on  the 
Spanish  coast,  in  a  Bight  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  Above  the  town 
rises  a  conical  hill,  some  four  hundred  feet  from  the  level  of  the  sea, 
crowned  by  a  mota  or  castle.  The  place  is  isolated  by  the  tidal  river 
Urumea.  When  the  tide  is  in,  San  Sebastian  seems  to  rise  out  of 
the  sea. 

To  reduce  this  fortress,  Lord  Wellington  had  deputed  Sir  Thomas 


1813.]  GRAHAM  AT  SAN  SEBASTIAN.  26L 

Graham,  early  in  July,  with  a  suflBcient  force,  and  gave  him  the 
assistance  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sir  "W.  Fletcher,  and  Sir  Charles 
Smith,  two  of  the  ablest  engineers  in  the  service.  Fletcher  was  the 
officer  who  had  planned  and  superintended  the  construction  of  the 
lines  of  Torres  Vedras.  Smith  had  had  his  talents  developed  at 
Tarifa,  the  defence  of  which  place  was  arranged  by  him  exclusivelj'^ 
Graham  began  badly.  He  followed  the  erroneous  dictates  of  his  own 
judgment  instead  of  yielding  to  the  suggestions  of  the  able  engineers, 
in  respect  to  the  position  of  the  breaching  batteries.  Time  was 
therefore  lost  and  nothing  was  done.  Lord  Wellington,  to  remedy 
the  defects  in  Graham's  system  of  operations,  went  to  San  Sebastian 
on  the  1 1  th  of  July,  and  in  concert  with  the  commandants  of  artillery 
and  engineers  decided  upon  a  more  effectual  plan.  Batteries  were 
thrown  up,  on  some  sand-hills  commanding  the  town,  and  the  siege 
was  now  pushed  with  vigor.  Outworks  consisting  of  a  fortified 
convent  and  redoubt,  were  previously  carried  on  the  17th  of  July, 
and  on  the  20th,  the  breaching  batteries  opened  upon  the  sea  wall  of 
the  town.  The  place  was  very  ably  defended  by  General  Key  with  a 
garrison  of  3000  veteran  troops.  By  the  24th,  three  breaches  had 
been  reported  practicable  ;  and  on  the  25th,  they  were  attacked  by 
2000  men,  led  by  Lieutenant  H.  D.  Jones,  of  the  engineers,  the 
advanced  storming  party  being  commanded  by  Major  Frazer,  of 
the  Royal  Scots.  The  attack  was  conducted  with  great  spirit ;  but 
the  overwhelming  fire  of  the  garrison  was  an  insurmountable  barrier 
to  success.  Grape,  grenades,  and  shells,  were  poured  with  murderous 
precision  upon  the  columns,  who  were  driven  back  with  a  loss  of  400 
men,  including  Major  Frazer. 

This  failure  induced  Lord  Wellington  to  go  over  from  Lesaca  to 
give  fresh  directions  for  the  seige.  He  then  found  that  there  was  an 
insufficiency  of  ammunition  for  the  immediate  renewal  of  operations, 
the  Government  organs  at  home  having  fallen  back  into  their  old 
habits  of  neglect.  He,  consequently,  directed  the  siege  to  be  con- 
verted into  a  blockade,  until  additional  materiel  should  arrive.  Lord 
Wellington  returned  to  Lesaca,  and  then  fought  those  battles  in  the 
Pyrenees  to  which  allusion  has  been  made. 

All  this  time,  how  were  affairs  progressing  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Spain  ?  There  could  be  no  prospect  of  the  complete  triumph  of  the 
Peninsular  cause,  if  the  snake  were  not  killed  outright.  The  successes 
in  the  Pyrenees  would  have  proved  but  the  process  of  "  scotching  " 
the  monster  if  the  huge  coils  lashing  the  western  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean  were  still  free.  A  momentary  glance  will  show  us 
how  Lord  William  Bentinck  had  conducted  affairs. 


2m  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

Lord  Williara  Bentinck  was  an  officer  of  considerable  military  and 
diplomatic  talents.  He  had,  when  a  young  man,  served  with  the 
Austrian  army  under  Suwarrow,  Melas,  and  Count  Bellegarde, 
witnessing  and  sharing  in  some  of  the  operations  against  the  French 
He  afterwards  was  placed  in  command  of  a  body  of  cavalry,  to  serve 
with  Abercrombie  in  Egypt,  but  did  not  reach  his  destination  until 
the  glorious  campaign  of  1801  had  arrived  at  a  termination.  In  1803 
Lord  William  was  appointed  Governor  of  Madras,  holding  that 
liicrative  and  responsible  office  until  1807.  In  1808,  he  was  selected 
to  proceed  on  a  mission  to  the  Supreme  Junta  of  Spain,  for  the 
purpose  of  urging  a  resistance  to  Bonaparte,  and  it  is  on  record  that 
he  conducted  the  negotiations  with  much  spirit  and  energy,  but  not 
with  very  satisfactory  results,  the  unaccountable  indifference  of  the 
Spaniards  to  the  danger  which  surrounded  them,  presenting  an  insur- 
mountable obstacle  to  the  prompt  adoption  of  useful  measures. 
Joining  Sir  John  Moore,  Lord  William  commanded  a  brigade  at  the 
battle  of  Coruna,  and  led  the  troops  with  Moore  against  the  enemy 
posted  in  the  village  of  Elvira.  Subsequently,  he  was  appointed 
Minister  at  the  Court  of  Sicily,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
forces  in  that  island.  His  good  management  placed  Sicily  in  a 
condition  to  resist  an  invasion  by  the  French,  and  he  might  at  a 
much  earlier  period  have  detached  troops  to  operate  against  the 
forces  under  Suchet;  but  Lord  William  Bentinck  was  headstrong. 
He  had  conceived  an  idea  in  1812  that  the  French  might  be  attacked 
with  advantage  in  Italy  and  Sardinia,  and  while  he  was  indulging 
this  crotchet  to  the  extent  of  sending  a  large  portion  of  his  force  to 
those  quarters,  Lord  Wellington  was  calculating  upon  his  co-operation 
on  the  eastern  coast.  In  1813,  Lord  William  Bentinck's  views  had 
undergone  a  change,  more  particularly  as  the  failure  of  Sir  John 
Murray  at  Tarragona  had  rendered  an  immediate  and  vigorous 
movement  in  Catalonia  necessary.  He  now  took  the  command  out 
of  Murray's  hands,  re-organised  the  army  at  Alicant,  and  awaited  the 
assembling  of  a  sufficient  force  to  enable  him  to  confront  Marshal 
Suchet.  The  astute  Marshal  having  blown  up  the  defences  of 
Tarragona,  advanced  against  the  English,  and  came  up  with  them  at 
the  pass  of  Ordal.  A  collision  took  place,  and  the  English  were 
forced  to  retire  through  the  incompetency,  it  has  been  alleged,  of 
the   officer   immediately   in   command — Colonel   Adam.^      It  seems, 


1  Afterwards  Sir  Frederick.  At  Waterloo  he  commanded  a  brigade  of  Guards ;  and  after  the 
Peace  held  the  office  of  Lord  High  Commissioner  in  the  Ionian  Islands.  lie  was,  at  a  later  period. 
Governor  of  Madras,  when  Lord  W.  Bentinck  was  GoTemor-Geoeral  of  India. 


1813.]  PROCEEDINGS   IN  THE  NORTH   OF   EUROPE.  267 

however,  that  both  that  officer  and  Lord  William  Bentinck  were 
misinformed  as  to  the  actual  strength  of  the  French  army  under 
Suchet,  and  found  themselves  unexpectedly  attacked  by  a  superior 
force.  Falling  back  upon  Tarragona,  Marshal  Suchet  was  left  in 
undisturbed  possession  of  Catalonia,  and  Lord  William  Bentinck, 
returning  to  Sicily,  left  the  command  of  the  army  to  Sir  William 
Clinton.' 

While  Lord  Wellington  remained  in  the  Pyrenees,  a  new  cause  of 
anxiety  had  arisen  in  his  mind.  It  was  a  characteristic  of  his  military 
policy  never  to  advance  without  a  conviction  of  the  ulterior  advantage 
of  the  proceeding.  It  was  not  enough  for  him  that  a  pitched  battle 
was  to  place  his  army  upon  the  ground  occupied  by  the  enemy  ;  his 
views  extended  beyond  the  immediate  present.  The  consolidation  of 
each  victory  seemed  to  him  an  indispensable  condition  of  a  forward 
movement.  He  was  now  upon  the  threshold  of  the  French  empire. 
What  was  to  be  the  upshot  of  his  occupation  of  the  country  ? 

To  understand  the  arguments  which  "  gave  him  pause,"  we  must 
first  advert  to  the  operations  which  had  been  taking  place  in  the  north 
of  Europe,  after  Prussia  had  followed  the  example  of  Russia  in 
throwing  off  the  yoke  which  Napoleon  had  imposed  by  his  Commercial 
Decrees. 

The  first  measure  of  the  Russian  and  Prussian  monarchs  after  their 
compact  at  Breslau  was  to  seek  the  alliance  of  the  King  of  Saxony. 
The  favours  which  that  monarch  had  received  at  the  hands  of 
Napoleon  induced  him  to  remain  firm  to  his  ally,  and  he  therefore 
quitted  Dresden,  the  capital  of  his  kingdom  contiguous  to  the  scene 
of  action,  and  the  Russian  troops  advanced  upon  the  town.  Austria, 
watching  her  opportunity  of  throwing  off  the  connexion  with 
Napoleon,  now  offered  herself  as  a  mediator  between  the  northern 
allies  of  France,  and  Sweden  acceded  by  a  treaty,  concluded  at 
Ocrebro,  to  the  Grand  Alliance.  Denmark  remained  faithful  to 
Napoleon.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  people  of  Prussia  continuing 
unabated,  the  Landsturm  or  levee  en  masse  was  called  out  by  royal 
decree,  and  a  plan  of  hostile  operations  against  the  French  armies 
was  immediately  chalked  out.     The  French  lay  along  the  Elbe,  from 


1  The  qualities  which  had  neutralised  the  value  of  Lord  W.  Bentinck  as  a  Peninsular 
general  had  full  play  when  he  became  Governop-General  of  India.  He  acted  invariably 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  judgment,  and  was  inaccessible  to  advice  and  reason.  Some 
of  his  measures  are  to  be  remembered  for  their  value.  He  abolished  the  rite  of  Suttee  (the 
cremation  of  Hindoo  widows),  improved  internal  commmiication,  and  was  friendly  to  the  press 
and  the  cause  of  enlightenment,  but  his  military  rule  was  of  doubtful  advantage.  He  also  abol- 
ished flogging  in  the  native  army,  and  discontinued  full  batta  allowance  to  the  otficers. 


268  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

Dresden  to  Hamburg.  The  army  was  headed  by  Davoust,  Victor, 
Grenier,  Regnier,  and  Vandamme.  The  Russians  struck  the  first 
blow.  Rapidly  moving  on  Hamburg,  they  encouraged  the  people  of 
Liineburg  to  rise  and  expel  the  French.  These  latter  recaptured  the 
town,  and  their  general,  Morand,  was  about  to  execute  some  two 
dozen  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolt,  when  the  Cossacks  rushed  in  and 
rescued  them.  A  general  insurrection  now  commenced  throughout 
the  country  lying  between  the  Elbe  and  the  Weser — all  the  Hanse 
Towns  took  up  arms  and  drove  out  the  French,  and  the  authority  of 
England  was  once  more  restored  in  the  Hanoverian  states.  Innu- 
merable British  ships  entered  the  Elbe  with  stores,  arms,  and  ammu- 
nition for  the  patriots,  and  everything  promised  well  for  a  successful 
campaign  against  the  French. 

The  occupation  of  Dresden  and  Hamburg  broke  the  line  of  the 
Elbe  at  both  ends.  Eugene  Beauharnais,  who  led  the  French,  fell 
back  upon  the  strong  fortress  of  Magdeburg,  and  thence  awaited 
Napoleon,  who,  rallying  after  the  expulsion  of  his  troops  from  Russia, 
joined  his  new  levies  at  Erfurt,  and  formed  a  junction  with  Eugene. 
The  army  of  the  French  Emperor,  including  the  garrisons  on  the 
Oder  and  Vistula,  blockaded  by  the  allies,  was  400,000  strong.  At 
the  head  of  this  force  Napoleon  moved  against  the  northern  armies. 
An  encounter  on  the  heights  of  Poserna,  in  which  Marshal  Bessieres 
was  killed,  was  followed  by  two  great  battles  at  Lutzen  and  Bautzen, 
in  which  the  French  gained  something  in  position,  at  the  expense  of 
many  thousands  killed  and  wounded,  and  without  wresting  either 
guns  or  provisions  from  the  enemy.  At  Bautzen,  Duroc,  the  oldest 
and  best  friend  of  Napoleon,  was  killed  by  a  cannon-shot.  Napoleon 
was  afflicted  at  the  loss  of  his  general,  and  annoyed  that  no  important 
results  had  followed  upon  the  two  great  battles.  Yet  he  believed  his 
star  to  be  still  in  the  ascendant,  and  had  he  not  cherished  appre- 
hensions from  the  armed  indications  of  Austria,  and  the  progress  of 
the  organisation  of  a  partisan  warfare  in  his  rear,  he  would  hardly 
have  consented  to  an  armistice  at  Pleswitz,  which  was  arranged 
between  the  antagonistic  forces  to  endure  six  weeks. 

Of  the  combined  movement  among  the  northern  powers  to  throw 
off  the  detestable  tyranny  of  Napoleon,  Great  Britain  now  wisely 
took  excellent  advantage.  Opening  friendly  relations  with  Prussia, 
she  despatched  vast  quantities  of  arms  and  stores  to  the  Elbe,  and 
Sir  Charles  Stewart,  afterwards  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  was  sent 
ambassador  to  Berlin  Subsidies  to  the  amount  of  4.000,000/.  sterling 
were  granted  to  Sweden,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  and  every  imaginable  en- 
couragement was  given  to  those  states  to  push  the  war  with  the  FrenoL 


1813.]  AUSTRIA  NEGOTIATES.  269 

Austria  at  this  time  (June,  1813,)  also  began  to  seek  some  benefit 
from  the  perilous  position  of  Napoleon.  She  intimated,  through  her 
astute  minister,  Metternich,  the  impossibility  of  remaining  neutral, 
and  pressed  such  heavy  claims  on  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  that, 
alarmed  at  the  confidence  of  her  tone,  he  caught  at  the  idea  of  a 
congress  at  Prague,  under  the  mediation  of  Austria,  and  signed  a 
convention  for  the  assembling  of  the  congress  on  the  30th  of  June. 
Soon  afterwards  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Vittoria  arrived  at  Dresden, 
and  as  this  announced  the  destruction  of  the  French  power  in  Spain, 
Austria  grew  more  exacting  in  her  demands.  Napoleon,  foreseeing 
the  issue  of  the  convention,  resorted  to  a  variety  of  pretexts  to  gain 
time,  in  order  to  fortify  the  places  still  held  by  his  troops,  and  to 
increase  his  force  by  a  heavy  conscription.  The  armistice  was  extend- 
ed to  the  1 1th  of  August.  Immediately  upon  its  termination,  Austria 
formally  declared  war  against  France,  because  the  latter  power  re- 
fused to  agree  to  the  terms  of  her  ultimatii.m^  which  comprehended  a 
great  many  sacrifices  of  the  territory  and  authority  acquired  by  Napo- 
leon in  the  earlier  campaigns  of  the  century. 

The  news  of  the  assembly  of  the  Congress  of  Prague  reached  Lord 
Wellington  at  Lesaca.  His  quick  and  comprehensive  understanding 
immediately  took  in  all  the  bearings  of  the  efiect  of  a  peace  with  France, 
and  determined  him  to  pause  in  the  execution  of  his  plans  for  entering 
that  country.  He  saw  that  if  he  established  an  army  on  the  Adour, 
he  would  be  unable  to  go  further,  and  that,  if  peace  were  made  by 
the  powers  of  the  North,  he  would  have  to  withdraw  into  Spain. 
Perhaps  of  the  very  many  letters  written  by  Lord  "Wellington  upon 
subjects  relating  to  the  general  interests  of  Europe,  and  the  shape 
which  his  own  movements  should  take  in  connection  with  those 
interests,  there  is  not  one  which  more  clearly  demonstrates  the  grasp 
of  his  mind,  and  the  thorough  independence  of  his  character,  than 
the  communication  to  Lord  Bathurst,  dated  Lesaca,  8th  of  August, 
1813.'  In  this  he  points  out  his  actual  situation,  the  diflBculty  of 
moving  his  army  until  the  deteriorations  it  had  suffered  by  the  recent 
contests  should  be  repaired,  the  position  he  would  be  in  were  a  retreat 
to  Spain  rendered  necessary,  supposing  him  to  enter  France  without 
capturing  the  fortresses  of  the  frontier,  and  the  importance  of  a  declar- 
ation by  the  French  Bourbons  of  their  object  in  assisting  to  dethrone 
Bonaparte. 

How  well  Lord  Wellington  understood  the  true  situation  of  the 
several  powers  to  the  treaty  negotiating  at  Prague,  notwithstanding 
that  his  mind  and  his  time  had  for  four  years  been  occupied  with  hia 

1  See  Appendix,  No.  IV. 


270  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON,  [1813. 

own  immediate  operations,  is  clear  from  what  he  writes  to  Earl 
Bathurst  a  week  after  the  letter  cited  above.  Instead  of  being  at  a 
great  distance,  receiving  his  intelligence  through  the  uncertain  media 
of  newspapers  and  private  letters,  it  would  almost  seem,  from  the 
intelligent  view  he  took  of  the  pending  questions,  that  he  was  actually 
on  the  spot,  and  a  mediator  in  the  negotiations.  "  There  are  some 
leading  principles,"  he  writes,  "  in  the  political  state  of  Europe,  in 
which  the  interests  of  all  parties  would  coincide  ;  such  as  the  inde- 
pendence of  Spain,  Germany,  Italy,  Holland,  and  France  ;  the  res- 
toration of  Hanover  to  the  King's  family  ;  the  re-establishment  of  the 
Prussian  frontier,  and  of  the  Prussian  influence  over  Saxony  and 
Hesse  ;  a  frontier  for  the  Austrian  monarchy,  and  influence  in  Ger- 
many to  balance  that  of  Prussia  ;  the  re-establishment  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Hause  Towns,  &c. ;  an  understanding  between  England 
and  Russia  ;  and  the  powers  less  immediately  interested  might  bring 
the  others  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  common  interests,  without 
which,  all  may  depend  upon  it  that  they  cannot  make  peace  with 
security,  or  war  with  honour  and  advantage." 

Upon  any  other  system  than  the  foregoing,  he  declared  "  he  would 
not  march  a  corporal's  guard." 

How  well  and  truly  it  has  been  said  of  Wellington,  that  his 
sagacity  estimated  every  combination  at  its  true  import !  In  those 
days  politics  wore  a  cosmopolitan  character.  There  was  but  one  great 
question  before  the  world — European  freedom,  or  European  servitude ; 
the  "  French  empire  "  on  one  side,  and  a  coalition  of  adversaries  or 
victims  on  the  other.  But  few  men  were  gifted  with  the  faculty  with 
which  "Wellington  was  endowed,  of  casting  his  eye  over  the  plains  of 
Germany,  over  the  wilds  of  Russia,  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  and 
the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  on  the  retina  of  his  mind,  con- 
centrating an  estimate  of  the  relative  interests  of  all  the  powers 
involved  in  the  complicated  quarrel.  While  the  Ministry  besought 
him  to  turn  from  his  professional  cares  and  honour  them  with  his 
counsel,  his  victories  seemed  to  check  despondency,  or  animate  resist- 
ance, in  countries  far  removed  from  the  scene  of  his  operations.  The 
battle  of  Salamanca  was  celebrated  by  the  retiring  Russians  at 
Smolensko  with  rejoicings  which  fell  ominously  on  the  ears  of  their 
prisoners,  and  the  triumph  of  Vittoria — the  news  of  which,  as  observed 
above,  reached  Dresden  about  the  time  of  the  battles  of  Lutzen  and 
Bautzen, — determined  the  wavering  policy  of  Austria  against  the 
tottering  fortunes  of  Napoleon. 

The  two  German  battles,  if  they  gave  satisfaction  to  Lord 
Wellington   from  the   manner  in  which   they  were  fought,  did  not 


1813.J  AUSTRIA  JOINS  THE   ALLIES.  271 

please  him  in  their  result.  He  feared  that  they  would  induce  Napo- 
leon to  make  concessions  to  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  which  might 
lead  to  a  peace  with  those  powers  to  the  exclusion  of  England  and  the 
powers  of  the  Peninsula. 

But  while  Wellington  was  occupied  with  these  apprehensions,  the 
armistice  at  Prague  had  terminated,  and  Austria  had  ranged  herself 
with  Russia,  Prussia,  Sweden,  and  Great  Britain  in  the  crusade 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  French  Emperor. 


272 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


I181S 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


San  Sebastian  taken— Pampeluna  capitulates. 


m  THOMAS  GRAHAM  had  rested  upon 
his  arms  after  the  first  repulse  at  San 
Sebastian.  The  attack  had 
answered  the  purpose  — 
though  at  a  heavy  sacrifice — 
of  testing  the  strength  of  the 
walls,  and  the  vigour  of  the 
garrison.  Out  of  the  nettle, 
danger,  Graham  plucked 
the  flower,  "  safety."  But 
the  middle  of  August  had 
been  passed  and  nothing 
more  was  done.  Inert,  be- 
yond all  reason  and  prece- 
dent, the  government  of  Lord  Liverpool  was  scarcely  less  culpable 
than  that  of  his  helpless  predecessor,  Mr.  Perceval,  in  "  starving"  the 
army,  at  least,  in  respect  to  those  military  supplies,  and  that  ex- 
ternal aid,  without  which  it  was  impossible  to  expect  that  the  great 
enterprise  on  which  Lord  Wellington  was  engaged  should  possibly 
succeed.  There  was  no  adequate  naval  force  on  the  Biscayan  coast. 
According  to  all  the  usages  of  war,  attacks  upon  maritime  places  are 
made  by  the  army  and  navy  conjointly.  Lord  Keith  had  written 
home  for  a  line-of-battle  ship,  and  the  sluggish  Admiralty  had  neither 
sent  him  a  reply,  nor  left  anything  to  his  discretion.  The  block- 
ade consequently  could  not  be  strictly  kept,  and  the  enemy  were 
enabled  to  keep  up  a  communication  with  the  garrison  from  Bayonne 
and  St.  Jean  do  Luz.  To  read  the  complaints  of  Lord  Well- 
ington at  this  time,  one  would  suppose  that  the  government  of  the 
day   were    dealing    with    an    unsuccessful    general   engaged   in   a 


1813.]  REMONSTRANCE    WITH  THE   ADMIRALTY.  27.3 

desperate  cause,  which  had  neither  their  sympathy  nor  sanction 
instead  of  with  a  consummate  soldier  who  had  carried  every  point  in 
which  the  interests  of  the  country  were  concerned.  He  was  espe- 
cially hurt  that,  by  the  mismanaged  supply  of  naval  assistance,  his 
soldiers  should  be  compelled  to  the  performance  of  a  rough  and 
laborious  kind  of  work  generally  performed  by  sailors.  '•  The 
soldiers,"  he  wrote,  "  are  obliged  to  work  in  the  transports  to  unload 
the  vessels,  because  no  seamen  can  be  furnished  ;  and  we  have  been 
obliged  to  use  the  harbour  boats  of  Passages,  navigated  by  women,  in 
landing  the  ordnance  and  stores,  because  there  is  no  naval  force  to 
supply  us  with  the  assistance  which  we  should  have  required  in  boats." 
He  felt  also  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  navy,  he  was  deprived  of  the 
opportunity  of  saving  the  lives  of  soldiers  in  the  assaults  upon  the 
trenches,  since  "  no  means  existed  of  dividing  the  enemy's  attention 
by  making  a  simultaneous  attack  upon  the  sea-face." 

The  tone  in  which  Lord  Wellington  expressed  his  sentiments  to 
the  Admiralty  upon  their  neglect,  was  of  a  character  with  that  boldness 
and  independence  which  had  marked  all  his  previous  remonstrances 
with  men  in  office,  who  were  insensible  to  the  great  good  he  was  accom- 
plishing, or  were  jealous  of  his  renown.     He  writes  to  Lord  Melville — 

"  I  complain  of  an  actual  want  of  necessary  naval  assistance  and  co- 
operation with  the  array,  of  which  I  believe  no  one  will  entertain  a 
doubt  who  reads  the  facts  stated  in  my  reports  to  Government.  I  know 
nothing  about  the  cause  of  the  evil ;  it  may  be  owing  to  a  general 
deficiency  of  naval  force  for  all  the  objects  to  which  it  is  necessary  to 
attend  in  an  extended  system  of  war.  It  may  be  oioing  to  a  inoioer 
•preference  of  otlier  services  over  this,  or  it  may  be  owing  to  the  misap- 
plication of  the  force  entrusted  to  their  command  by  the  admirals  and 
captains.  I  state  the  fact,  which  nobody  will  deny ;  and  leave  it  to 
Government  to  apply  a  remedy  or  not,  as  they  may  think  proper." 

Sir  George  Collier  arrived  upon  the  coast  with  a  small  squadron 
(inferior  to  that  of  the  enemy)  and  although  no  assistance  was 
aflForded  in  the  way  Lord  Wellington  deemed  most  desirable,  namely, 
an  attack  from  the  sea,  the  seige  of  San  Sebastian  was  earnestly 
prosecuted.  Lord  Wellington  continually  went  to  and  fro  to  observe 
the  progress  of  the  siege,  and  by  the  20th  of  August  a  fire  was 
opened  upon  the  fort  and  directed  against  the  tower  which  flanked 
the  bastion  on  the  eastern  face, — against  a  demi-bastion  on  the  south- 
east angle,  and  termination  of  the  curtain  on  the  south  face.  In  five 
days  a  breach  had  been  eflfected  at  the  tenaille  '  of  the  bastion,  and 

1  Tenaille.  A  parapet  in  the  main  ditch  of  a  fortress  in  the  form  of  an  open  pair  of  pincers— 
whence  the  name. 

VOL.    I.  18 


2V4  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

Lord  Wellington,  judging  that  everything  was  in  readiness  for  the 
assault,  left  the  details  to  Lieutenant-General  Graham. 

The  manner  in  which  the  "  forlorn  hope  "  is  selected  for  an  assault 
has  been  described  in  a  foregoing  page.  On  this  occasion  volunteers 
were  wanted  from  the  1st  and  4th  and  Light  Divisions.  To  the 
honour  of  the  latter,  they  volunteered  to  a  man.  Four  hundred  were 
selected  from  the  1st  Division,  150  from  the  Light,  and  200  from  the 
4th  Division.  Lieutenant  Maguire,  of  the  4th  Foot,  had  the  command 
of  the  forlorn  hope.  lie  had  entreated  to  be  so  honoured  on  two 
former  occasions,  but  was  disappointed.  His  wish  was  now  fulfilled; 
only  that  he  might  honourably  fall,  in  the  prime  of  youth  and  health, 
at  the  head  of  the  self-devoted  band.' 

At  eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  August,  Sir  Thomas 
Graham,  having  crossed  the  Urumea  to  some  batteries  of  the  right 
attack,  whence  he  could  behold  the  operations,  the  columns  of  attack, 
under  Major-General  Robinson,  moved  from  the  trenches.  The 
reserve  was  composed  of  the  residue  of  the  5th  Division  and  some 
Portuguese  troops,  severally  commanded  by  Major-Generals  Spry  and 
Hay,  the  whole  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant-General  Sir  James 
Leith.  Previous  to  their  emerging  from  their  shelter,  a  sergeant  of 
consummate  intrepidity  had  sprang  forward  and  endeavoured  to  cut 
the  saucisson,  or  trains  upon  the  covered-way  of  the  fortress  which 
was  to  fire  the  fougasses,  or  mines,  upon  the  glacis.  In  this  gallant 
feat  he  was  killed,  for  the  French  immediately  fired  the  mine.  But 
bis  noble  object  was  attained  ;  the  advancing  column  was  saved,  with 
the  exception  of  some  forty  men  who  were  crushed  by  the  fall  of  the 
wall.^  The  columns  steadily  advanced,  and  approached  the  breach 
under  a  terrific  fire  of  shells  and  grape  shot  from  the  determined 

'  Lieutenant  Maguire  had  always  distingiiislied  himself.  At  Fuentes  d'Onoro,  ho  took  a 
pair  of  colours  from  the  French  ensign  who  bore  them.  At  Vittoria,  when  his  company  was 
twice  repulsed,  he  took  the  colours  from  the  hands  of  the  ensign  of  the  regiment,  and 
resolutely  advanced  to  place  them  upon  the  parapet  of  the  bridge;  but  before  ho  could  fix  them, 
they  were  shot  to  pieces ! 

2  A  similar  piece  of  daring  courage  was  exhibited  at  an  earlier  period  In  the  Peninsular 
war,  with  a  moro  fortunate  result.  It  was  in  1810.  Lord  Wellington  had  ordered  that 
whenever  the  French  appeared  likely  to  advance  across  the  frontier  to  invade  Portugal,  the 
Spanish  fort  of  Concepcion,  opposite  Almeida,  should  be  blown  up.  The  bastions  were  all 
mined  and  loaded,  and  two  engineers  appointed  to  light  the  fusees  at  the  proper  moment. 
On  the  morning  of  the  enemy's  advance,  after  the  capture  of  Ciudad  Rodrlgo,  these  oflicera 
were  not  together;  and  one  of  them,  finding  the  time  for  explosion  arrived,  and  as  the 
enemy  were  fast  coming  on,  galloped  to  the  fort,  tied  up  his  horse,  and  ran  up  the  ramparts, 
calling  out  his  companion's  name,  and  exclaiming,  "no  time  was  to  be  lost."  No  one 
answered  to  his  name  in  tho  solitary  fort,  and  on  approaching  the  entrance  of  one  of  the 
mines,  he  found  the  fusees  burning.  Tlioy  m\iBt  have  been  sometime  lighted,  to  allow  the 
escape  of  those  who  flred  them,  and  the  match  was  now  close  to  the  magazine,  threatening 


1813.]  THE   BREACH   AT   SAN  SEBASTIAN.  275 

garrison.  This  was  check  enough  in  itself,  but  when  they  reached 
the  breach,  to  their  intense  mortification  they  discovered  that  the 
aperture  made  in  the  walls  by  the  fire  from  the  batteries  was  not  wide 
enough  to  admit  more  than  a  single  file  of  men  at  a  time.  "There 
never  was  anything,"  wrote  Sir  Thomas  Graham  in  his  despatch,  "  so 
fallacious  as  the  external  appearance  of  the  breach."  The  enemy 
saw  the  dilemma  of  the  troops,  and  plied  their  fire  with  renewed 
audacity.  There  was  only  one  point  by  which  access  could  be  ob- 
tained to  the  fortress  ;  it  was  the  ridge  of  the  curtain.  To  gain  this 
ridge,  hundreds  of  brave  soldiers  made  the  noblest  efforts,  but  no  suc- 
cess attended  the  gallant  attempt. 

In  this  most  desperate  state  of  affairs,  Sir  Thomas  Graham  asked 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Dickson,  who  commanded  the  artillery,  if  he 
could  suggest  any  measure  to  give  an  impulse  to  the  attack.  This 
able  ofiicer  immediately  proposed  that  the  whole  of  the  guns  in  the 
breaching  batteries  of  the  right  attack  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be 
brought  to  bear  on  the  high  curtain  above  the  breach  in  the  face  of 
the  demi-bastion  ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  the  fire  of  forty-seven  pieces 
of  artillery  was  directed  with  such  powerful  effect  upon  the  enemy's 
interior  defences,  that  they  were  compelled  to  abandon  the  principal 
traverse,  which  protected  the  main  breach,  and  seek  more  distant 
cover. 

The  troops  at  the  main  breach  paused  in  their  vain  endeavours  to 
win  an  entrance  during  the  continuance  of  this  tremendous  cannonade, 
watching  with  astonishment  and  admiration  the  effect  produced  in 
this  unprecedented  manner  by  the  fire  of  the  artillery,  of  which  such 
was  the  wonderful  precision  that,  though  the  shot  passed  but  a  few 
feet  over  their  heads,  sweeping  the  enemy  from  their  retrenchments, 
not  a  casualty  occurred  amongst  themselves. 

Shortly  after  this  mode  of  clearing  a  way  for  the  assailants  had 
been  adopted,  the  whole  of  the  numerous  fire  barrels,  live  shells,  hand 
grenades,  &c.,  which  the  garrison  had  collected  along  the  ramparts  for 
the  close  defence  of  their  traverses  and  interior  works,  ignited,  causing 
a  succession  of  explosions  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  high  curtain, 
killing  and  wounding  many  of  its  defenders,  and  throwing  the 
remainder  into  the  greatest  confusion.  The  assailants  took  instant 
advantage  of  this  favourable  moment  to  renew  their  efforts,  and  a 
vigorous  rush  made  them  masters  of  the  first  traverse.     The  garrison 

iBBtant  destruction  to  all  around.  Fortunately,  he  did  not  lose  his  presence  of  mind  ;  he  de- 
ecended  from  the  ramparts,  gained  his  horse,  and  was  forty  or  fifty  yards  from  the  fort  ere  it 
was  launched  into  the  air.  The  other  officer  had  arrived  before  him,  and  had  acted  according 
to  his  orders. 

U 


276  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

on  this  rather  hastily  abandoned  the  ravelin  and  eastern  branch  of  the 
hornwork  ;  fresh  troops  mounted  the  breach  in  rapid  succession  ;  the 
Portuguese,  at  the  same  moment,  forced  an  entrance  to  the  right,  and 
the  town  was  carried,  during  a  most  awful  storm  of  thunder,  lightning, 
and  rain,  rendered  yet  more  terrific  by  the  shouts  of  the  infuriated 
captors  ;  700  prisoners  were  made,  the  rest  of  the  garrison  took 
refuge  in  the  castle,  whence  they  kept  up  a  constant  fire  on  all  who 
showed  themselves  in  the  streets,  so  that  little  or  no  success  resulted 
from  the  exertions  of  the  assailants  to  subdue  the  flames,  spread 
throughout  the  town  by  the  explosion  of  the  grenades  and  shells  along 
the  ramparts,  as  above-mentioned.' 

Let  Napier  relate  the  terrible  sequel  to  the  assault : — 
''  Five  hours  this  dreadful  battle  had  lasted  at  the  walls,  and  now 
the  stream  of  war  went  pouring  into  the  town  ;  yet  the  undaunted 
governor  still  disputed  the  victory  at  his  barricades,  although  several 
hundreds  of  men  had  been  cut  off  in  the  hornwork,  and  his  garrison 
was  60  reduced,  that  even  to  retreat  behind  the  line  of  defence 
separating  the  town  from  Monte  Orgullo  was  difficult ;  however,  the 
troops,  flying  from  the  hornwork  on  the  harbour  flank,  broke  through 
a  body  of  the  British  near  the  fortified  convent  of  Santa  Teresa,  and 
the  post  was  still  retained  by  the  French  within  the  town.  It  was 
thought  Monte  Orgullo  might  have  been  then  carried  if  a  commander 
of  rank,  to  direct  the  troops,  had  been  at  hand ;  but,  as  in  the  first 
assault,  whether  from  wounds  or  accident,  no  general  entered  the 
place  until  long  after  the  breach  had  been  won,  the  battalion  officers 
were  embarrassed  for  want  of  orders,  and  a  thunder-storm  coming 
down  the  mountains  with  unbounded  fury  just  as  the  place  was 
carried,  added  to  the  confusion  of  the  fight ;  the  opportunity  was 
thus  lost. 

'•  This  storm  seemed  to  be  a  signal  from  hell  for  the  perpetration  of 
villany  which  would  have  shamed  the  most  ferocious  barbarians  of 
antiquity.  At  Ciudad  Rodrigo  intoxication  and  plunder  had  been 
the  principal  objects  ;  at  Badajoz  lust  and  murder  were  joined  to 
rapine  and  drunkenness ;  at  San  Sebastian  the  direst,  the  most 
revolting  cruelty  was  added  to  the  catalogue  of  crimes  ;  one  atrocity, 
of  which  a  girl  of  seventeen  was  the  victim,  staggers  the  mind  by  its 
enormous,  incredible,  indescribable  barbarity.  Some  order  was  at 
first  maintained,  but  the  resolution  to  throw  off  discipline  was  quickly 
made  manifest.  A  British  staff-officer  was  pursued  with  a  volley  of 
small  arms,  and  escaped  with  difficulty  from  men  who  mistook  him  for 
a  provost-marshal ;  a  Portuguese  adjutant,  striving  to  prevent  some 

1  Jackson  and  Scott's  Life  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 


1813.]  SURRENDER  OF   MONTE  ORGULLO.  211 

ruffianism,  was  put  to  death  in  the  market-place,  not  with  sudden 
violence,  but  deliberately.  Many  officers  exerted  themselves  to 
preserve  order,  many  men  were  well-conducted,  yet  the  rapine  and 
violence,  commenced  by  villains,  soon  spread  ;  the  camp  followers 
crowded  into  the  place,  and  the  disorder  continued  until  fire,  following 
the  steps  of  the  plunderer,  put  an  end  to  his  ferocity  by  destroying 
the  whole  town." 

Sir  Thomas  Graham'  was  profuse,  and  justly  so,  of  his  commenda- 
tions. All  his  officers  and  troops  had  admirably  comported  them- 
selves. The  former  had  never  been  more  exposed.  No  less  than 
three  general  officers — Sir  J.  Leith,  General  Robinson,  and  General 
Oswald — were  wounded  in  the  trenches,  and  obliged  to  quit  the  field. 
Amongst  the  brave  men  who  came  in  for  special  remark  were  Colonel 
Dickson,  of  the  Artillery  ;  Captain  Williamson  of  the  4th  Royals,  who 
was  severely  wounded,  "  following  the  forlorn  hope  in  the  best  style  ;" 
Captain  Jones,  of  the  same  corps  ;  Lieutenant  Le  Blanc,  who  led  the 
Light  Company  of  the  4th,  immediately  after  the  forlorn  hope ; 
Linsay  and  Power,  of  the  47th ;  Captains  Pilkington,  Scott,  and 
Halford,  of  the  39th ,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Barnes  of  the  Royal  Scots ;' 
Brigadier-Major  Taylor  and  Captain  Stewart  of  the  Royal  Scots  ; 
Lieutenant  Gethen  of  the  Engineers,  who  took  the  enemy's  colours 
from  the  cavalier,  and  all  the  officers  of  the  personal  and  general 
staff. 

Of  the  losses  sustained  by  General  Graham  in  this  siege,  the 
heaviest  by  far  was  Sir  R.  Fletcher,  the  Engineer.  The  engineer 
department  of  the  army  had  been  most  creditably  conducted  by  him 
and  his  colleagues,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Burgoyne  and  Major  Charles 
Felix  Smith  (afterwards  Major-General,  and  K.C.B.),  and  Burgoyne 
was  wounded. 

It  was  not  until  nine  days  after  the  capture  of  the  town  of  San 
Sebastian  that  the  moia  (Monte  Orgullo)  surrendered,  and  then  only 
when  attacked  by  fifty-nine  heavy  battering  pieces.  In  this  latter 
branch  of  the  operations  many  wounded  and  English  prisoners  were 
killed.  The  latter  had  been  attired  in  their  uniforms,  and  placed 
around  a  magazine,  serving  as  a  hospital,  to  deter  the  besiegers  from 
directing  their  fire  on  that  quarter.  Unhappily  the  special  merciful 
exception  was  not  made  ;  it  is  doubtful,  indeed,  if  it  would  have  been 
possible  to  do  so. 

1  .Wterwards  Sir  James  S.  Barnes,  K.C.B.,  an  amiable  and  gallant  man.  His  services  bad 
been  various,  beginning  at  Toulon,  and  including  Holland,  Egypt,  and  the  West  Indies.  Ho 
joined  the  Peninsular  army  in  1810,  and  remained  with  it  to  the  last.  In  1830,  when  he  had 
become  Major-General,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  Division  of  the  Bombay  army. 


218  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

For  the  plunder  of  San  Sebastian,  and  the  destruction  of  the  town 
by  fire,  Sir  Thomas  Graham  and  Lord  Wellington  were  bitterly  assailed 
by  the  Spanish  political  officers,  and  the  press  under  their  domina- 
tion. So  vehement  was  the  attack,  that  Lord  Wellington,  generally 
very  indiflferent  to  calumny,  found  it  necessary  to  pen  an  energetic 
remonstrance,  and  an  earnest  exculpation  of  Sir  Thomas  Graham. 
Had  he  himself  been  the  only  party  concerned,  he  would  probably 
have  allowed  the  strictures  to  pass  unheeded.  Armed  with  the  metis 
conscia  recti,  he  invariably  practised  the  patience  he  recommended  to 
others.  Napoleon's  apophthegm  was  unconsciously  adopted  in  all  his 
contemplations  of  the  scandal  which  jealousy,  dislike,  ignorance,  and 
hostility  heaped  on  his  honoured  head  :  Les  calomnies  s^  enfuyent  la 
verite  reste.  It  is  indispensable  to  Wellington's  memory  that  his  de- 
fence to  the  imputations  of  the  Xefc  Politico,  the  Conde  de  Villa 
Fuentes,  should  be  given  in  every  work  which  professes  to  faithfully 
record  his  deeds : — 


«T0  THE  RIGHT  HON.  SIR  H.  WELLESLEY,  KB. 

"Lksaca,  9«A  Oc<.,  1813. 

"  I  shall  begin  with  that  charge  which  the  enclosed  newspaper 
contains,  and  which  is  not  made  in  direct  terms  in  the  letter  from  the 
Xefe  Politico,  though  it  is  directly  charged  against  Lieutenant- Gen- 
eral Sir  T.  Graham,  that  he  intended  to  burn  the  town,  viz.,  that  the 
town  of  San  Sebastian  was  thus  ill  treated,  because  its  former  trade 
had  been  exclusively  with  the  French  nation,  and  to  the  disadvantage 
of  Great  Britain. 

"  This  charge  cannot  be  intended  to  apply  to  the  common  soldiers, 
who  cannot  be  supposed  to  know,  or  to  reflect  much  upon  what 
passed  before  they  attacked  the  place.  This  infamous  charge  applies 
exclusively  to  the  principal  officers,  who,  from  motives  not  of  com- 
mercial policy,  but  of  commercial  revenge,  are  supposed  so  far  to  have 
forgotten  their  duty  as  to  have  ordered  or  suffered  the  sack  of  this 
unfortunate  town,  and  thus  to  have  risked  the  loss  of  all  they  had 
acquired  by  their  labours  and  their  gallantry  ;  and  you  will  more 
readily  conceive,  than  I  can  venture  to  describe,  the  feelings  of  indig- 
nation with  which  I  proceed  to  justify  the  general  and  other  officers 
of  this  army  from  a  charge  officially  made,  by  a  person  in  a  high  office, 
that  they  designed  to  plunder  and  burn  the  town  of  San  Sebastian. 

"  I  need  not  assure  you  that  this  charge  is  most  positively  untrue. 
Everything  was  done  that  was  in  my  power  to  suggest  to  save  tho 


1813.]  DEFENCE  OF   CHARGES.  279 

town.  Several  persons  urged  me,  in  the  strongest  manner,  to  allow 
it  to  be  bombarded,  as  the  most  certain  mode  of  forcing  the  enemy  to 
give  it  up.  This  I  positively  would  not  allow,  for  the  same  reasons 
as  I  did  not  allow  Ciudad  Rodrigo  or  Badajoz  to  be  bombarded  ;  and 
yet,  if  I  had  harboured  so  infamous  a  wish  as  to  destroy  this  town 
from  motives  of  commercial  revenge,  or  any  other,  I  could  not  have 
adopted  a  more  certain  method  than  to  allow  it  to  be  bombarded. 

"  Neither  is  it  true  that  the  town  was  set  on  fire  by  the  English 
and  Portuguese  troops.  To  set  fire  to  the  town  was  part  of  the 
enemy's  defence.  It  was  set  on  fire  by  the  enemy  on  the  22nd  July, 
before  the  final  attempt  was  made  to  take  it  by  storm  ;  and  it  is  a 
fact  that  the  fire  was  so  violent  on  the  24th  July,  that  the  storm, 
which  was  to  have  taken  place  on  that  day,  was  necessarily  deferred 
till  the  25th,  and,  as  it  is  well  known,  failed. 

"  I  was  at  the  siege  of  San  Sebastian  on  the  30th  August,  and  I 
aver  that  the  town  was  then  on  fire.  It  must  have  been  set  on  fire 
by  the  enemy,  as  I  repeat  that  our  batteries,  by  positive  order, 
threw  no  shells  into  the  town ;  and  I  saw  the  town  on  fire  on  the 
morning  of  the  31st  August,  before  the  storm  took  place. 

"  It  is  well  known  that  the  enemy  had  prepared  for  a  serious 
resistance,  not  only  on  the  ramparts,  but  in  the  streets  of  the  town  ; 
that  traverses  were  established  in  the  streets,  formed  of  combustibles, 
with  the  intention  of  setting  fire  to,  and  exploding  them,  during  the 
contest  with  the  assailants.  It  is  equally  known  that  there  was  a 
most  severe  contest  in  the  streets  of  the  town  between  the  assailants 
and  the  garrison ;  that  many  of  these  traverses  were  exploded,  by 
which  many  lives  on  both  sides  were  lost ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  these 
explosions  set  fire  to  many  of  the  houses. 

"  The  Xefe  Politico^  the  author  of  these  complaints,  must  have  been 
as  well  aware  of  these  facts  as  I  am ;  and  he  ought  not  to  have  con- 
cealed them.  In  truth,  the  fire  in  the  town  was  the  greatest  evil 
that  could  befal  the  assailants,  who  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
get  the  better  of  it ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that,  owing  to  the  difficulty  and 
danger  of  communicating,  through  the  fire,  with  the  advanced  posts 
in  the  town,  it  had  very  nearly  become  necessary,  at  one  time,  to 
withdraw  those  posts  entirely. 

"  In  regard  to  the  plunder  of  the  town  by  the  soldiers,  I  am  the 
last  man  who  will  deny  it,  because  I  know  that  it  is  true.  It  has 
fallen  to  my  lot  to  take  many  towns  by  storm ;  and  I  am  concerned 
to  add  that  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  one  so  taken,  by  any  troops,  that 
it  was  not  plundered.  It  is  one  of  tho  evil  consequences  attending 
the  necessity  of  storming  a  town,   which  every  officer  laments,  not 


28/d  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

only  oil  accouut  of  the  evil  thereby  inflicted  on  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants,  but  on  account  of  the  injury  it  does  to  discipline,  and  the 
risk  which  is  incurred  of  the  loss  of  all  the  advantages  of  victory  at 
the  very  moment  they  arc  gained. 

"  It  is  hard  that  I  and  my  general  officers  are  to  be  so  treated,  as 
we  have  been  by  the  Xefe  Politico^  and  unrestrained  libellers,  because 
un  unavoidable  evil  has  occurred  in  the  accomplishment  of  a  great 
service,  and  in  the  acquirement  of  a  great  advantage.  The  fault  does 
not  lie  with  us  ;  it  is  with  those  who  lost  the  fort,  and  obliged  us 
by  great  risk  and  loss  to  regain  it  for  the  Spanish  nation  by  storm. 

"  Notwithstanding  that  I  am  convinced  it  is  impossible  to  prevent 
a  town  in  such  a  situation  from  being  plundered,  I  can  prove  that 
upon  this  occasion  particular  pains  were  taken  to  prevent  it.  I  gave 
most  positive  orders  upon  the  subject,  and  desired  that  the  officers 
might  be  warned  of  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  place,  the  garrison 
having  the  castle  to  retire  to,  and  of  the  danger  that  they  would 
attempt  to  re-take  the  town,  if  they  found  the  assailants  were 
engaged  in  plunder. 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  fire,  which  certainly  augmented  the 
confusion,  and  afforded  greater  facilities  for  irregularity  ;  and  if  by 
far  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  officers  and  non-commissioned 
officers,  particularly  of  the  principal  officers  who  stormed  the  breach, 
had  not  been  killed  or  wounded  in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  in 
the  service  of  Spain,  to  the  number  of  170  out  of  250,  I  believe 
that  the  plunder  would  have  been  in  a  great  measure,  though  not 
entirely,  prevented. 

"  Indeed,  one  of  the  subjects  of  complaint,  that  sentries  were  placed 
on  every  house,  shows  the  desire,  at  least  of  the  officers,  to  preserve 
order.  These  sentries  must  have  been  placed  by  order,  and  unless  it 
is  supposed,  as  charged,  that  the  officers  intended  that  the  town 
should  be  plundered  and  burned,  and  placed  in  sentries  to  secure 
that  object ;  it  must  be  admitted  that  their  intention  in  placing  these 
sentries  was  good. 

"  It  likewise  most  unfortunately  happened  that  it  was  impossible  to 
relieve  the  troops  which  stormed  the  town  till  the  2nd  instant,  instead 
of  immediately  after  the  town  was  in  our  possession.  Those  who 
make  these  complaints  forget  that  on  the  31st  August,  the  day  this 
town  was  stormed,  the  whole  of  the  left  of  the  army  was  attacked  by 
the  enemy. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  I  should  have  been  congratulated  and 
thanked  for  having  successfully  done  my  duty  on  that  occasion,  if  I 
had  either  risked  the  blockade  of  Pampeluna,  or  the  loss  of  the  battle 


1813.]  DEFENCE   OF  CHARGES.  281 

fought  on  the  31st  August,  by  keeping  at  San  Sebastian  troops  to 
relieve  those  which  had  stormed,  in  order  that  the  inhabitants  of  San 
Sebastian  might  suffer  rather  less  by  their  irregularities. 

'•  la  fact,  it  was  not  possible  to  allot  troops  to  relieve  them  till  the 
2nd,  at  which  time  I  assert  that  all  irregularity  had  ceased,  as  I  was 
at  San  Sebastian  on  that  day. 

"  In  regard  to  the  injuries  done  to  the  inhabitants,  by  the  soldiers 
with  their  fire-arms  and  bayonets,  in  return  for  their  applause  and 
congratulations,  it  appears  to  me  extraordinary  that  it  did  not  occur 
to  the  complainants  that  these  injuries,  if  they  were  really  done,  were 
done  by  accident,  during  the  contest  in  the  streets  with  the  enemy, 
and  not  by  design. 

"  In  regard  to  the  charge  of  kindness  to  the  enemy,  I  am  afraid  it 
is  but  too  well  founded ;  and  that  till  it  is  positively  ordered  by 
authority,  in  return  for  the  ardonnance  of  the  French  government, 
that  all  enemy's  troops  in  a  place  taken  by  storm  shall  be  put  to 
death,  it  will  be  diflGicuIt  to  prevail  upon  British  officers  and  soldiers 
to  treat  an  enemy,  when  their  prisoners,  otherwise  than  well. 

"  I  wish  that  the  Xefe  Politico  had  not  made  the  charge  against  so 
respectable  a  character  as  Lieutenant-Greneral  Sir  Thomas  Graham, 
that  he  omitted  to  apply  for  his  assistance  to  extinguish  the  fire  in 
the  town  till  it  was  entirely  destroyed,  leaving  the  inference  to  be 
drawn,  that  he  therefore  wished  that  the  town  should  be  destroyed  ;  as 
it  would  have  saved  me  the  pain  of  observing,  that  the  total  neglect  of 
the  Spanish  authorities  to  furnish  any  assistance  whatever  that  was 
required  from  them,  to  carry  on  the  operations  against  San  Sebastian, 
did  not  encourage  Sir  Thomas  to  apply  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Xefe  Politico  in  any  shape.  In  fact,  everything  was  done  that  could 
be  done  to  extinguish  the  fire  by  our  own  soldiers  ;  and  I  believe  that 
the  truth  is,  that  the  assistance  was  asked  by  me,  not  only  to 
endeavour  to  extinguish  the  fire,  but  to  bury  the  dead  bodies  lying 
about  the  town  and  ramparts  ;  and  it  was  not  made  sooner,  because 
the  want  of  it  was  not  felt  at  an  earlier  period. 

"  I  certainly  lament,  as  much  as  any  man  can,  the  evils  sustained 
by  this  unfortunate  town,  and  those  who  have  reason  to  complain  of 
their  fate,  and  deserve  the  relief  of  Government ;  but  a  person  in  the 
situation  of  a  Xefe  Politico  should  take  care  in  forwarding  these 
complaints,  not  to  attack  the  characters  of  honourable  and  brave  men. 
who  are  as  incapable  of  entertaining  a  design  to  injure  the  peaceable 
inhabitants  of  any  town,  as  they  are  of  allowmg  their  conduct  to 
be  influenced  by  the  infamous  motives  attributed  to  them  in  the 
enclosed  libel. 


282  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [181  a 

"  I  hear  frequently  of  the  union  of  the  two  nations,  but  I  am  quite 
certain  that  nothing  is  so  little  likely  to  promote  that  union  as  the 
encouragement  given  to  such  unfounded  charges,  and  the  allowing 
such  infamous  libels  to  pass  unpunished. 

"  I  have  only  to  add  to  what  I  have  already  stated  in  this  letter, 
in  answer  to  the  Minister  of  War's  inquiries  regarding  the  punishment 
of  the  offenders  on  this  occasion,  that  several  soldiers  were  punished. 
How  many  it  is  not  in  my  power  at  present  to  state." 

During  the  progress  of  the  siege  of  San  Sebastian,  Marshal  Soult 
made  great  efforts  to  relieve  the  place.  He  formed  columns  of  attack 
in  the  Lower  Bidassoa,  near  Irun,  and  the  lofty  ridge  of  San  Marcial, 
and  fiercely  attacked  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  and  the  British 
brigades  under  Lord  Aylmer  and  General  Howard,  at  San  Marcial  and 
Vera.  The  French  fought  well,  as  they  always  did,  but  victory 
remained  with  the  allies.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  3600  men. 
After  this,  the  prosecution  of  offensive  operations  would  have  been 
folly.  Soult,  getting  no  assistance  either  from  Napoleon  or  Marshal 
Suchet,  who  could  not,  or  would  not,  join  him,  from  the  east  of  Spain, 
resolved  henceforth  to  act  upon  the  defensive. 

The  successful  siege  of  San  Sebastian  had  placed  a  large  body  of 
troops  at  Lord  Wellington's  disposal  for  further  operations.  News 
having  reached  him  that  Austria  had  declared  against  France,  and  all 
chance  of  a  pacific  composition  being  at  an  end,  he  took  measures  for 
the  invasion  of  France.  But  this  was  done  at  the  instance  of  the 
British  Ministry.  Had  he  simply  followed  the  dictates  of  his  own 
judgment,  he  would  have  preferred  remaining  in  the  Pyrenees — cold 
and  cheerless  as  they  were — until  Pampeluna  had  surrendered,  for 
he  was  apprehensive  that  (to  say  nothing  of  his  rear  being  liable  to 
molestation,  while  that  place  held  out),  the  Spanish  troops  would 
have  avenged  on  the  French  peasantry  the  wrongs  their  countrymen 
had  experienced,  and  he  knew  the  policy  of  having  the  peasantry  with 
him  on  his  entering  upon  the  French  soil. 

The  movement  into  France  was  delayed  until  the  7th  of  October 
(1813),  owing  to  the  swollen  state  of  the  river  Bidassoa.  On  that 
memorable  day,  the  pontoons  having  been  carried  down  into  the  plains 
on  the  previous  night.  Lord  Wellington  advanced  with  44,000  men. 
Of  this  number  24,000  were  employed  in  six  columns,  under 
Lieutenant-General  Graham,  to  ford  the  river,  while  20,000  were 
detached  under  Major-General  Charles  Baron  Alton  to  capture  the 
enemy's  entrenchments  and  posts  in  the  Puerta  de  Vera,  and  on  a 
mountain  called  Le  Rhune. 

Marshal   Soult   was   completely   unprepared   for   this   movement. 


1813.]  PASSAGE   OF   THE   BIDASSOA  283 

Taken  by  surprise,  he  was  compelled,  after  a  short  series  of  combats, 
to  allow  the  sagacious  foe  to  sweep  across  the  river  and  occupy  the 
positions  he  had  been  fortifying  for  a  month.  The  last  atom  of 
Spanish  ground  should  have  been  the  scene  of  the  most  obstinately- 
contested  action  in  the  Peninsula,  and  had  Soult  been  aware  of  the 
intention  of  Lord  Wellington,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  shown 
a  gallant  front.  But  who  could  penetrate  the  suggestions  of 
Wellington's  genius?  He  baffled  conjecture  by  the  originality  of 
his  conceptions,  and  destroyed  the  best  combination  of  an  able 
adversary,  by  the  suddenness  of  his  movements,  in  a  direction  the 
very  opposite  of  that  which  it  was  imagined  he  would  take.  Military 
writers  have  blamed  Soult's  general  negligence  in  one  of  the 
most  important  measures  in  defensive  warfare.  There  were  no 
outposts  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Bidassoa.  "  Outposts,"  writes 
Lieutenant  Jervis,'  "  should  be  placed  so  as  to  discover  everything 
going  on  around  them,  without  being  seen  themselves ;  they  are 
therefore  usuually  posted  upon  heights,  and  are  protected  from 
observation  by  every  available  obstacle,  such  as  hedges,  walls,  houses, 
clumps  of  trees,  &c.  If  possible,  they  should  not  be  placed  in  a 
village,  or  the  soldiers  would  then  be  likely  to  stray  from  their  posts ; 
neither  should  they  ever  be  placed  opposite  obstacles  that  are  near 
enough  to  them  to  protect  a  surprise  ;  if  there  be  a  village,  a  wood, 
or  a  field  with  high  standing  crops,  and  sentries  cannot  be  placed 
beyond,  it  would  be  more  prudent  to  station  the  outpost  at  some 
distance  ;  for  however  strict  a  watch  may  be  kept,  the  post  will 
always  be  much  exposed,  and  the  videttes  placed  near  the  obstacles 
may  be  suddenly  attacked.  This  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  which 
led  to  tlce  defeat  of  tlie  French  army  7iear  tJie  Bidassoa  o?i  the  1th  of 
October,  1813." 

Still  cautious — still  doubting  if  it  were  wise  to  advance  while 
matters  wore  a  questionable  aspect  in  Germany,  Lord  Wellington 
halted  his  army,  and  pitched  his  camp  along  the  right  bank  of  the 
Bidassoa.  He  now  took  leave  of  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  who  retired  to 
England  to  repose  for  a  brief  space  upon  his  laurels.  Lieutenant- 
General  Sir  John  Hope — the  friend  of  the  lamented  Sir  John  Moore, 
and  an  officer  of  great  ability — succeeded  Graham  in  the  monotonous 
and  irresponsible  office  of  "  second  in  command." 

We  have  for  some  time  past  lost  sight  of  Sir  Rowland  Hill  and  his 
admirable  division.  Planted  at  the  head  of  the  Val  Carlos,  in  the 
Roncesvalles  and  Alderides,  he  watched  General  Foy,  who,  with  a  force 

1  "  Manual  of  Field  Operations." 


284  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  flSia 

of  15,000  men,  occupied  an  entrenched  camp  in  front  of  St.  Jean 
Pied  de  Port,  evidently  awaiting  an  opportunity  to  relieve  Pampeluna. 
Yet  the  vigilant  performance  of  this  duty  did  not  offer  a  bar  to  an 
indulgence  in  retired  pastimes,  nor  to  the  interchange  of  civilities 
•with  the  French.  It  is  a  pleasant  relief  from  the  chronicle  of  the 
sanguinary  operations  of  war,  to  turn  occasionally  to  the  details  of 
courtesy  preserved  in  countless  journals  and  memoirs.  Treating  of 
life  in  the  Pyrenees  with  Hill's  Divisions,  "An  Infantry  Officer" 
preserves  these  souvenirs  : — 

"  We  were  often  at  a  loss,  during  this  inactive  period,  how  to  pass  a 
few  of  the  dull  hours  which  hung  heavily  on  our  hands,  for  none 
could  with  safety  leave  the  camp  for  more  than  an  hour  at  a  time, 
and  there  our  amusements  were  extremely  limited.  The  fire-eaters 
took  delight  in  watching  the  progress  of  our  field-works,  reconnoitering 
the  enemy's  advanced  posts,  and  the  roads  leading  to  them.  The 
politicians  confined  themselves  to  their  tents,  and  explored  the  pages 
of  the  weekly  packet  of  the  London  and  Edinburgh  newspapers, 
which  we  received  at  that  time  pretty  regularly.  Those  to  whom  the 
rattle  of  the  dice  had  greater  charms  than  the  sound  of  musketry, 
generally  assembled  around  a  tent,  or  under  a  large  tree,  and  when 
the  company  was  numerous,  those  who  could  not  be  accommodated 
with  active  employment,  laid  bets  upon  the  issue  of  each  game. 
Whist,  however,  was  the  favourite  game  amongst  the  officers,  many 
of  whom,  or  their  heirs,  have  still  depending  considerable  sums  of 
money  on  the  issue  of  rubbers  begun  in  1813.  On  the  25th  of  July,  a 
whist  party  had  finished  a  game,  and  were  nine  all  of  the  second,  when 
the  bugle  called  upon  them  to  take  part  in  a  game  of  a  very  dif- 
erent  description.  Conceiving  that  they  might  steal  as  much  time 
as  would  permit  their  bringing  the  second  game  to  a  close,  they 
actually  played  it  out,  and  then  rushed  from  the  tent,  the  whole 
exclaiming, '  We  will  finish  the  rubber  when  we  return  ;  the  game  ia 
single  to  single.'  The  rubber  is  still  in  dependence,  for  the  same 
party  never  afterwards  met.  Two  of  them  were  wounded  the  same 
day  ;  another  was  taken  by  the  enemy  on  the  30th,  and  the  fourth, 
who  escaped  the  balls  of  the  enemy  in  Spain,  is  the  only  one  of  the 
four  now  alive. 

"  A  newspaper  was  the  most  acceptable  present  which  any  friend 
could  send  to  us,  during  the  Peninsula  contest.  The  French 
officers  acknowledged  to  us  frequently,  that  they  were  miserably  ill- 
informed  of  the  issues  of  their  most  important  movements  and  engage- 
ments. Papers  they  received,  but  their  contents  were  generally  so 
much  at  variance  with  the  truth,  that  it  was  quite  a  common  saying, 


1813.]  LIFE   IN   THE   PYRENEES.  285 

'  he  lies  like  a  Monituer,'  or  '  he  lies  like  a  bulletin.  Even  the 
generals  of  brigade  were  often  kept  in  ignorance  as  to  the  result  of 
their  most  important  operations.  For  example,  General  Foj  was  so 
imperfectly  informed  in  regard  to  the  issue  of  the  battle  of  Vittoria, 
that  he  sent  a  flag  of  truce  by  an  aide-de-camp  for  the  loan  of  a 
London  newspaper  containing  the  details  of  that  celebrated  engage- 
ment. The  general's  request  was  complied  with.  In  a  few  days  the 
paper  was  returned,  along  with  a  few  others  of  Parisian  manufacture. 
This  was  done  by  Foy,  to  show  us  that  it  was  his  wish  to  lesson 
the  horrors  of  war  as  much  as  was  consistent  with  that  military 
etiquette  so  necessary  to  be  observed  by  every  officer  entrusted  with 
the  command  of  the  advanced  posts  of  an  army  in  the  presence  of  an 
enemy." 

The  same  writer  supplies  an  entertaining  picture  of  the  amusements 
and  desagreniens  of  existence  in  the  Pyrenees  : — 

"  From  the  surrender  of  San  Sebastian  to  the  capitulation  of 
Pampeluna,  we  felt  much  more  at  our  ease  than  we  did  previous  to 
the  first  event.  For  the  fall  of  the  former  not  only  lessened  Soult's 
inducement  to  attack  us,  but  added  a  considerable  number  of  troops 
to  our  effective  force  in  the  field.  Our  amusements  were  also 
increased  by  this  event.  From  that  period  we  occasionally  descended 
to  the  village  of  Roncesvalles,  and  treated  ourselves  to  a  comfortable 
dinner  and  a  tolerable  bottle  of  country  wine.  For  some  time  we  had 
excellent  races  once  a  week,  and  a  bull-fight  every  Thursday.  The 
mounted  officers,  who  were  lovers  of  the  chase,  had  a  rich  treat 
afforded  them  two  or  three  times  every  week  by  Sir  Kowland  Hill, 
whose  pack  of  hounds  was  much  at  the  service  of  the  officers  of  his 
corps.  About  the  middle  of  October,  however,  our  situation  became 
rather  uncomfortable.  The  ground  was  so  saturated  with  moisture, 
that,  wherever  we  encamped,  in  a  day  or  two  the  whole  of  our 
encampment  was  a  perfect  puddle.  Previous  to  this  we  had  slept  on 
the  ground  ;  but  we  latterly  made  little  bedsteads  of  the  branches  of 
trees,  and  by  raising  them  about  nine  inches  from  the  earth,  and 
covering  them  with  a  little  straw,  grass,  or  fern,  we  reposed  as 
comfortably  as  we  ever  did  on  the  best  down  bed  in  England.  The 
weather  at  last  became  so  very  bad,  that  all  the  troops  on  the  right 
of  the  positions  were  recalled  from  the  heights,  save  the  outlying 
pickets,  and  a  body  of  500  men  constituting  the  inlying  picket, 
to  support  the  others  in  case  of  attack.  On  the  27th  of  October,  I 
made  one  of  the  party  of  500.  When  we  moved  from  Roncesvalles 
the  morning  was  fine,  the  frost  was  severe,  but  there  was  not  a 
breath  of  wind.     In  the  afternoon  the  sky  overcast— soon  after  snow 


286  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813 

began  to  fall,  and  before  sunset  the  wind  began  to  whistle.  Every- 
thing now  portended  a  storm,  and  to  meet  it  we  made  every  prepara- 
tion in  our  power.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  night  the  snow  fell, 
and  the  wind  howled,  and  at  daybreak  on  the  28th,  the  snow  was 
drifted  to  a  considerable  depth.  At  ten  o'clock  a.  m.  on  the  28th,  we 
were  relieved  by  new  bodies  of  troops,  and  instantly  bade  adieu,  and 
for  ever,  to  the  right  of  the  allied  position  at  Roncesvalles.  In  our 
progress  back  to  our  encampment,  the  snow  dealt  with  us  mercifully  ; 
but  we  had  scarcely  reached  our  tents  when  it  resumed  the  tricks  of 
the  preceding  night,  and  continued  to  fall  without  the  slightest 
intermission  till  one  or  two  o'clock  next  morning,  by  which  time  it 
was  a  foot  and  a  half  deep  in  the  valley  where  not  drifted,  but  on  the 
hills  it  was,  in  some  places,  twelve  feet  in  depth.  Part  of  the  outly- 
ing pickets  were  covered,  and  had  to  be  dug  out  of  the  snow  in  a 
pitiable  state  :  some  of  them  lost  the  use  of  their  limbs.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  quantity  of  snow  which  fell  on  my  tent  during  the 
night  of  the  28th,  the  pole  of  it  snapped  in  two  places  about  four 
o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  29th,  and  without  any  warning  down  came  canvas, 
pole,  and  snow  on  the  top  of  me.  My  bed  being  nine  inches  from 
the  ground,  the  snow  and  canvas  pinned  me  so  completely  to  it, 
that,  on  awaking,  I  fancied  myself  bound  hand  and  foot,  for  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  could  I  move.  Respiring  for  some  time  with 
considerable  difficulty,  I  began  seriously  to  think  that  some  persons 
were  attempting  to  smother  me.  But  recollecting  at  length  the 
position  of  my  bed,  I  made  an  effort  to  throw  myself  from  it,  which 
with  difficulty  I  accomplished.  Placing  my  head  under  the  bed,  I 
breathed  more  freely ;  and,  after  a  great  struggle,  I  pulled  a  penknife 
from  my  pocket,  cut  a  hole  in  the  canvas,  made  my  escape,  and  after 
wandering  fully  half an-hour,  I  at  length  got  under  the  protection  of 
a  friend,  the  pillar  of  whose  dwelling  was  made  of  sterner  stuff  than 
my  own." 

Lord  Wellington  remained  in  his  camp  on  the  Bidassoa  until  the 
beginning  of  November.  Intimation  having  reached  him  of  the  fall 
of  Parapcluna,  and  of  the  successes  of  the  northern  allies  against 
Napoleon,  he  now  made  up  his  mind  to  a  forward  movement  into 
France. 

Perhaps  not  one  of  Wellington's  measures  cost  him  more  anxiety 
than  this  resolution  to  invade  the  French  territory.  He  was  aware 
of  the  strong  feeling  of  hostility  which  pervaded  the  hearts  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  allied  army,  and  he  dreaded  the  moral  effect  of  any 
disorder,  induced  by  their  vindictiveness  and  love  of  plunder,  more 
than  he  feared  the  power  of  his  enemy.     He  therefore,  on  the  1st  of 


1813.]  ENTRY   INTO   FRANCE.  281 

November,  issued  a  Proclamation  and  an  Order,  both  of  which  deserve 
to  be  engraven  in  letters  of  gold  on  tablets  of  marble : — 


"Head-Quarters,  1st  JSTuv^  1813. 

'•  Upon  entering  your  country,  I  announce  to  you  that  I  have  given 
the  most  positive  orders  (a  translation  of  which  is  joined  to  this)  to 
prevent  those  evils  which  are  the  ordinary  consequences  of  the  inva- 
sion of  a  hostile  army  (an  invasion  which,  you  know,  is  the  result  of 
that  which  your  government  made  into  Spain),  and  of  the  triumphs  of 
the  allied  army  under  my  command. 

"  You  may  be  certain  that  I  will  carry  these  orders  into  execution, 
and  I  request  of  you  to  cause  to  be  arrested  and  conveyed  to  ray 
head-quarters,  all  those  who,  contrary  to  these  dispositions,  do  you 
any  injury.  But  it  is  required  you  should  remain  in  your  houses, 
and  take  no  part  whatever  in  the  operations  of  the  war,  of  which 
your  country  is  going  to  become  the  theatre. 

(Signed)  "  Wellington." 


ORDERa 

"  Although  the  country  which  is  in  front  of  the  army  be  an  hostile 
one,  the  General-in-Chief  anxiously  desires  that  the  inhabitants 
should  be  well  treated,  and  properly  respected,  as  has  hitherto  been 
the  case. 

"  The  officers  and  soldiers  must  remember,  that  their  nations  are  at 
war  with  France,  only  because  he  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  French  nation  will  not  permit  them  to  be  at  peace,  and 
wishes  to  oblige  them  to  submit  to  his  yoke.  They  must  not  forget 
that  the  greatest  evils  which  the  enemy  has  suffered,  in  his  shameful 
invasion  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  have  proceeded  from  the  disorders 
and  cruelties  which  tjie  soldiers,  authorised  and  even  encouraged  by 
their  chiefs,  committed  upon  the  unfortunate  and  peaceable  inhabitants 
of  the  country. 

"  It  would  be  inhuman,  and  unworthy  of  the  nations  to  which  the 
General-in-Chief  alludes,  to  revenge  that  conduct  upon  the  peaceable 
inhabitants  of  France;  and  this  vengeance  would,  in  every  case, 
cause  the  army  evils  similar,  or  even  greater,  than  the  enemy  has 
Buffered  in  the  Peninsula,  and  would  be  very  opposite  to  the  public 
interests.  ' 


288  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1SI3 

"  The  same  regulations  must  therefore  be  observed  in  the  cities  and 
villages  of  France,  as  have  hitherto  been  practiced  in  the  requisitions 
and  receipts  for  provisions,  which  may  be  drawn  from  the  country ; 
and  the  Commissaries  belonging  to  each  army  of  the  diiferent  nations 
will  receive,  from  their  respective  Generals-in-Chief,  orders  relative  to 
the  mode  of  payment  for  the  provisions,  and  the  time  within  which 
the  payment  must  be  made.'' 

The  spirit  of  our  Henry  V.  spoke  out  in  this  order,  and  gave  confi- 
dence to  the  French  peasantry.  It  is  honourable  to  England,  and 
especially  to  the  most  chivalrous  of  her  warlike  sons,  that,  in  the  full 
confidence  of  a  future  success,  grounded  on  the  triumphs  of  the  past^ 
they  are  mindful  of  the  claims  of  innocence  upon  our  sense  of  justice. 
Froissart  has  preserved  the  language  of  Henry's  Order,  and  Lord 
"Wellington  imitated  what  Shakspeare  paraphrased. 

"  "We  give  express  charge  that  in  our  marches  through  the  country 
there  be  nothing  compelled  from  the  villages — nothing  taken  but  paid 
for ;  none  of  the  French  upbraided  or  abused  in  disdainful  language. 
For,  when  Lenity  and  Cruelty  play  for  a  kingdom,  the  gentler  game- 
ster is  the  soonest  winner." — Henry  "V. 

Nothing  now  remained  but  the  capture  of  Pampeluna  to  complete 
the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  Spanish  territory. 

Pampeluna,  or  Pamplona,  as  it  is  sometimes  written,  is  the  capital 
and  frontier  key  of  Navarre,  and  is  in  fact  the  first  city  of  the  plains. 
It  is  situated  on  the  left  of  the  Arga,  which  here  forms  a  horse-shoe 
bend,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  tributaries  which,  in  the  quaint  phrase- 
ology of  the  Spaniards,  "  make  a  man"  of  the  Ebro  : — 

"  Arga  Ega  y  Aragoa 
Hacere  al  Ebro,  Baron." 

The  position  of  Pumpeluna  is  well  adapted  for  a  fortress,  as  it 
overawes  the  plains,  while  its  own  sloping  eminence  is  not  commanded 
itself  The  Pyrenees  and  spurs  rise  in  the  distance.  The  sons  of 
Porapey  were  induced  by  local  considerations  to  rebuild  this  place  in 
the  year  68  b c,  whence  it  was  called  Pompeiopolis,  which  name  the 
Moors  corrupted  into  Bamhilonah^  whence  the  present  name.*  The 
city  remained  faithful  to  the  cause  of  its  founders,  and  was  therefore 
slighted  by  Augustus.  In  the  middle  ages  it  was  called  Irunia,  "  the 
good  town." 

Bonaparte,  whose  poliSy  was  ruse  doublce  de  force  en  meme  temps, 

1  Ford's  "  Hand-Book  of  Spain." 


1818.]  BLOCKADE  OF  PAMPELUNA.  289 

seized  upon  Pampeluna  when  he  took  possession  of  the  Spanish 
frontier  in  1808,  and.  under  the  guise  of  an  alliance  with  Charles  IV., 
he  sent  General  d'Armagnac  to  the  place.  The  French  were  quartered 
in  the  citadel,  at  the  voluntary  expense  of  the  Spaniards,  who  sup- 
posed they  were  harbouring  friends,  and  one  day,  under  pretence  of 
playing  at  snowball,  the  former  secured  the  drawbridge  and  captured 
the  town,  which  they  held  thereafter. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1813,  Lord  Wellington  caused  the  town 
to  be  blockaded.  This  duty  was  entrusted  to  the  allied  divisions, 
under  Sir  Thomas  Picton  and  Sir  Lowry  Cole,  both  under  the  orders 
of  the  Spanish  general,  Don  Carlos  de  Espana.  After  carrying  the 
pass  of  Maya,  Soult  hurried  down  the  mountains,  in  the  hope  of 
reaching  Pampeluua,  but  Picton  had  forestalled  him.  De  Espana 
enforced  the  blockade  with  great  strictness  during  the  three  following 
months.  The  French,  commanded  by  General  Cassan,  the  governor, 
made  some  gallant  sorties,  and  on  each  occasion  were  repulsed  with 
serious  loss.  On  the  10th  of  September  they  came  out  in  consid- 
erable force,  with  a  view,  it  was  conjectured,  of  reconnoitering  the 
force  by  which  the  blockade  was  maintained.  They  were  driven  in, 
but  Carlos  de  Espana  was  wounded.  At  length  the  supplies  of  the 
garrison  began  to  fail  them.  The  horses  of  the  ofBcers,  artillery,  and 
carriage  were  killed,  and  their  flesh,  meted  out  in  small  quantities, 
became  the  only  food  of  the  beleaguered.  Even  this  wretched  apology 
for  diet  was  soon  exhausted,  and  with  a  stern  resolution,  worthy  of  a 
better  cause,  they  began  to  feed  upon  rats,  weeds,  and  whatever  could 
he  converted  into  sustenance.  But  nature  revolted  at  such  expedients : 
disease  now  broke  out  amongst  the  unfortunate  men,  and  hundreds 
lay  stretched  on  their  pallets  in  the  hospital.  Cassan  was  driven  to 
the  alternative  of  either  dying  of  starvation  or  capitulating.  He 
adopted  the  latter.  A  flag  of  truce  was  sent  to  Don  Carlos,  with  a 
proposal  from  the  French  commander  to  surrender  the  place  on  con- 
dition that  they  should  be  allowed  to  march  to  France  with  six  pieces 
of  cannon,  with  an  engagement  not  to  serve  against  the  allies  for  a 
year  and  a  day.  Carlos  de  Espana  rejected  the  proposal,  and  told  them 
that  his  orders  were,  not  to  give  them  a  capitulation  on  any  terms 
excepting  that  they  should  be  prisoners  of  war.  To  this  General 
Cassan  declared  that  they  would  never  consent,  and  he  then  threatened 
to  blow  up  the  defences.  Hereupon  Lord  Wellington,  who  was  at 
hand,  authorised  De  Espana,  in  case  of  Cassan  acting  in  a  manner  so 
oppoj!3d  to  the  laws  of  war,  to  shoot  him^  and  all  the  officers,  and 
decim'*to  the  garrison.  This  led  Cassan  to  alter  his  tone.  He  at 
once   surrendered,   and   Lord  Wellington   who,  in   spite   of  all   the 

YOL.  I.  V 


290  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

annoyances  he  had  experienced  from  the  Spaniards,  delighted  in  giving 
way  to  generous  emotions,  congratulated  Don  Carlos  that  it  had  fallen 
to  his  lot  to  be  the  instrument  of  restoring  to  the  Spanish  monarchy 
60  important  a  fortress  as  Pampeluna. 

The  terms  in  which  the  surrender  was  announced  serve  to  illustrate 
the  style  of  Spanish  despatches,  which  present  a  powerful  contrast  to 
the  simplicity  of  the  British  Field-Marshal. 


"  TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  FIELD-MARSHAL  THE  DUKE  OF 
CIUDAD  RODRIGO." 

•  Most  Excellent  Sir, 

"  Glory  be  to  God,  and  honour  to  the  triumphs  of  your  Ex- 
cellency in  this  ever  memorable  campaign.  I  have  the  honour  and 
the  great  satisfaction  of  congratulating  your  Excellency  on  the  sur- 
render of  the  important  fortress  of  Pampeluna,  the  capitulation  of 
which,  having  been  signed  by  the  superior  ofl&cers  entrusted  with  my 
powers,  and  by  those  delegated  by  the  general  commanding  the  place, 
I  have,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  which  you  conferred  upon  me,  just 
ratified.  The  garrison  remain  prisoners  of  war,  as  your  Excellency 
determined  from  the  beginning  they  should,  and  will  march  out  to- 
morrow, at  two  in  the  afternoon,  in  order  to  be  conducted  to  the  port 
of  Passages.  Our  troops  occupy  one  of  the  gates  of  the  citadel,  and 
those  of  France  the  place.  May  God  guard  the  precious  life  of  your 
Excellency. 

"  Dated  from  the  Camp  in  front  of  Pampeluna,  31st  October,  1813. 

"  Carlos  EspaSa." 


CAPITULATION. 

"  The  General  of  Brigade  Cassan,  Baron  of  the  Empire,  Member  of 
the  Legion  of  Honour,  Governor  of  the  place  and  citadel  of  Pampeluna, 
on  the  part  of  his  Imperial  and  Royal  Majesty  Napoleon,  and  the 
Mariscal  del  Campo,  Don  Carlos  de  Espana,  Knight  of  the  Order  of 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Spanish  and  allied 
troops,  forming  the  blockade  of  the  said  citadel  and  place,  has  named 
to  discuss  and  decide  on  the  articles  of  capitulation,  according  to  the 
terms  of  which  the  place  and  citadel  shall  be  delivered  over  to  the 
said  troops,  viz.,  Major-General  Cassan  names  the  Adjutant-Com- 
mander L.  de  Maucune,  Baron  of  the  Empire,  Member  of  the 
Legion  of  Honour,  Chief  of  the  Staff;  and  Don  Carlos  de  Espana 


1813.]  SURRENDER  OF   PAMPELUNA.  291 

names  Baron  Don  Francis  D.  Vivos,  Commandant-General  of  the 
third  district  of  the  line  of  blockade  ;  Colonel  Goldfinch,  of  his 
Britannic  Majesty's  service,  and  Colonel  de  Ventura  Mina,  Chief  of 
the  StaflF  of  the  second  division  of  the  fourth  corps  of  the  Spanish 
army.  These  officers  having  met  between  the  advanced  posts  of  the 
place,  and  those  of  the  blockading  troops,  on  the  spot  of  the  hospital 
of  Saint  Pierre,  and  having  exchanged  their  respective  powers,  have 
this  day,  30th  October,  1813,  agreed  upon  the  following  articles,  sub- 
ject to  the  ratifications  of  their  respective  generals  : — 

"Art.  1.  The  garrison  shall  march  out  of  the  place  with  the 
honours  of  war,  for  the  purpose  of  returning  to  France,  and  shall  be 
escorted,  as  far  as  the  outposts  of  the  French  army,  by  a  detachment 
of  the  allied  army.  A?isicer.  The  French  garrison  shall  march  out  of 
the  place  with  all  the  honours  of  war,  shall  lay  down  their  arms,  and 
colours,  and  eagles,  at  the  distance  of  300  yards  from  the  barrier, 
shall  surrender  themselves  as  prisoners  of  war  to  the  Spanish  and 
allied  armies,  and  shall  march  to  the  Port  of  Passages,  there  to 
embark  and  be  conveyed  to  England.  The  officer  commanding  the 
escort  of  the  garrison,  on  the  march,  shall  take  all  the  necessary 
means  for  insuring  the  fulfilment  of  the  articles  of  capitulation  towards 
all  persons  concerned. 

"  Art.  2.  The  subalterns  and  soldiers  shall  keep  their  knapsacks,  and 
the  officers  their  swords  and  baggage.  Ansive?:  Granted  :  on  condition 
that  the  place  and  citadel  shall  be  given  up  without  any  injury  having 
been  done  to  them ;  and  that  the  shot,  and  all  the  ammunition 
remaining,  shall  be  found  not  to  have  suflfered  any  damage  ;  and  that 
there  shall  be  left  three  days'  provisions.  If  there  should  remain  any 
mines  in  the  works  of  the  citadel,  the  powder  with  which  they  are 
charged  shall  be  removed  before  the  giving  up  of  the  place.  Granted 
also,  in  consideration  that  there  remains  no  doubt  that  the  French 
garrison  has  behaved  honourably  towards  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
during  the  blockade. 

"  Art.  3.  The  officers  of  health,  and  others,  holding  employments  in 
the  French  army,  shall  be  treated  as  the  garrison,  and  enjoy  the  same 
advantages.  Afisiver.  Granted :  and  they  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Marquis  of  "Wellington,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allied  armies,  to 
the  General-in-Chief  of  the  French  army,  in  exchange  for  Spaniards, 
and  particularly  those  of  Navarr^  who  are  detained  as  prisoners  in 
France. 

"Art.  4.  The  military  who  have  suffered  amputation,  and  all 
others  not  in  a  state  to  serve,  shall  return  to  France,  as  soon  as  they 
can  support  the  fatigue  of  the  journey.     Answer.  They  shall  remain 


292  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

prisoners  of  war  till  they  are  exchanged,  and  shall  be  treated  as  the 
rest  of  the  garrison. 

"  Art.  5.  The  sick  remaining  in  hospital  shall  be  treated  with  all 
the  care  due  to  their  situation  ;  there  shall  remain  with  them  a 
sufficient  number  of  officers  of  health  and  attendants,  and  as  soon  as 
they  are  perfectly  recovered,  they  and  the  persons  remaining  to 
take  care  of  them,  shall  follow  the  destination  of  the  garrison. 
Ansicer.  Granted. 

"  Art.  G.  The  allied  array  shall  provide  the  number  of  carriages, 
horses,  or  mules,  necessary  for  transporting  the  baggage,  and  disabled 
men.  Ansiver.  Granted :  with  respect  to  everything  which  can  be 
provided  by  the  country. 

"  Art.  7.  Lodgings  and  provisions  shall  be  furnished  to  the  troops 
of  the  garrison,  at  the  halting-places,  according  to  the  arrangements, 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  allied  armies.     Anstver.  Granted. 

"  Art.  8.  The  military  of  the  garrison  being  in  a  very  feeble  state, 
in  consequence  of  the  privations  they  have  endured,  the  halting-places 
on  their  march  shall  be  as  near  to  each  other  as  possible.  Answer. 
Granted. 

"  Art.  9.  All  French  (non-combatants)  who  are  at  this  moment  in 
the  town  of  Pampeluna,  shall  not  be  considered  as  prisoners  of  war, 
but  shall  have  permission  to  return  to  France.  A?isiver.  They  may 
be  proposed  in  exchange  against  Spaniards  of  the  civil  administration, 
who  are  detained  in  France,  and  especially  for  inhabitants  of  Navarre. 

"Art.  10.  Passports  to  return  to  France  shall  be  given  to  all  old 
men  exceeding  60  years  of  age,  to  the  wives  and  children  of  the  mili- 
tary, and  others  employed  in  the  French  army.  Answer.  This  Article 
shall  be  referred,  and  particularly  recommended,  by  the  general  com- 
manding the  blockade,  to  his  Excellency  the  Commander-in-Chief, 
the  Duke  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo. 

"Art.  11.  The  Spaniards  and  French  who  have  taken  up  their 
residence  in  Spain,  prior  to,  and  subsequent  to,  1808,  and  who,  since 
that  time,  have  served  in  any  civil  capacity,  shall  not  in  anywise  be 
molested,  neither  themselves  nor  their  families,  in  their  persons  or 
property,  on  account  of  their  opinions,  or  the  part  they  may  have 
taken.  The  families  of  such  amongst  them  as,  in  the  course  of  the 
month  of  June  last,  have  followed  the  French  army,  shall  receive 
protection  for  themselves  and  their  property.  Ansive?:  These  persons 
shall  remain  under  the  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment. 

"  Art.  12.  Officers  actually  prisoners  of  war,  on  parole  at  Pampe- 
luna, not  being  released  by  the  present  capitulation,  shall   not  be 


1813.]  CAPITULATION   OF   PAMPELUNA.  293 

allowed  to  serve  against  France  or  her  allies,  until  regularly  exchanged. 
Ansiver.  All  Officers,  of  whatsoever  rank,  who  shall  be  found  upon 
parole,  or  confined  in  the  fortress  of  Pampeluna,  shall  be  delivered  up 
unconditionally  to  the  General  commanding  the  blockading  forces,  it 
being  matter  of  right  tiiat  all  military  persons  have  their  liberty 
when  found  in  a  fortress  taken  possession  of  by  an  army  of  the 
nation  to  which  they  belong. 

"Art.  13.  Commissaries  shall  be  named  on  both  sides  for  the  de- 
livery and  receipt  of  everything  concerning  the  artillery,  the  engineers' 
department,  and  the  general  administration.  Answer.  Granted :  all 
plans  belonging  to  the  fortress,  as  well  as  all  other  public  papers? 
shall  be  faithfully  delivered  over  to  the  commissary  of  the  Spanish, 
by  the  commissary  of  the  fortress. 

"Art.  14.  The  General,  governor  of  the  fortress,  shall  have  the 
option  of  sending  an  officer  from  Pampeluna  by  the  shortest  road,  to 
his  Excellency  the  General-in-Chief  of  the  French  armies,  in  order  to 
transmit  to  him  the  present  capitulation,  and  to  explain  to  him  the 
reasons  of  it.  Such  officer  shall  be  furnished  with  an  escort,  sufficient 
for  his  personal  safety,  as  far  as  the  advanced  posts  of  the  French 
army,  and  shall  not  be  considered  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Ansiver. 
Granted,  such  officer  not  being  above  the  rank  of  a  captain  ;  he  must 
be  considered  as  a  prisoner  of  war  on  parole  until  his  exchange,  which 
may  immediately  take  place,  for  an  officer  of  equal  rank  of  the  Spanish 
army.     All  despatches  with  which  he  is  charged  must  be  open. 

"  Art.  15.  As  soon  as  the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged,  commis- 
saries, named  according  to  the  13th  Article  of  the  present  capitulation, 
shall  be  admitted  into  the  fortresses  to  fulfil  their  mission.  On  the 
same  day,  and  immediately  after  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications,  de- 
tachments of  the  blockading  troops  shall  occupy  La  Porte  de  Secours 
of  the  citadel,  and  La  Porte  de  France  of  the  town  ;  and  to  avoid 
disorder  and  confusion,  the  blockading  troops  are  not  to  enter  the 
place  and  citadel  until  the  French  troops  shall  have  retired.  A7iswer. 
Granted. 

"  Art.  16.  The  garrison  shall  evacuate  the  place  on  the  1st  of 
November,  at  two  o'clock,  p.m.,  by  the  Porte  Neuve.  Aiiswer. 
Granted. 

"Art.  17.  It  is  to  be  distinctly  understood,  that  the  garrison  of 
Pampeluna  shall  enjoy  all  advantages  which  might  be  guaranteed  by 
any  armistice,  or  such  other  arrangements  as  may  have  been  con- 
cluded between  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  King  and  the  coalesced 
powers,  previous  to  the  ratification  of  the  present  capitulation. 
Answer.  Refused. 


294  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

"Art.  18.  If  any  discussion  shall  arise  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
articles  of  the  present  capitulation,  the  interpretation  shall  always  be 
favourable  to  the  Harrison.     Answer.   Granted." 


CONDITIONS  IMPOSED  UPON  THE  GARRISON  BY  COMMANDING 
OFFICERS  OF  THE  ALLIES. 

"  No  Spaniard,  without  regard  to  sex  or  class,  can  be  allowed  to 
follow  the  French  garrison  to  its  destination  ;  and  all  such,  whether 
civil  or  military,  will  remain  under  the  protection  of  the  laws. 
Ansiver.  On  the  part  of  the  garrison,  no  facility  to  expatriate  will  be 
given  to  the  persons  here  designated. 

"  All  prisoners  of  war,  without  any  exception,  and  all  deserters, 
belonging  to  the  Spanish  and  allied  armies,  shall  be  given  up  to  the 
troops  of  the  said  armies  without  exchange,  upon  the  ratification  of 
the  capitulation.  Aftsive?:  Prisoners  of  war  contained  in  this  article, 
shall  be  delivered  over  to  the  allied  armies,  as  well  as  deserters,  if  any 
should  be  found. 

"  The  forced  loan  of  twenty  thousand  duros,  levied  upon  the 
inhabitants  during  the  blockade  (the  funds  of  which  have  been  appro- 
priated for  the  payment  of  the  troops  of  the  garrison),  not  being 
recoverable,  on  account  of  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  allied 
armies,  shall  be  recognised  as  a  credit  of  Spain  upon  the  French 
Grovernment,  and  shall  be  taken  into  account  when,  at  a  peace,  the 
interest  of  the  two  nations  shall  be  settled.  Ansiver.  It  will  be  the 
more  easy  to  settle  this  demand  when  the  two  nations  shall  treat 
upon  their  respective  interests,  as  much  is  due  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment on  account  of  the  arrears  of  the  contributions  of  Navarre  ;  and 
as  the  town  itself,  as  well  as  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pampeluna, 
owned  conjointly  at  the  period  of  the  1st  of  January  of  the  present 
year,  the  sum  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  six  hundred  and 
fourteen  realles  de  vellon. 

"  These  presents  done  in  duplicate  before  Pampeluna,  the  day, 
month,  and  year,  as  below,  and  signed  Francisca  Dionisio  Vives ; 
Baron  L.  de  Maucune ;  W.  Goldfinch,  Captain  of  the  Eoyal 
Engineers  ;  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ventura  de  Mina.  The  present 
capitulation  ratified  in  all  its  ports,  at  Pampeluna,  the  Sist  of 
October,  1813. 

"  The  General,  governor  of  the  town  and  citadel  of  Pampeluna, 

"  Baron  De  Cassan." 


1813.]  CAPITULATION  OF    PAMPELUNA.  295 

"  The  present  capitulation,  approved  and  ratified  by  the  under- 
signed Mariscal  de  Campo,  of  the  National  Armies  of  Spain,  Knight 
of  the  Royal  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis,  and  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  Commandant  of  the  blockade  of  Pampeluna,  in  virtue  of 
the  authority  of  the  Marshal-General  of  the  Duke  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo, 
General-in  Chief  of  the  National  and  Allied  Armies  of  Spain. 

(A  true  copy.)     "Camp  before  Pampeluna,  Oct.  31st,  1813. 

(Signed)  "  Carlos  de  EspaSa, 

"  L.    WlMPFEN." 

"  I,  Don  Joseph  Joachin  Foncellas,  President  of  the  Municipality 
of  Pampeluna,  certify  that  Brigadier  Don  Francisco  Dionisio  Vivea, 
Colonel  Goldfinch,  and  Colonel  Don  Ventura  Mina,  officers  appointed 
by  Field  Marshal  Don  Carlos  D'Espana,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
right  of  the  line  of  blockade,  having  appeared  before  me,  and  required 
that  I  would  state  what  had  been  the  conduct  of  the  French  garrison 
during  the  blockade,  I  explained  to  them,  that  with  respect  to  the 
people,  it  had  been  conformable  to  good  discipline,  and  that  the  ar- 
rangements made  by  the  governor  during  the  scarcity,  which  pre- 
vailed in  consequence  of  the  blockade,  did  not  occasion  the  death  of 
any  inhabitant.  In  order  that  this  may  avail  those  whom  it  may 
concern,  I  give  it  in  the  Convent  of  St.  Peter,  this  30th  day  of  Oc- 
tober, 1813, 

(Signed)        "  Marquis  of  Foncellas. 

(True  copy.)  "  A.  Wimpfen." 


296 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1808, 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Battle  of  tho  Nivelle— Proclamation  of  Louis  XVUI.— Lord  Wellington's  view  of  the  Freneb 
feeling  in  respect  to  a  successor  to  Napoleon— The  War  in  Germany— The  Battle  of  Leipsic— 
Advance  of  the  Northern  Allies  to  Frankfort^Declaration  of  the  Allies. 


OUSED  to  a  pitch  of  vengeance  incom- 
prehensible to  an  Englishman,  the 
Spaniards  hovered  upon  the  flanks  of 
the  unfortunate  garrison  of  Pampeluna ; 
and,  as  they  passed  through  the  Spanish 
lines,  on  their  way  to  Passages,  several  of 
them  were  massacred  by  the  Navarrese. 
All  efforts  to  check  these  sanguinary 
tendencies  were  futile.  So  unquench- 
able was  the  thirst  for  blood  and  plunder, 
that  Lord  Wellington  at  length  found 
it  necessary  to  choose  between  sending 
back  a  large  portion  of  the  allies  to 
their  own  country,  and  of  thus  reducing 
his  force,  or  of  allowing  his  array  to  blacken  its  reputation,  and 
inflict  grievous  wrong  by  pillage  and  other  enormities.  He  preferred 
the  former  course. 

The  surrender  of  Pampeluna  having  placed  the  right  of  his  army, 
under  Sir  R.  Hill,  at  Lord  Wellington's  disposal,  a  further  stride 
into  the  French  territory  became  practicable.  Since  the  passage  of 
the  Bidassoa,  Marshal  Soult,  remembering  the  effect  of  the  Lines  of 
Torres  Vcdras,  had  tried  to  imitate  them,  by  raising  works  across  tho 
frontier,  from  the  coast  to  the  mountains  beyond  the  right  of  the  British 
line.  These  works  may  be  described  as  an  entrenched  camp,  occupied 
by  three  divisions,  stretched  inland  along  the  summit  of  a  series  of 
detached  heights,  towards  the  foot  of  the  Petite  La  Ehune,  covering 
the  great  road  to  Bayonne,  in  advance  of  the  river  Nivelle.     To  the 


813.]  BATTLE  OF  THE  NIVELLE.  297 

left  of  this  camp  was  another,  on  the  two  banks  of  the  river,  occupied 
by  a  division,  and  protected  by  field-works  like  the  preceding.  The 
heights  behind  Sarra  were  occupied  by  three  divisions,  under  General 
Clauzel,  covering  the  road  from  Vera  to  Bayonne  by  Echalar.  This 
camp  was  also  defended  by  redoubts,  entrenchments,  and  abattis ;'  and 
was  covered  on  the  right  by  the  Petite  La  Rhune,  on  which  a  brigade 
was  stationed. 

This  position,  strong  in  detail,  wanted  the  great  advantage  of  con- 
nection. Taken  collectively,  it  was  feeble,  because  the  intervals 
were  frequent,  and  the  whole  was  commanded  by  the  position  of 
the  allies. 

The  heavy  falls  of  rain  and  snow  which  distinguish  a  winter  in  the 
Pyrenees  seriously  obstructed  Lord  Wellington's  plans  for  some  days. 
It  was  not  until  the  10th  of  November  that  he  was  in  a  condition  to 
make  an  attack  upon  the  enemy's  position.  On  that  day  he  assumed 
the  offensive,  and  "  completely  succeeded  in  carrying  all  the  positions 
on  the  enemy's  left  and  centre,  separating  the  former  from  the  latter, 
and  thus  turning  the  enemy's  strong  position,  occupied  by  their  right 
on  the  Lower  Nivelle,  which  they  were  obliged  to  evacuate  during 
the  night."  Lord  Wellington  took  51  pieces  of  cannon  and  1400 
prisoners  from  the  enemy.  Soult  had  also  4265  men  and  officers 
killed  in  the  battle.  The  loss  of  the  allies  amounted  to  2694  men 
and  officers,  killed  and  wounded ;  and  among  the  officers  wounded 
were  two  generals, — James  Kempt  and  John  Byng.  The  casualties 
show  that  the  contest  must  have  been  severe ;  and  no  wonder,  either. 
The  French  were  bent  upon  protecting  their  loved  land  from  invasion. 
The  allies  were  eager  for  victory  on  the  soil  of  the  people  who  had 
for  so  long  a  period  been  seriously  aggressive  to  the  south  of  the 
Pyrenees ;  and  to  say  the  truth,  the  English  were  heartily  tired  of 
their  quarters  in  the  latter. 

Lord  Wellington  received  material  assistance  in  the  battle  of  the 
Nivelle  from  the  generals  at  the  head  of  divisions.  Marshal  Beresford, 
Sir  John  Hope,  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  Sir  W.  Stewart,'  Sir  H.  Clinton, 

1  Young  trees,  stripped  of  their  leaves,  and  placed  with  their  trunks  in  the  ground  nearly 
horizontally.  The  ends  of  the  branches  being  pointed,  offered  an  obstruction  like  a  chevaux 
de  frise,  and  the  trees  being  young,  and  full  of  sap,  could  not  easily  be  burnt  or  cut. 

2  Sir  William  Stewart  was  an  enthusiast  in  his  profession.  On  service,  his  military  duties 
engrossed  his  whole  attention.  Late  and  early  he  was  to  be  seen  visiting  the  outposts 
reconnoitring  the  approaches  towards  his  posts  and  encampment,  from  the  advanced  posts 
and  encampment  of  the  enemy — or  in  making  observations,  which,  in  case  of  an  attack  from 
or  upon  the  enemy,  might  be  of  service  to  him  in  making  the  necessary  disposition  of  his 
troops.  And  in  regard  to  the  comfort,  &c.,  of  the  men,  he  trod  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  gallant  superior,  Sir  R.  Hill.    "Sir  William  being  wotmded  in  the  'eg  on  the 


298 


LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1813. 


General  Alien,  and  Sir  J.  Hamilton,  had  all  bought  their  expe- 
rience in  the  Peninsula.  They  knew  the  enemy ;  they  knew  their 
own  men ;  and  they  also  knew  what  was  expected  of  them  by 
Wellington  and  England;  and  they  took  care  not  to  disappoint 
expectation.  Urging  forward  their  hardy  soldiers,  to  whom  victory 
had  become  familiar,  they  dashed  up  the  heights,  extending  over 
several  miles  of  ground,  and,  in  the  face  of  the  enemy's  artillery, 
carried  redoubt  after  redoubt,  until  night  covering  the  earth  with 
her  mantle,  enabled  the  enemy  to  retire  discomfited  in  front  of 
Bidart. 

Early  the  next  morning,  the  corps  under  Marshal  Beresford  and 
Sir  John  Hope  were  pushed  forward  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.     The 


FRENCH    SOLDIERS. 


weather  was  unpropitious ;  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents  ;  the  rivers 
swelled  and  overflowed  their  banks  ;  the  roads  became  impassable ; 


25th  of  July,  was  reluctantly  forced  to  leave  his  Division  on  the  27th.  But,  on  hearing  of 
the  battle  of  the  30lh,  he  caused  his  leg  to  be  properly  bandaged,  and,  with  a  pillow  fastened 
so  as  to  keep  the  leg  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  stirrup,  or  the  sides  of  the  horse, 
mounted,  and  rejoined  us  a  little  before  we  came  up  with  the  French,  on  the  31st.  The  loud 
and  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  soldiers  welcomed  him  back."  But  their  joy  was  soon  turned 
into  mourning  ;  for  in  less  than  three  hours  a  muskct-ball  passed  through  the  General's  arm, 
a  little  above  the  elbow,  and  compelled  him  once  more  to  go  to  the  rear.  On  rejoining  the 
Division  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  a  party  of  the  private  soldiers  of  the  92nd  Highlanders 
placed  themselves  near  to  the  road  by  which  .Sir  William  had  to  pass  to  their  corps,  and  on 
his  arrival  one  of  them  stepped  forward,  and  said,  "Oh,  General,  you  maun  drink  wi'  us!" 
to  which  unexpected  request  the  latter  replied,  "With  all  my  heart,  my  man,"— a  strong 
proof  of  the  bonhommie  of  the  General  and  the  affection  of  the  Highland  soldiers. 


1813.J  BOURBON  PRETENSIONS.  299 

and  the  enemy,  as  he  retired,  destroyed  all  the  bridges.  To  overtake 
the  enemy  was  impossible.  Baffled  in  their  energetic  endeavours 
Hope  and  Beresford  halted,  while  Marshal  Soult,  reaching  an  en- 
trenched camp  on  the  Nive,  and  in  front  of  Bayonne,  which  had  long 
previously  been  prepared  took  up  a  sheltered  position,  and  for  some 
time  bid  defiance  to  the  English  commander. 

From  this  period — the  11th  of  November,  1813,  until  the  7th  of 
December — the  sound  of  cannon  was  rai-ely  heard.  Lord  Wellington 
fixed  his  head  quarters  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  and,  having  purged  his 
army  of  a  large  propoftion  of  his  Spanish  plunderers,  set  himself 
to  work  to  probe  the  feelings  of  the  French  people  in  respect  to  a 
Buccessor  to  Napoleon  supposing  that  tbe  French  Emperor  should 
either  be  forcibly  driven  from  the  throne,  or  makea  virtue  of  neces- 
sity, and  abdicate. 

The  question  which  Lord  Wellington  was  invited  by  Lord  Bathurst, 
the  Foreign  Secretary,  to  consider  and  investigate  was,  the  expediency 
of  superseding  the  authority  of  Napoleon  by  that  of  the  Bourbon 
dynasty,  in  the  person  of  Louis  XVIII.,  who,  since  the  period  of  the 
French  Revolution,  had  been  a  resident  in  England  under  the  protec- 
tion awarded  to  all  emigres. 

From  the  moment  of  the  secession  of  Prussia  from  the  French 
alliance,  after  Napoleon's  retreat  from  Russia,  it  became  evident  that 
the  feeling  of  the  French  people  towards  Napoleon  had  undergone 
a  material  change.  The  additional  levy  that  was  granted  to  carry 
on  the  war  in  Germany  was  founded  upon  considerations  purely 
national,  in  which  respect  for  the  Emperor  had  no  share  whatever. 
Louis  XVIII.  perceived  that  the  tide  had  turned,  and  immediately 
availed  himself  of  the  circumstance  to  issue  a  proclamation  to  the 
people  of  France.  This  was  early  in  1813.  The  proclamation  ran 
thus : — 

"  The  moment  has  at  length  arrived  when  Divine  Providence  ap- 
pears ready  to  break  in  pieces  the  instrument  of  its  wrath.  The 
usurper  of  the  throne  of  St.  Louis,  the  devastator  of  Europe,  expe- 
riences reverses  in  his  turn.  Shall  they  have  no  other  efi"ect  but  that 
of  aggravating  the  calamities  of  France  ;  and  will  she  not  dare  to 
overturn  an  odious  power,  no  longer  protected  by  the  illusions  of 
victory  1  What  prejudices,  or  what  fears,  can  now  prevent  her  from 
throwing  herself  into  the  arms  of  her  king ;  and  from  recognising,  in 
the  establishment  of  his  legitimate  authority,  the  only  pledge  of  union, 
peace,  and  happiness,  which  his  promises  have  so  often  guaranteed  to 
Ills  oppressed  subjects? 


300  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

"  Being  neither  able  nor  inclined  to  obtain,  but  by  their  efforts, 
that  throne  which  his  rights  and  their  affection  can  alone  confirm, 
what  wishes  should  he  advance  but  those  which  he  has  invariably  en- 
tertained ?  What  doubt  can  be  started  with  regard  to  his  paternal 
intention  ? 

'•  The  King  has  said  in  his  preceding  declarations,  and  he  reiterates 
the  assurance,  that  the  administrative  and  judicial  bodies  shall  be 
maintained  in  the  plenitude  of  their  powers ;  that  he  will  preserve 
their  places  to  those  who  at  present  hold  thera,  and  who  shall  take 
the  oath  of  fidelity  to  him ;  that  the  tribunals,  depositories  of  the 
laws,  shall  prohibit  all  prosecutions  having  relation  to  those  unhappy 
times,  of  which  his  return  will  have  for  ever  sealed  the  oblivion ; 
that,  in  fine,  the  code  polluted  by  the  name  of  Napoleon,  but  which, 
for  the  most  part,  contains  only  the  ancient  ordinances  and  customs 
of  the  realm,  shall  remain  in  force,  with  the  expeption  of  enactments 
contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  religion,  which,  as  well  as  the  liberty  of 
the  people,  has  long  been  subjected  to  the  caprice  of  the  tyrant. 

"  The  senate,  in  which  are  seated  some  men  so  justly  distinguished 
for  their  talents,  and  whom  so  many  services  may  render  illustrious 
in  the  eyes  of  France  and  of  posterity — that  corps  whose  utility  and 
importance  can  never  be  duly  appreciated  till  after  the  restoration — 
can  it  fail  to  perceive  the  glorious  destiny  which  summons  it  to  be- 
come the  first  instrument  of  that  great  benefaction — which  will  prove 
the  most  solid,  as  well  as  the  most  honourable  guarantee  of  its  exist- 
ence and  its  prerogatives  ? 

"  On  the  subject  of  property,  the  King,  who  has  already  announced 
his  intention  to  employ  the  most  proper  means  for  conciliating  the 
interests  of  all,  perceives,  in  the  numerous  settlements  which  have 
taken  place  between  the  old  and  the  new  landholders,  the  means  of 
rendering  those  cases  almost  superfluous.  He  engages,  however,  to 
interdict  all  proceedings  by  the  tribunals,  contrary  to  such  settle- 
ments, to  encourage  voluntary  arrangements,  and  on  the  part  of  him- 
self and  family,  to  set  the  example  of  all  those  sacrifices  which  may 
contribute  to  the  repose  of  France,  and  the  sincere  union  of  all 
Frenchmen. 

"  The  King  has  guaranteed  to  the  army  the  maintenance  of  the 
ranks,  employment,  pay,  and  appointments  which  it  at  present  enjoys. 
He  promises  also  to  the  generals,  officers,  and  soldiers,  who  sliall  signa- 
lise themselves  in  support  of  his  cause,  rewards  more  substantial, 
distinctions  more  honourable,  than  any  they  can  receive  from  an 
usurper, — always  ready  to  disown  or  even  to  dread  their  services. 
The  King  binds  himself  anew  to  abolish  that  pernicious  conscription, 


1S13.]  WELLINGTON  URGES  PEACE.  801 

which   destroys    the   happiness   of   families   and    the   hope    of    the 
country. 

"  Such  always  have  been,  such  still  are,  the  intentions  of  the  Kinc. 
His  re-establishment  on  the  throne  of  his  ancestors  will  be  for  France 
only  the  happy  transition  from  the  calamities  of  a  war  which  tyranny 
perpetuates,  to  the  blessings  of  a  solid  peace,  for  which  foreign 
powers  can  never  find  any  security  but  in  the  word  of  the  legitimate 
sovereign. 

«  L." 

"Hartwell,  Ffb.  1st,  1813."    * 

According  to  Lord  Wellington,  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of 
France  were  uniform  upon  one  point — they  desired  "  to  get  rid  of 
Napoleon,"  from  a  conviction  that,  as  long  as  he  governed,  they  would 
have  no  peace.  But  it  was  not  so  clear  that  they  desired  to  see  him 
replaced  by  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bourbon.  Twenty  years  had 
elapsed  since  the  princes  of  that  House  had  quitted  France,  and  they 
were  eq-ually,  if  not  more,  unknown  to  France  than  the  princes  of  any 
other  royal  House  in  Europe.  Still,  Lord  Wellington  was  of  opinion 
that  the  allies  ought  to  agree  to  propose  a  sovereign  to  France  instead 
of  Napoleon,  and  it  did  not  seem  material  whether  it  was  from  the 
House  of  Bourbon  or  of  any  other  royal  family.  Lord  Wellington 
continued,  in  a  letter  to  Earl  Bathurst, — 

"  I  have  taken  measures  to  open  correspondence  with  the  interior, 
by  which  I  hope  to  know  what  passes,  and  the  sentiments  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  I  will  take  care  to  keep  your  Lordship  acquainted  with  all 
that  I  may  learn.  In  the  mean  time,  I  am  convinced  more  than  ever 
that  Napoleon's  power  stands  upon  corruption,  that  he  has  no  adher- 
ents in  France  but  the  principal  officers  of  his  army,  and  the  employ ees  '« 
civUs  of  the  Government,  and  possibly  some  of  the  new  proprietors  ; 
but  even  these  last,  I  consider  doubtful. 

"  Notwithstanding  this  state  of  things,  I  recommend  to  your  Lord- 
ship to  make  peace  with  him,  if  you  can  acquire  all  the  objects 
which  you  have  a  right  to  expect.  All  the  powers  of  Europe  require 
peace,  possibly  more  than  France  ;  and  it  would  not  do  to  found  a 
new  system  of  war  upon  the  speculations  of  any  individual  in  what 
he  sees  and  learns  in  one  corner  of  France.  If  Bonaparte  becomes 
moderate,  he  is  probably  as  good  a  sovereign  as  we  can  desire  in 
France ;  if  he  does  not,  we  shall  have  another  war  in  a  few  years  ; 
but  if  my  speculations  are  well  founded,  we  shall  have  all  France 
against  him  ;  time  will  have  been  given  for  the  supposed  disaffection 


302  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

to  his  governineat  to  produce  its  effect ;  his  diminished  resources  will 
have  decreased  his  means  of  corruption,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that 
he  will  be  engaged  single-handed  against  insurgent  France  and  all 
Europe. 

"  There  is  another  view  of  this  subject,  however,  and  that  is,  the 
continuance  of  the  existing  war,  and  the  line  to  be  adopted  in  that 
case.  At  the  present  moment  it  is  quite  impossible  for  me  to  move  at 
all.  Although  the  army  was  never  in  such  health,  heart,  and  condition 
^s  at  present,  and  it  is  probable  the  most  complete  machine  for  its 
numbers  now  existing  in  Europe,  the  rain  has  so  completely  destroyed 
the  roads,  that  I  cannot  move  ;  and,  at  all  events,  it  is  desirable,  be- 
fore I  go  farther  forward,  that  I  should  know  what  the  allies  propose 
to  do  in  the  winter,  which,  I  conclude,  I  shall  have  from  your  Lord- 
ship as  soon  as  the  King's  Government  shall  be  made  acquainted  with 
their  intentions,  by  the  Kings  diplomatic  servants  abroad.  As  I  shall 
move  forward,  whether  in  the  winter  or  the  spring,  I  can  inquire  and 
ascertain  more  fully  the  sentiments  of  the  people,  and  the  Govern- 
ment can  either  empower  me  to  decide  to  raise  the  Bourbon  standard, 
or  can  decide  the  question  hereafter  themselves,  after  they  shall  have 
all  the  information  before  them  which  I  can  send  them  of  the  senti- 
ments and  wishes  of  the  people. 

"  I  can  only  tell  you  that,  if  I  were  a  Prince  of  the  House  of  Bour- 
bon, nothing  should  prevent  me  from  now  coming  forward,  not  in  a 
good  house  in  London,  but  in  the  field  in  France  ;  and  if  Great  Britain 
should  stand  by  him,  I  am  certain  he  would  succeed.  The  success 
would  be  much  more  certain  in  a  month  or  more  hence,  when  Napo- 
leon commences  to  carry  into  execution  the  oppressive  measures  which 
he  must  adopt  in  order  to  try  to  retrieve  his  fortunes." 

That  the  position  of  Napoleon  at  this  juncture  may  be  clearly  un- 
derstood, we  must  recur  to  the  operations  in  Germany,  of  which  no- 
thing has  been  said  since  the  close  of  the  negotiations  at  Prague. 

When  the  league  was  formed  to  eflfect  the  speedy  deliverance  of 
Europe,  General  Moreau,'  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who  liad  been 
residing  in  America,  was  recalled  at  the  instance  of  the  Emperor 


1  Moreau,  an  admirable  military  tactician,  commanded  a  volunteer  legion  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution.  Attracting  the  notice  of  Pichcgru,  he  was  soon  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  General  of  Division,  and  in  1792  distinguished  himself  at  the  liead  of  25,000  men,  by  the 
reduction  of  several  strong  places  in  Flanders.  lie  next  commanded  the  armies  of  the  Rhine 
and  Moselle,  and  in  1790  defeated  the  Austrian  General  VVurmser.  Supposed  to  be  impli- 
cated in  Pichegru's  plot  for  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon  princes,  he  retired  from  the  array. 
When,  however,  Napoleon  returned  from  Egypt,  ha  accepted  the  tender  of  Moreau's  servicea 


1813.]  BATTLE  OF  DRESDEN.  303 

Alexander,  to  aid  the  emancipation  of  France  ;  Jomini,  a  Swiss,  better 
known  afterwards  by  his  military  writings,  likewise  passed  over  to  the 
allies.  The  Emperor  of  Russia  was  by  his  position,  courage,  and 
energy,  the  fittest  man  to  command  the  allies,  but  the  circumstance 
of  his  having  called  these  two  distinguished  soldiers  to  his  councils, 
excited  the  jealousy  of  Austria ;  and  the  Emperor,  rather  than  that 
any  disagreement  should  arise,  assented  to  the  chief  command  being 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Prince  Schwartzenberg. 

The  first  movement  of  the  allies  was  directed  upon  Dresden.  They 
approached  the  town  with  an  immense  force,  and  after  a  very  heavy 
conflict  with  the  French,  under  Napoleon  in  person,  were  driven  back 
with  severe  loss.  General  Moreau  was  among  the  killed  !'  He  was 
conversing  with  the  Emperor  Alexander  when  a  cannon  shot  shattered 
both  his  legs.  Amputation  was  tried  :  it  was  of  no  avail.  Mortifi- 
cation ensued,  and  Moreau  died  five  days  afterwards.''     Contemporary 

to  effect  the  revolution  of  the  18th  Brumaire,  and  procured  him  the  command  of  the  armies 
of  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine.  At  their  bead,  he  defeated  the  Austrians  at  Hohenlinden,  in 
1800— 

"  When  Bhooli  the  hills,  with  thunder  riven. 

When  rushed  the  steed  to  battle  driven. 

And,  louder  than  the  bolts  of  Heaven, 

Far  flashed  the  red  artillery  1" 

Napoleon  admired,  but  was  jealous  of  Moreau,  and  a  charge  was  established  against  him  in 
1804,  that  he  had  intrigued  with  the  Royalists.  He  was  tried,  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment. 
The  sentence  was  commuted  into  banishment,  and  he  went  to  America. 

1  An  anecdote  here  occurs  to  us  appositely  distinctive  of  the  characters  of  the  two  great 
warriors  of  modern  times.  At  the  battle  of  Dresden,  Napoleon  perceived  a  group  of 
distinguished  officers  ride  up  to  a  conspicuous  point,  where  they  paused,  and  appeared 
to  be  making  a  reconnoissance.  Pointing  to  the  place,  he  called  out  to  the  officer 
directing  a  battery  of  artillery  close  at  hand,  "  Jetez-moi  une  douzaine  de  boulets,  la,  a 
la  foist  II  y  a  peut-etre  quelques  petits  generaux!''^  "Throw  a  dozen  of  bullets,  yonder, 
all  at  once.  There  are,  perhaps,  some  little  generals  among  them !"  He  was  obeyed,  and 
Moreau  was  killed.  At  Waterloo,  the  colonel  commanding  the  British  artillery  observed  to 
the  Duke,  "  I  have  got  the  exact  range  of  the  spot  where  Bonaparte  and  his  staff  are  standing. 
If  your  Grace  will  allow  me,  I  think  I  can  pick  some  of  them  off."  "No,  no,"  replied  he, 
"  generals-in-chief  have  something  else  to  do  in  a  great  battle  besides  firing  at  each  other." — 
Dublin  University  Magazine. 

2  Moreau's  body  was  embalmed,  and  subsequently  buried  in  the  Catholic  Church  of  St 
Petersburg,  by  order  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  who  announced  the  death  of  the  General  to  his 
widow,  and  presented  her  with  500,000  roubles  (-20,000/.),  in  addition  to  a  pension  of  300O  roubles. 
The  letter  of  Alexander  communicating  the  tidings  of  Moreau's  death,  was  eloquent  and  generous. 
He  was  evidently  a  great  admirer  of  Moreau's  talents : — 

"  He  died  as  he  lived,  in  the  full  vigour  of  a  strong  and  steady  mind.  There  is  but  one 
remedy  for  the  great  miseries  of  life— that  of  seeing  them  participated.  In  Russia,  Madam,  you 
will  find  these  sentiments  everywhere  ;  and  if  it  suit  you  to  fix  your  residence  there,  I  will 
do  all  in  my  power  to  embellish  the  existence  of  a  personage  of  whom  I  make  it  ray  sacred 
duty  to  be  the  consoler  and  the  support.  I  entreat  you.  Madam,  to  rely  upon  it  irrevocably, 
never  to  let  me  be  in  ignorance  of  any  circumstance  in  which  I  can  be  of  any  use  to  you,  and  to 


304  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813 

•with  these  transactions,  General  Vandamme  was  defeated  by  the 
Russians  and  Prussians  at  Culm ;  Marshal  Macdonald,  in  Silesia, 
was  overthrown  at  Katzbach  by  the  Prussians,  under  Marshal 
Bliicher,  and  Oudinot  was  repulsed  by  Bernadotte,  the  Crown  Prince 
of  Sweden  and  General  Bulow,  in  an  attempt  upon  Berlin,  the 
Prussian  capital.  The  French  lost  nearly  30,000  men  in  these  three 
unsuccessful  encounters,  besides  many  guns,  trophies,  and  warlike 
stores.  The  triumph  at  Dresden  was  entirely  neutralised  by  such 
disasters.  And  they  were  followed  by  misfortunes  to  Napoleon's 
arms  of  still  greater  moment.  In  a  severe  battle  fought  at  Dennewitz, 
Marshal  Ney,  who  had  superseded  Oudinot,  was  beaten  with  very 
heavy  loss  by  Bernadotte,  and  a  serious  partisan  warfare  having 
sprung  up  in  Leipsic  and  in  Westphalia,  and  Russian  reserves  being 
on  their  way  from  Poland  under  General  Benningsen,  Bonaparte  began 
to  lose  something  of  that  decision  which  had  hitherto  been  his  leading 
characteristic,  and  one  of  the  keys  to  his  fortune.  In  ignorance  of 
the  movements  and  strength  of  the  enemy — uncertain  where  to  deliver 
or  to  receive  battle — he  oscillated  in  purpose,  and  marched  and 
countermarched  his  troops  continually,  until,  thinned  by  fatigue, 
sickness,  and  the  sword,  their  spirits  began  to  sink,  and  their  generals 
to  avow  their  inability  to  undertake  the  offensive  with  any  prospect 
of  success. 

The  good  fortune  which  had  attended  the  northern  allies,  and  the 
indecision  which  was  evident  at  the  French  head  quarters,  gave  the 
former  an  opportunity  of  settling  a  course  of  action  which  seemed 
calculated  to  bring  matters  to  an  issue.  The  invasion  of  Saxony  was 
resolved  upon.  The  forces  assembled  in  Bohemia,  after  the  junction 
of  the  Russian  reserves,  amounted  to  150,000  men.  With  these  the 
invasion  was  to  be  effected,  while  Marshal  Bliicher  and  Bernadotte 
occupied  the  northern  part  of  Germany  with  an  equal  amount  of 
Prussians  and  Swedes. 

Napoleon,  aroused  from  his  mental  paralysis,  now  resolved  upon 
attacking  Berlin,  while  Murat  was  detached  to  check  the  allies  in 
Bohemia,  and  upon  the  7th  of  October,  the  French  Emperor  com- 
menced his  march  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plan.  But  he  was  again 
fated  to  disappointment.  Bavaria,  menaced  by  Austria,  found  herself 
compelled  to  join  the  Grand  Alliance,  and  the  lesser  German  States 
were  gradually  withdrawing  their  confidence  and  friendship.    Napoleon 

write  directly  to  mc  always.  To  anticipate  your  wishes  will  be  a  pleasure  to  me.  The  friendship 
I  vowed  to  your  husband  exists  beyond  the  grave ;  and  I  have  no  other  means  of  showing  it, 
at  least  in  part,  towards  him,  than  by  doing  everything  in  my  power  to  ensure  the  welfare  of 
bis  family." 


1813.]  BATTLE   OF   LEIPSIC.  305 

instantly  retraced  his  steps  to  tlie  Rhine,  and  reached  the  city  of 
Leipsic,  where  Murat  and  Augereau  and  Marmont  joined  him  with 
80.000  men.  This  accession  raised  his  force  to  140.000  infantry, 
35,000  cavalry,  and  720  guns.  They  were  spread  for  many  miles 
over  the  country  around  Leipsic,  and  occupied  advantageous  positions. 
Yet  were  the  allies  in  far  greater  strength.  Not  less  than  230,000 
men  and  1300  pieces  of  artillery  constituted  the  army  of  the  con- 
federacy, and  even  this  force  was  augmented  when  Bernadotte,  who 
was  always  tardily  moving  in  the  rear  of  Blucher,  came  up. 

On  the  15th  of  October,  a  signal  of  two  rockets  announced 
to  the  allied  armies,  respectively  under  the  command  of  Prince 
Schwartzenburg  and  Marshal  Blucher,  that  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness for  an  attack,  and  on  the  16th  the  battle  began.  To  say  that 
the  French  fought  with  determined  bravery,  only  giving  ground  be- 
fore superior  nuinbers,  and  often,  by  their  intrepid  charges,  placing 
large  bodies  of  the  allies  in  peril,  is  only  to  repeat  what  has  often 
been  i-ecorded  of  Napoleon's  splendid  legions.  From  nine  a  m.  until 
night-fall  they  confronted  the  northern  batteries  with  heroic  courage 
and  devotion.  At  length,  overpowered  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  they 
fell  back  behind  the  Partha  with  the  loss  of  20  guns,  and  4000  killed 
and  wounded,  besides  losing  2000  prisoners.  Stunned  with  the  disas- 
ter. Napoleon  sent  proposals  for  an  armistice,  engaging  to  evacuate 
Germany,  and  retire  behind  the  Rhine.  The  proposal  was  not  enter- 
tained for  one  moment.  Napoleon  then  contracted  the  line  of  defence, 
and  arrayed  his  troops  in  front  of  Leipsic,  with  the  defect  of  having 
only  a  single  issue  in  his  rear. 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  October,  the  allies  attacked  Napo- 
leon in  his  new  position.  Never,  perhaps,  had  so  many  troops  been 
brought  into  the  field  in  one  and  the  same  engagement.  The  French, 
reduced  to  160,000  men,  were  assailed  by  nearly  280,000,  and  1400 
pieces  of  artillery.  Against  such  odds  the  most  distinguished  valour 
was  unavailing.  Poniatowski  was  driven  back  by  the  allied  left  under 
the  Prince  of  Hesse-Homberg ;  three  times  was  the  centre  of  the 
French  dislodged  back  from  its  position,  and  three  times  did  it  regain 
its  ground.  The  Prussian  Zeithen  with  his  Hussars,  and  some  thou- 
sands of  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  under  their  Hetman  Platoff,  furiously 
attacked  the  French  left,  and  Schwartzenburg  from  the  heights  around 
Leipsic  poured  an  iron  hail  from  800  guns  of  large  calibre  upon  the 
massed  bodies  of  French  infantry.  Elsewhere,  Ney  and  Marmont 
■were  vainly  endeavouring  to  stem  the  torrent  of  war  urged  by 
Blucher  and  Bernadotte.  The  world  has  never  seen  so  dreadful  a 
battle  as  that  of   Leipsic.     Before   nightfall   Napoleon's   army  had 

VOL.  I.  W 


306  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813 

been  driven  close  to  the  town  with  terrible  loss.  The  city  was  filled 
with  the  wounded,  and  thousands  struggled  along  the  road  leading  to 
Lindenau.  It  was  an  awful  moment  for  Napoleon.  Holding  a  coun- 
cil of  war  by  a  bivouac  fire  on  the  field,  he  decided  to  retreat,  and  the 
next  morning  issued  from  the  town,  after  taking  a  farcM'ell  of  the 
King  of  Saxony.  Lauriston,  Macdonald,  and  Poniatowski  remained  to 
resist  the  allies,  who  now,  intoxicated  with  joy,  poured  into  the  town, 
overcoming  all  barriers,  and  driving  out  every  Frenchman  upon  the 
river  Elster.  Unfortunately,  the  stone  bridge  leading  to  Lindenau 
had  been  prematurely  blown  up.  Poniatowski  perished  in  the  stream. 
Lauriston  and  Regnier,  with  28.000  men,  were  made  prisoners.  The 
loss  of  the  French  at  the  battle  of  Leipsic  was  60,000  men  and 
officers,  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners. 

Blucher  pursued  the  retiring  French  army  to  the  Rhine.  Napoleon 
halted  at  Ernfurth,  and  reorganised  his  army,  now  reduced  to  90,000 
soldiers.  The  enemy  pressed  upon  him.  In  two  days  the  French 
were  on  their  hasty  march  to  the  Maine.  The  Cossacks,  who  had 
tasted  the  blood  of  France  in  Russia  harassed  them  vigorously,  and 
before  the  retiring  force  had  got  through  the  Thuringian  forest,  it 
was  reduced  to  50,000.  As  it  advanced  towards  Mayence  a  new 
trouble  arose.  The  Bavarians,  united  with  the  Austrians,  occupied 
the  oak  forest  near  Hanau,  and  blocked  up  the  line  of  retreat.  The 
danger  of  the  French  positions  animated  them  to  renewed  exertions. 
Fighting  their  way  through  the  forest,  they  overthrew  the  allied  force, 
45,000  strong,  and  made  their  way  to  Hanau,  killing  and  taking 
prisoners  some  10.000  Austro-Bavarians.  The  French  were  well 
commanded.  Victor,  Mortier,  Macdonald,  Marmont,  and  Sebas- 
tiani,  headed  their  columns.  Marshal  Wrede,  who  led  the  allies,  was 
their  inferior  in  military  skill.  But  there  was  no  advantage  to  be 
taken  of  the  battle  of  Hanau  ;  it  only  simplified  the  retreat,  which  was 
then  continued  without  interruption.  At  Mayence,  Napoleon  quitted 
his  army,  and  proceeded  to  Paris  on  the  9th  of  November.  Imme- 
diately upon  his  arrival,  he  summoned  his  council,  and  urged  the 
importance  of  vigorous  measures  and  vast  sacrifices  to  avoid  further 
calamity.  The  vaults  of  the  Tuilleries  were  filled  with  gold.  Ex- 
tracting thirty  millions  of  francs  from  this  invaluable  mine,  and 
imposing  new  taxes,  he  procured  the  vote  of  a  conscription  of 
300,000  more,  declaring  to  the  country  that  peace  could  not  be 
established  until  the  allies  were  driven  back,  and  Munich  laid  in 
ashes. 

From  Leipsic  the  allied  sovereigns  proceeded  triumphantly  to 
Frankfort,  and  after  communicating  to  Napoleon  the  basis  on  whicl 


1813.]  DECLARATION   OF  THE   ALLIES.  307 

they  were  prepared  to  listen  to  negotiations  for  peace,  they  thus  ad- 
dressed the  French  nation  : — 

"  The  French  Government  has  ordered  a  new  levy  of  300,000  con- 
scripts. The  motives  of  the  scnatus  consultum  to  that  effect  contain 
an  appeal  to  the  allied  powers.  They,  therefore,  find  themselves  called 
upon  to  promulgate,  in  the  face  of  the  world,  the  views  which  guide 
them  in  the  present  war,  the  principles  which  form  the  basis  of  their 
conduct,  their  wishes,  and  their  determinations. 

"  The  allied  powers  do  not  make  war  upon  France,  but  against  that 
preponderance,  haughtily  announced,  —  against  that  preponderance, 
which,  to  the  misfortune  of  Europe,  and  of  France,  the  Emperor  Na- 
poleon has  too  long  exercised  beyond  the  limits  of  his  empire. 

"  Victory  has  conducted  the  allied  armies  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine.  The  first  use  which  their  imperial  and  royal  Majesties  have 
made  of  victory,  has  been  to  offer  peace  to  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  the  French.  An  attitude  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  all  the 
sovereigns  and  princes  of  Germany,  has  had  no  influence  on  the  con- 
ditions of  that  peace.  These  conditions  are  founded  on  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  French  empire,  as  well  as  on  the  independence  of  the 
other  states  of  Europe.  The  views  of  the  powers  are  just  in  their 
object,  generous  and  liberal  in  their  application,  giving  security  to  all, 
honourable  to  each. 

"  The  allied  sovereigns  desire  that  France  may  be  great,  powerful, 
and  happy  ;  because  the  French  power,  in  a  state  of  greatness  and 
strength,  is  one  of  the  foundations  of  the  social  edifice  of  Europe. 
They  wish  that  France  may  be  happy, — that  French  commerce  may 
revive, — that  the  arts,  those  blessings  of  peace,  may  again  flourish  ; 
because  a  great  people  can  only  be  tranquil  in  proportion  as  it  is  hap- 
py. The  powers  confirm  to  the  French  empire  an  extent  of  territory 
which  France  under  her  kings  never  knew  ;  because  a  valiant  nation 
does  not  fall  from  its  rank,  by  having  in  its  turn  experienced  reverses 
in  an  obstinate  and  sanguinary  contest,  in  which  it  has  fought  with  its 
accustomed  bravery. 

"  But  the  allied  powers  also  wish  to  be  free,  tranquil,  and  happy 
themselves.  They  desire  a  state  of  peace  which,  by  a  wise  partition  of 
strength,  by  a  just  equilibrium,  may  henceforward  preserve  their  people 
from  the  numberless  calamities  which  have  overwhelmed  Europe  for 
the  last  twenty  years. 

•'  The  allied  powers  will  not  lay  down  their  arms  until  they  have 
attained  this  great  and  beneficial  result,  this  noble  object  of  their 
efforts.  They  will  not  lay  down  their  arms  until  the  political  state  of 
Europe  be  re-established  anew,— until  immovable  principles  have  re- 


308  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

sumed  their  rights  over  vain  pretensions, — until  the  sanctity  of  treaties 
shall  have  at  last  secured  a  real  peace  to  Europe." 

Napoleon  hesitated  to  reply  to  the  allies — he  wished  to  gain  time, 
The  allies  placed  a  limit  to  the  period  when  a  reply  was  expected,  and 
the  time  passing  before  the  French  Emperor  came  to  any  decision,  the 
Rhine  was  passed.  From  this  moment,  Napoleon  no  longer  found 
willing,  servile,  and  terrified  agents  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
They  raised  their  voices  against  the  conscriptions,  denounced  the 
occupation  of  Germany  and  Holland,  and  excited  Napoleon's  wrath 
to  so  great  a  pitch,  that  he  dissolved  the  Chamber  on  the  1st  of  Jan- 
vvv    I8I4. 


1813.1 


PUBLIC   OPINION  IN  ENGLAND. 


309 


CHAPTER  XIX 


The  feeling  in  England— CanniDg's  Speech— Passage  of  the  Nive— Combats  of  Barroulihet, 
Arcangues,  and  St.  Pierre — Battle  of  Orthes — Declaration  for  the  Bourbons— Remonstrance 
with  the  Duo  D'AngoulSme. 

HE  feelings  of  the  people  of 
England  had  undergone  a 
very  great  change  since  the 
meeting  of  Parliament  in  the 
winter  of  1812.  Materially 
influenced  by  the  successes 
of  Lord  Wellington,  they 
had,  as  has  been  shown, 
viewed  with  dismay  and  sor- 
row the  retreat  from  Burgos. 
They  had  begun  to  believe 
the  cause  of  Spain  quite 
hopeless,  and  to  regard  with 
indiflference  the  operations  of 
the  allies.  The  determination  shown  by  Ministers  and  the  Par- 
liament to  uphold  Lord  Wellington  changed  the  current  of  senti- 
ment. As  reinforcement  after  reinforcement  quitted  England  to 
join  the  army  on  the  Douro,  the  people  began  to  cherish  an  expecta- 
tion of  a  triumphant  termination  of  the  war,  and  their  desire  to 
forward  the  great  objects  in  view  augmented  with  the  successful 
progress  of  the  arms  of  Russia  and  Prussia  in  another  part  of  the 
continent.  Many  millions  of  public  treasure  had  been  expended 
since  war  was  declared  against  France  in  1794,  and  taxation  had 
reached  an  oppressive  height.  The  vast  wealth  and  energies  of  the 
country  were,  however,  neither  exhausted  nor  paralysed.  When 
occasion  appeared  to  demand  it,  money  was  always  forthcoming. 
Private  subscriptions  were  poured  forth  freely  and  largely  in  aid  of 
public  expenditure,  and  whether  the  outlay  was  to  give  immediate 


SIO  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

aid  to  Englishmen  or  to  foreigners,  the  assistance  was  equally  prompt 
and  munificent,  so  long  as  the  supplies  were  to  be  devoted  to  the 
prostration  of  Napoleon's  power.  Thus,  when  the  Spanish  deputies 
came  over  in  1808  to  seek  assistance  in  repelling  French  invasion, 
the  arsenals,  fleets,  and  squadrons  of  the  country  were  at  once  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Peninsula.  All  that  Spain  could  demand,  or 
England  afford,  was  granted  without  hesitation.  The  Ministry 
found  that  to  be  alert  and  profuse,  was  to  be  universally  popular. 
From  the  King  on  the  throne  to  the  pauper  in  the  streets  the 
enthusiasm  was  universal.  The  Austrian  deputies  had  not  been  iu 
London  many  days  before  300,000/.  had  been  subscribed,  and 
thousands  of  muskets,  pikes,  and  a  large  supply  of  ammunition  put 
on  b8ard  vessels  for  despatch  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  AVhat  followed 
is  sufiSciently  described  in  the  foregoing  pages.  Again,  when  Russia 
had  commenced  her  patriotic  struggle  with  France,  50,000  stands  of 
arms  were  presented  to  her  as  tokens  of  British  sympathy  ;  and  as 
60on  as  the  alliance  had  been  formed  between  Russia,  Prussia,  and 
Sweden,  a  subsidy  of  two  millions  sterling  was  granted  to  the  latter 
country,  and  a  like  sum  to  the  two  former  conjointly,  while  the  issue 
of  Prussian  paper  to  the  value  of  5,000,000/.  was  guaranteed  by  Great 
Britain,  and,  thus  secured,  immediately  passed  at  par  with  specie 
throughout  Northern  Europe — a  memorable  instance  of  the  effect  of 
national  credit,  and  of  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  this  country. 

England  had  her  first  instalment  of  recompense  for  this  generous 
*o-operation  in  the  results  of  the  battle  of  Vittoria,  and  the  opera- 
tions in  the  Pyrenees ;  and  the  battle  of  Leipsic  came  opportunely  to 
confirm  her  impression  of  the  wisdom  of  her  prodigality.  The  meet- 
ing of  Parliament  in  1813  afforded  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  eloquent 
expression  of  public  satisfaction  and  public  approbation.  The  bril- 
liant oratory  of  Grenville,  Wellesley,  Grant,  and  Canning,  happily 
embodied  the  national  sentiment.  All  party  conflicts  were  for  the 
moment  swallowed  up  and  lost.  Those  persons  who  had,  on  previous 
occasions,  during  the  course  of  the  protracted  struggle,  caHed  upon 
Parliament  to  pause — to  retard  its  too  rapid  and  too  rash  advance — 
manfully  and  honestly  stepped  forward  to  join  their  congratulations 
to  the  joyful  intonations  of  the  people ;  while  the  staunch  friends  of 
opposition  to  Napoleon,  and  the  advocates  of  a  common  cause  with 
all  Europe,  were  still  more  grateful.  Canning,  glowing  with  generous 
delight,  rose  above  himself  He,  the  most  constant  and  manful  of 
the  champions  of  resistance,  felt  the  true  importance  of  the  position 
that  had  been  attained  by  the  courageous,  and  steady  and  skilful 
efforts  of  Wellington  and  the  allied  armies,  and  gave  utterance  to 


1813.]  CANNING'S   SPEECH.  311 

his  sentiments  in  burning  and  soul-breathing  words,  which  found  a 
prompt  echo  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  kingdom. 

"  Peace,"  said  Canning,  "  is  safe  now,  because  it  is  not  dictated  ; 
peace  is  safe  now,  for  it  is  the  fruit  of  exertion — the  child  of  victory ; 
peace  is  safe  now,  because  it  will  not  be  purchased  at  the  expense  of 
the  interest  and  of  the  honour  of  the  empire  ;  it  is  not  the  ransom  to 
buy  off  danger,  but  the  fruit  of  the  mighty  means  which  we  have 
employed  to  drive  danger  from  our  shores.  I  must,  with  heartfelt 
delight,  congratulate  my  country,  that,  groaning  as  she  has  done  at 
former  periods  under  the  heavy  pressure  of  adverse  men,  still,  peace 
was  despaired  of  ;  for  who  could  think  of  submission.  Her  strength 
— her  endurance — had  been  tried  and  proved  by  every  mode  of  as- 
sault that  the  most  refined  system  of  hostility  could  invent;  not  only 
by  open  military  attacks,  but  by  low  attempts  to  destroy  her  commer- 
cial prosperity.  The  experiment  has  been  made  ;  the  experiment  has 
failed  ;  and  we  are  now  triumphantly,  but  not  arrogantly,  to  consider 
what  measures  of  security  should  be  adopted,  or  on  what  terms  a 
pea<ce  should  be  concluded. 

"  But  has  this  country  gained  nothing  by  the  glorious  contest, 
even  supposing  peace  should  be  far  distant  1  Is  it  nothing  to  Great 
Britain,  even  purchased  at  so  large  a  price,  that  her  military  character 
has  been  exalted?  Is  it  no  satisfaction — no  compensation  to  her — 
to  reflect  that  the  splendid  scenes  displayed  on  the  Continent  are 
owing  to  her  efforts  ? — that  the  victories  of  Grermany  are  to  be  attri- 
buted to  our  victories  in  the  Peninsula  1  That  spark,  often  feeble, 
and  sometimes  so  nearly  extinguished  as  to  excite  despair  in  all 
hearts  that  were  not  above  it,  —  that  spark  which  was  lighted  in 
Portugal — which  was  fed  and  nourished  there — has  at  length  burst 
into  a  flame  that  has  dazzled  and  illuminated  Europe.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  this  war,  our  empire  rested  upon  one  majestic  column 
— our  naval  power.  In  the  prosecution  of  the  war,  a  hero  has  raised 
another  stupendous  pillar  of  strength  to  support  our  monarchy — our 
military  pre-eminence.  It  is  now,  that  we  may  boast  not  only  of 
superiority  at  sea,  but  on  shore  ;  the  same  energy  and  heroism  exist 
in  both  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  ;  they  are  rivals  in  strength,  but 
inseparable  in  glory.  Out  of  the  calamities  of  war  has  arisen  a  prin- 
ciple of  safety,  that,  superior  to  all  attacks,  shall  survive  through 
ages,  and  to  which  our  posterity  shall  look  forward.  Compare  the 
situation  of  England  with  her  condition  at  the  renewal  of  the  war  ! 
Were  we  not  then  threatened  by  the  aggressions  of  an  enemy  even 
upon  our  own  shores — were  we  not  then  trembling  for  the  safety  and 
sanctity  even  of  our  homes  ?    Now,  contemplate  Wellington  encamped 


312  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1812 

on  the  Bidassoa  !  I  know  that  a  sickly  sensibility  leads  some  to 
doubt  whether  the  advance  of  Lord  Wellington  was  not  rash  and 
precipitate.  I  cannot  enter  into  that  refinement  which  induces  those 
who  aflfect  to  know  much  to  hesitate  upon  this  subject.  I  cannot 
look  with  regret  upon  a  British  army  encamped  upon  the  fertile  plains 
of  France.  I  cannot  believe  that  any  new  grounds  for  apprehension 
are  raised  by  an  additional  excitement  being  afibrded  to  the  irrita- 
bility of  the  French  people.  I  foresee  no  disadvantage  from  entering 
the  territories  of  an  enemy,  not  as  the  conquered  but  as  the  con 
querors  !  I  cannot  regret  that  the  Portuguese  are  now  looking  upon 
the  walls  of  Bayonne,  that  circle  in  those  invaders  which  would  have 
devastated  their  capital, — that  the  Portuguese  now  behold,  planted 
on  the  towers  of  Bayonne,  the  standard  which  their  enemy  would 
have  made  to  float  upon  the  walls  of  Lisbon.  I  cannot  think  it  a 
matter  of  regret  that  the  Spaniards  are  now  recovering  from  the 
grasp  of  an  enemy  on  his  own  shores,  that  diadem  which  was  stripped 
from  the  brow  of  the  Bourbons,  to  be  pocketed  by  an  usurper  !  I 
cannot  think  it  a  matter  of  regret  that  England,  formerly  threateij^ed 
with  an  invasion,  is  now  the  invader, — that  France,  instead  of  Eng- 
land, is  the  scene  of  conflict !  I  cannot  think  all  this  matter  of  regret ; 
and  of  those  who  believe  that  the  nation  or  myself  are  blinded  by  our 
successes,  I  entreat  that  they  will  leave  me  to  my  delusion,  and  keep 
their  philosophy  to  themselves. 

"  That  enemy,  who  enslaved  the  press,  and  made  it  contribute  so 
importantly  to  his  own  purposes  of  ambition,  endeavoured  to  impress 
upon  other  nations  a  belief  that  Great  Britain  fought  only  to  secure 
her  own  interests,  and  that  her  views  were  completely  selfish.  That 
illusion  is  now  destroyed,  and  the  designs  of  this  country  are  vindicated. 
We  call  on  all  the  powers  with  whom  we  have  been  and  are  at  war, 
to  do  us  justice  in  this  respect ;  above  all  we  claim  it  of  America ! 
I  ask  her  to  review  her  own  and  the  policy  of  this  country  !  Let  her 
turn  from  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  horror,  and  compare  with  them 
the  efi"ect  of  British  interference  !  She  will  see  that  wherever  this 
country  has  exerted  herself,  it  has  been  to  raise  the  fallen  and  support 
the  falling  ;  to  raise,  not  to  degrade  the  national  character  ;  to  rouse 
the  sentiments  of  patriotism  which  tyranny  had  silenced  ;  to  enlighten, 
to  reanimate,  to  liberate.  Great  Britain  has  resuscitated  Spain,  and 
recreated  Portugal ;  Germany  is  now  a  nation  as  well  as  a  name  ;  and 
all  these  glorious  efi"ects  have  been  produced  by  the  efibrts  and  by  the 
example  of  our  country.  If  to  be  the  deliverers  of  Europe  ;  if  to  have 
raised  our  own  national  character,  not  upon  the  ruins  of  other  king- 
doms ;  if  to  meet  dangers  without  shrinking,  and  to  possess  courage 


1813.]  LETTERS  TO  DUMOURIER.  313 

rising  with  difficulties,  be  admirable,  surely  we  may  not  unreason- 
ably hope  for  the  applause  of  the  world.  If  we  have  founded  our 
strength  upon  a  rock,  and  possess  the  implicit  confidence  of  those 
allies  whom  we  have  succoured  when  they  seemed  beyond  relief, 
then  I  say  that  our  exertions  during  the  last  year,  and  all  our 
efforts  during  the  war,  are  cheaply  purchased  ;  if  we  have  burdened 
ourselves,  we  have  relieved  others  ;  and  we  have  the  reward,  the 
soul-felt,  the  proud  satisfaction,  of  knowing  that  a  selfish  charge  is 
that  which,  with  the  faintest  shadow  of  justice,  cannot  be  brought 
against  us." 

The  thanks  of  Parliament  were  voted  by  acclamation  to  the  Mar- 
,quis  of  Wellington,  his  generals,  officers,  and  troops,  and  the  people 
rejoiced  as  much  as  if  the  despatches  had  actually  conveyed  the  news 
of  Napoleon's  fall. 

While  the  army  occupied  its  various  and  hurried  positions  on  the 
Nivelle — the  head-quarters  being  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz  (the  "  City  of 
Light,"  or,  as  Ford  calls  it,  "  the  City  of  3Iud"),  Lord  Wellington 
occasionally  varied  the  strict  duties  of  his  command  with  private  cor- 
respondence. To  none  does  he  seem  to  have  more  freely  imparted 
his  sentiments  on  the  war  than  to  General  Dumourier,  with  whom  he 
corresponded  in  excellent  French,  the  result  of  his  residence  at  An- 
glers. He  commented  on  the  affairs  of  Germany  and  Catalonia,  and 
spoke  of  the  probable  result  of  the  operations  in  those  quarters  with 
au  almost  prophetic  spirit.  A  spirit  of  sly  humour  pervaded  his 
letters  to  the  old  republican.  Catalonia  had  given  Lord  Wellington 
many  " mauvais  mornens"  and  he  often  thought  of  going  there. 
"  Perhaps,"  he  wrote,  "  if  I  only  considered  Spain,  I  ought  to  have 
gone  there,  because  Bonaparte  holds,  and  will  continue  to  hold,  in 
Catalonia,  certain  facilities  of  re-entering  Spain.  I  say  perhaps,  be- 
cause in  this  devil  of  a  country,  where  I  have  carried  on  war  for  five 
years,  I  have  always  found,  like  your  Henri  IV.,  '  that  with  little 
armies  we  accomplish  nothing,  and  with  great  ones  we  die  of  hunger  ;' 
and  I  feel  that,  with  the  means  at  my  disposal,  and  the  time  I  could 
give  to  the  task,  I  should  not  be  able  to  place  things  in  Catalonia 
upon  the  footing  on  which  they  should  be  to  enable  us  to  keep  in  the 
field  the  force  that  we  have  there,  and  that  we  ought  to  introduce  into 
the  country.  Besides,  purely  military  views  must  give  way  to  politi- 
cal considerations.  I  have  watched  the  progress  of  affairs  in  Germany, 
and  notwithstanding  the  grave  reverses  that  have  been  experienced,  I 
thought  I  perceived  the  germs  of  that  considerable  success  which  has 
since  been  attained." 

With  these  views  Lord  Wellington  tells  Dumourier  he  had  intended 


314  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

to  carry  the  war  into  France,  and  he  felt  that  he  had  it  in  his  power 
to  do  so  with  vigour. 

"I  think,"  concluded  he,  "that  we  are  approaching  the  termina- 
tion of  the  most  atrocious  and  disgusting  tyranny  that  ever  afflicted 
mankind." 

To  consummate  the  extinction  of  the  tyranny,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  give  himself  more  elbow-room,  Lord  Wellington,  on  the  8th  of  De- 
cember, moved  the  troops  out  of  their  cantonments.  The  weather  had 
improved.  The  materials  for  forming  pontoon  bridges  had  been  col- 
lected, and  the  swelling  of  the  rivers  had  subsided. 

Bayonne,'  the  possession  of  which  place  was  Wellington's  primary 
object,  was  occupied  by  the  French.  Since  the  battle  of  Vittoria,  the 
town  had  been  entrenched,  with  great  labour  ;  and  Marshal  Soult's 
position  was  now  both  strong  and  well  chosen.  It  was  in  front  of 
Bayonne,  its  right  resting  upon  the  Adour  ;  a  morass  covered  the 
space  between  the  town  and  St.  Jean  de  Luz.  Lord  Wellington  felt 
it  impossible  to  attack  the  enemy  thus  placed,  without  the  certainty 
of  great  loss,  and  even  then  he  was  far  from  confident  of  success, 
for  the  entrenched  camp  was  further  protected  by  the  guns  of  Bay- 
onne. It  therefore  occurred  to  him  to  pass  the  river  Nive,  so  as  to 
bring  the  right  of  his  own  position  upon  the  Adour,  by  which  opera- 
tion, the  enemy,  already  distressed  for  provisions,  would,  he  supposed, 
have  lost  the  means  of  communicating  with  the  interior,  afforded  by 
that  river,  and  would  thus  become  still  more  distressed.  Another 
advantage  which  this  measure  promised  was,  that  it  would  enable  the 
British  commander  to  open  a  communication  with  the  interior  of 
France  for  intelligence,  &c.,  and  thus  to  draw  some  supplies  from  the 
country. 

The  passage  of  the  Nive  was  entrusted  to  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  sup- 
ported by  Marshal  Beresford  .and  Sir  H.  Clinton.  To  Sir  John 
Hope  and  General  Alton  was  committed  the  task  of  driving  back  all 
the  French  advanced  posts  in  front  of  their  camp  between  the  Nive 
and  the  sea.  The  French  troops  were  posted  opposite  Ustaritz,  and 
from  Halzou  in  front  of  Laressore  to  the  fords  above  Cambo,  and  on 
some  heights  in  advance  of  Mousserolls,  and  were  severally  commanded 
by  Generals  D'Armagnac,  Foy,  Paris,  and  D'Erlon,  the  cavalry  under 

1  The  Basque  Bay-o-na,  "  the  good  port,"  standing  on  the  Nive  and  Adour.  Here  the  bayonet 
was  first  used.  Some  Basques  stuck  their  knives  in  the  muzzles  of  their  muskets.  The  Flem- 
ings and  French  improved  upon  this  system.  They  placed  the  bayonet  on  a  cylindrical  socket, 
■wliic>.  left  the  muzzle  of  the  musket  clear.  It  was  at  a  battle  in  Flanders,  in  William  the  Third's 
time,  that  the  English  troops  first  became  acquainted  with  the  new  method.  They  were  rather 
astonished  to  see  the  enemy /re,  and  then  charge  home. 


1813.]  PASSAGE  OF  THE  NIVE.  315 

Marshal  Soult's  brother,  Pierre.  The  pontoon  bridges  having  been 
laid  down  over  night,  the  passage  of  the  Nive  was  effected  without 
much  opposition  at  an  early  hour  of  the  9th  December.  At  mid-day 
Marshal  Soult  himself  appeared  and  offered  battle,  but  no  general 
fight  took  place,  because  the  deep  roads  retarded  the  rear  of  General 
Hill's  columns.  A  good  deal  of  irregular  skirmishing  and  isolated 
fighting  marked  the  remainder  of  the  day,  which  terminated  with  the 
loss  of  800  of  the  allies. 

For  five  successive  days  the  vicinity  of  the  Nive  and  the  Adour  was 
the  scene  of  conflicts  of  a  very  sharp  character.  At  Arcangues,  the 
Light  Division  commanded  by  General  Kempt,  maintained  an 
irregular  fight  with  Clauzel's  troops, — Colonel  Colborne  of  the  52nd 
distinguishing  himself  a* he  had  always  done.  At  Barrouilhet,  three 
distinct  combats  came  off.  Seldom  had  the  French  fought  with  so 
much  obstinacy.  The  9th  regiment  was  placed  in  imminent  danger 
through  the  rash  directions  of  a  Staff  officer.'  The  84th  got  into  a 
perilous  position,  and  a  number  of  the  Portuguese  were  cut  off.  The 
French  had  actually  at  one  time  got  possession  of  the  Barrouilhet,  but 
they  were  driven  out  through  the  bravery  and  perseverance  of  Sir 
John  Hope.  '•  Conspicuous  from  his  gigantic  stature  and  heroic 
courage,  he  was  seen  wherever  danger  pressed,  encouraging  the  troops  ; 
at  one  time  he  was  in  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  his  clothes  were  pierced 
with  bullets,  and  he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  ankle,  yet  he  would 
not   quit   the  field,   and   thus,   by  his  calm  intrepidity  restored  the 

1  Lord  Wellington  does  not  appear  to  have  been  fortimate  in  tlie  selection  of  the  subordinate 
officers  of  his  Staff.  He  had  good  Aides-de-Camp,  and  an  excellent  Adjutant-General  and 
Quartermaster  General,  in  Generals  Packenham  and  George  Murray,  but,  to  judge  from  the 
following  letter,  the  minor  offices  were  not  satisfactorily  filled : 

"I  have  to  animadvert  on  the  negligent  conduct  of  the  Staff  officers.  It  is  a  fact,  that 
some  Divisions,  afler  being  on  their  feet  from  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  having 
marched,  over  swamps  and  through  rivers,  until  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  under  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain,  were  kept  waiting  for  the  officers  of  the  Staff  whose  business  it  was  to  show 
Divisions  where  to  bivouac  for  the  night.  I  have  heard  many  old  and  experienced  officers 
condemn,  in  strong  terms,  the  negligent  conduct  of  the  Staff  officers,  particularly  those  educated 
at  High  Wycombe.  The  remark  is  just,  that  those  gentlemen  are  generally  too  high-minded 
for  their  situation ;  they  all  aim  at  being  chiefs  of  departments,  instead  of  being,  as  they  are, 
subordinate ;  always  occupying  themselves  in  observations  on  positions.  And  the  observation 
is  correct,  that  if  active,  intelligent  officers  were  selected  from  the  line  to  fill  the  departments 
of  Quartermaster  General  and  Adjutants-General,  the  business  would  be  well  and  correctly 
done.  These  High  Wycombe  pedants  may  be  well  versed  in  the  theory,  but  many  of  them  are 
incompetent  to  the  practical  part,  either  in  respect  to  ability  or  activity:  you  may  depend 
upon  it,  that  is  the  general  sentiment  on  that  subject;  in  short,  I  believe  it  is  a  fact  well 
established,  this  a  youthful  Staff  is  the  ruin  of  an  army.  Taking,  therefore,  the  various 
retreats  we  have  made,  the  distressing  manner  in  which  they  have  been  conducted,  our  tardy 
method  of  pursuit,  our  mode  of  assaulting  fortified  places,  it  will  amount  to  this— that  we  have 
evinced  a  greater  ability  in  hard  fighting  than  any  other  points  of  war." 


316  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [181b. 

battle."  '  Lord  Wellington  could  not  help  noticing  the  indifference 
to  personal  danger  on  Hope's  part,  and  in  a  kindly  spirit  wrote  to  the 
Adjutant-General : — 

"  I  have  long  entertained  the  highest  opinion  of  Sir  John  Hope, 
in  common,  I  believe,  with  the  whole  world,  but  every  day's  experience 
convinces  me  of  his  worth.  We  shall  lose  him,  however,  if  he 
continues  to  expose  himself  in  fire  as  he  did  in  the  last  three  days : 
indeed  his  escape  was  then  most  wonderful.  His  hat  and  coat  were 
shot  through  in  many  places,  besides  the  wound  in  his  leg.  He 
places  himself  among  the  sharpshooters,  without,  as  they  do,  sheltering 
himself  from  the  enemy's  fire.  This  will  not  answer ;  and  I  hope  that 
his  friends  will  give  him  a  hint  on  the  subject." 

Perhaps  the  finest  of  the  five  days'  encQjinters  was  that  which 
has  been  called  the  battle  of  St.  Pierre.  Generals  Stewart,  Barry, 
and  Ashworth,  immortalised  themselves  by  their  valour.  General 
Abbe,  a  "  man  noted  for  vigour,"  at  the  head  of  heavy  columns  of 
infantry,  supported  by  guns,  furiously  assailed  Hill's  Divisions,  and 
in  spite  of  the  determined  attitude  of  the  50th  and  the  92nd  Regi- 
ments, and  the  gallantry  of  the  3rd  and  71st,  and  the  Portuguese 
Caqadores,  would  have  defeated  the  British,  had  not  the  Highlanders, 
suddenly  returning  to  the  attack,  with  colours  flying,  and  band 
playing,  raised  some  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the  French  commander 
as  to  the  amount  of  the  reserves  he  now  believed  to  be  coming  to  the 
attack.  Waving  his  sword,  he  commanded  a  retreat  at  the  very 
moment  when  victory  was  within  his  grasp  ! 

While  the  left  of  the  British  army  was  engaged  before  Bayonne, 
the  centre  and  right  under  the  personal  command  of  Lord  Wellington, 
effected  the  passage  of  the  Gave  d'Oleron,  on  the  24th  of  February, 
1814,  while  Soult  leaving  Bayonne,  drew  back  his  whole  force  to  the 
heights  of  Orthes,  behind  the  Gave  de  Pau,  and  here  awaited  the 
approach  of  Wellington.  At  day-break,  on  the  27th  of  the  month, 
the  British  Field  Marshal  was  in  his  presence,  with  37,000  men, 
including  4000  cavalry  and  48  guns.  Lord  Wellington  decided  upon 
an  immediate  attack.  The  left  wing  under  Marshal  Beresford, 
attacked  the  enemy's  right  at  St.  Boes,  while  the  3rd  and  6th 
Divisions  under  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  with  Lord  Edward  Somerset's  light 
cavalry,  were  directed  against  Soult's  left  and  centre.  The  British 
movements  were  ably  executed.  Hill  crossed  the  river  in  front  of 
the  French  left  and  turned  their  flank,  the  enemy  holding  their 
ground  with  great  obstinacy ;  while  the  allied  attack  was  as  remark- 
able  for  its  impetuosity.     A  final  and  protracted  struggle  ensued ; 

I  Napier. 


1813.]  WELLINGTON  WOUNDED.  3lV 

but  the  French  unable  to  sustain  the  combined  assault  of  the  allies, 
commenced  retreating  by  divisions,  and  contesting  every  inch  of 
ground  as  they  abandoned  it.  Hill's  parallel  march  was  speedily 
discovered,  and  as  that  movement  threatened  their  rear,  the  order 
of  the  retreat  was  accelerated,  and  gradually  assumed  the  character 
of  a  flight.  The  British  pressed  rapidly  forward — the  French  as 
quickly  fell  back — both  strove  to  gain  Sault  de  Navailles — and  though 
charged  by  the  English  cavalry,  the  enemy  crossed  the  Luy  de  Bearne 
before  Hill  could  succeed  in  coming  up.* 

The  defeat  of  the  French  was  decisive,  and  their  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  immense.  Six  guns  and  a  number  of  prisoners  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  British.  The  fugitive  foe  threw  away  their  arms,  and 
many  deserted  altogether.  Few  defeats  were  marked  by  more 
injurious  results  to  the  vanquished  than  those  attendant  upon  that  of 
Orthes. 

In  this  battle  Lord  Wellington  received  a  wound  from  a  spent  ball 
in  the  left  thigh.  It  had  penetrated  the  holster,  and  did  him  sufl&cient 
injury  to  confine  him  for  a  few  days  afterwards,  though  he  did  not 
at  the  moment  dismount  from  his  horse. 

At  the  time  that  these  operations  were  going  on  at  Orthes,  Sir 
John  Hope  invested  Bayonne  more  closely  than  he  had  hitherto 
done,  and  attacking  the  village  of  St.  Etienne  (capturing  a  gun  and 
some  prisoners  from  the  enemy),  he  established  his  post  within  900 
yards  of  the  outworks  of  the  place. 

The  result  of  all  the  successful  movements  was  that,  by  the  1st 
of  March,  the  army  having  passed  the  Adour,  was  in  possession  of  all 
the  great  communications  across  the  river.  Even  the  direct  road  to 
Bordeaux  was  open,  and  by  this  Marshal  Beresford  and  Lord 
Dalhousie,  with  their  respective  divisions,  advanced. 

Symptoms  of  a  decided  change  in  the  feelings  of  the  French  people 
in  regard  to  the  Napoleon  dynasty,  now  began  to  manifest  themselves. 
The  white  cockade,  the  Bourbon  emblem,  was  openly  worn,  in 
supersession  of  the  tri-color,  and  nothing  seemed  to  be  wanting  but 
some  specific  declaration  by  the  allies  of  their  espousal  of  the  Bourbon 
cause  to  induce  the  populace  to  pronounce  emphatically  for  the 
Restoration.  Lord  Wellington  saw  this,  and  urged  the  point  upon 
the  British  Ministry.  "Any  declaration  from  us  would,"  said  he 
to  Lord  Liverpool,  "  I  am  convinced,  raise  such  a  flame  in  the  country 
as  would  soon  spread  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  and  would 
infallibly  overturn  Napoleon."  And  then  came  one  of  those  pointed 
paragraphs  which  disclosed  the  decided  character  of  the  man.     He 

1  "  Victories  of  the  British  .■Vnnies,"  by  MaxweU. 


318  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1813. 

despised  the  idea  of  temporising  with  an  unscrupulous  enemy. 
Divide  et  impera  was  his  ruling  maxim  in  the  contest  with 
Napoleon  : — 

"  I  cannot  discover  the  policy  of  not  hitting  one's  enemy  as  hard  as 
one  can,  and  in  the  most  vulnerable  place.  I  am  certain  that  he 
would  not  so  act  by  us  if  he  had  the  opportunity.  He  would  certainly 
overturn  the  British  authority  in  Ireland  if  it  was  in  his  power." 

The  Due  d'Angouleme  had,  previous  to  this  time,  joined  Lord 
Wellington's  head  quarters  incog.,  with  the  view  of  taking " advantage 
of  the  advance  of  the  allies  to  proclaim  Louis  XVIII.,  under  covex 
of  their  arras.  He  now  proceeded  with  the  divisions  of  Beresford 
and  Dalhousie,  and  as  soon  as  he  reached  Bordeaux  Louis  XVIII. 
was  proclaimed  by  the  Mayor,  in  terms  which  left  it  to  be  inferred 
that  the  restoration  of  that  monarch  was  the  direct  object  of  the  allies. 

Considering  that  a  treaty  of  peace  was  negotiating  at  Chatillon 
with  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  this  proclamation  annoyed  Lord  Wellington 
exceedingly.  It  was  an  evil  he  contemplated,  and  had  taken  great 
care  to  prevent.  The  thing  was  badly  timed,  and  it  involved  an 
offensive  usurpation  of  his  prerogative  as  commander-in-chief,  and  a 
misapprehension,  if  not  a  wilful  disregard,  of  his  sentiments.  No 
doubt  he  wished  for  peace  ;  it  was  with  the  view  of  attaining  that 
great  desideratum  he  had  entered  France,  and  he  was  above  all 
anxious  to  see  the  hateful  tyranny  of  Napoleon  exchanged  for  a 
more  moderate  rule.  Yet  he  did  not  feel  himself  at  liberty  to  give 
the  countenance  of  his  name  and  the  services  of  his  soldiers,  at  that 
particular  juncture,  to  compel  a  submission  to  the  authority  of  the 
Bourbons.  His  instructions  to  Marshal  Beresford  and  Lord 
Dalhousie  are  very  explicit  on  this  head,  and  those  generals,  faithful 
to  their  charge,  had  obeyed  his  orders  to  the  letter.  They  kept  the 
troops  compactly  together  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bordeaux,  so  that 
they  should  be  free  to  act  as  circumstances  might  render  necessary, 
without  being  involved  in  the  contests  of  opposite  parties  for 
civic  supremacy.  It  was  by  no  means  certain,  while  Napoleon 
was  yet  strong  enough  to  negotiate  on  equal  terms  with  the 
allies,  that  a  counter-revolution  might  not  take  place  in  Bordeaux 
if  peace  should  be  proclaimed,  and  his  position  as  Emperor  remain 
undisturbed. 

In  spite,  however,  of  all  Lord  Wellington's  care,  the  Due 
d'Angouleme  persevered  in  encouraging  a  belief  among  the  French 
people  that  the  allies  had  assembled  in  France  "  pour  remplacer  le 
fleau  des  nations  par  un  rnonarque  2)cre  du  peuple  ;"  '  that  they  had 

1  "To  replace  the  scourge  of  nations  by  a  monarch  who  was  the  father  of  his  people." 


1813.]  REMONSTRANCE  TO   THE   DUG   D'ANGOULEME.  319 

conducted  the  Bourbons  into  France,  and  that  it  was  only  through 
Louis  XVIII.  that  the  French  could  hope  to  appease  the  resentment 
of  a  neighbouring  nation  from  letting  loose  upon  it  the  most  perfidious 
of  despotisms.  Lord  Wellington  indignant  at  these  statements, 
addressed  a  powerful  remonstrance  to  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  which, 
if  it  has  not  the  merit  of  conciseness,  left,  in  the  iteration  of  his 
sentiments,  no  ground  of  misconception  : — 

"  I  am  much  concerned  to  find  that  the  statement  which  I  had 
repeatedly  the  honour  of  making  to  your  Royal  Highness  of  the 
principles  on  which  I  was  determined  to  act  in  regard  to  the  cause  of 
your  Royal  Highness'  family  in  France,  had  made  so  little  impress- 
ion on  your  Royal  Highness'  mind,  as  that  your  Royal  Highness 
did  not  perceive,  till  you  had  read  my  letter  of  the  16th,  that  the 
proclamation  of  the  Mayor  of  Bordeaux  was  not  consistent  with 
what  I  had  declared  to  your  Royal  Highness.  This  circumstance 
renders  caution  on  my  part  more  than  ever  necessary.  I  am  not 
acting  as  an  individual ;  I  am  at  the  head  of  the  army,  and  the 
confidential  agent  of  three  independent  nations ;  and  supposing 
that,  as  an  individual,  I  could  submit  to  have  my  views  and  inten- 
tions in  such  a  case  misrepresented,  as  the  General  of  the  allied 
army,  I  cannot. 

"  I  enclose  to  your  Royal  Highness  the  copy  of  a  paper  given,  I 
believe,  by  your  Royal  Highness  to  Lieutenant-General  the  Earl  of 
Dalhousie,  which  shows  the  consequences  of  these  misrepresentations. 
I  occupied  Bordeaux  with  a  detachment  of  the  army  in  the  course 
of  my  operations,  and  certain  persons  in  the  city  of  Bordeaux, 
contrary  to  my  advice  and  opinion,  thought  proper  to  proclaim  King 
Louis  XVIII.  These  persons  have  made  no  exertion  whatever; 
they  have  not  subscribed  a  shilling  for  the  support  of  the  cause, 
and  they  have  not  raised  a  single  soldier  ;  and  then,  because  I  do 
not  extend  the  posts  of  the  army  under  my  command  beyond  what 
I  think  proper  and  convenient,  and  their  properties  and  families 
are  exposed,  not  on  account  of  their  exertions  in  the  cause  (for  they 
have  made  none),  but  on  account  of  their  premature  declaration 
contrary  to  my  advice,  such  persons  are  to  be  blamed,  and,  in  a 
manner,  called  to  account. 

"  My  experience  of  revolutionary  wars  taught  me  what  I  had  to 
expect,  and  induced  me  to  warn  your  Royal  Highness  not  to  be  in  a 
hurry.  I  beg  your  Royal  Highness  to  tell  the  writer  of  this  paper, 
and  all  such  persons,  that  no  power  on  earth  shall  induce  me  to 
depart  from  what  I  conceive  to  be  my  duty  towards  the  Sovereigns 
whom  I  am  serving ;  and  that  I  will  not  risk  even  a  company  of 


320  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1813 

infantry  to  save  properties  and  families  placed  in  a  state  of  danger 
contrary  to  my  advice  and  opinion. 

'•  In  reply  to  your  Royal  Highness'  letter  of  the  24th  inst,  and 
upon  the  whole  of  the  subject,  I  have  to  state,  that  I  hope  your 
Royal  Highness  will  shape  your  conduct,  and  your  Royal  Highness' 
counsellers  will  advise  you  to  draw  your  proclamations  and  declara- 
tions, in  such  manner,  as  that  I  may  not  be  under  the  necessity  of 
declaring  by  proclamation,  what  my  opinions  and  principles  have 
invariably  been,  and  what  I  have  repeatedly  declared  to  your  Royal 
Highness. 

"  1st.  I  consider  your  Royal  Highness  free  to  act  exactly  as  your 
Royal  Highness  may  think  proper,  without  consulting  my  opinion  in 
any  manner.  All  that  I  ask  is,  that  neither  my  name,  nor  the  name, 
nor  the  authority  of  the  allied  governments,  may  be  adduced,  more 
particularly  when  I  am  not  consulted  ;  or,  if  consulted,  when  I  have 
given  my  opinion  against  the  measure  adopted. 

"  2ndly.  I  told  your  Royal  Highness  that,  if  any  great  town  or 
extensive  district  should  declare  itself  in  favour  of  your  Royal 
Highness'  family,  I  would  interfere  in  no  manner  with  the 
government  of  that  town  or  district ;  and  that  if  there  was  a 
general  declaration  throughout  the  country  in  favour  of  your 
house,  I  should  deliver  into  your  hands  the  government  of  the 
whole  country  which  should  have  been  over-run  by  our  armies. 
The  fact  is,  that  the  declaration,  even  at  Bordeaux,  is  not  unanimous  ; 
that  the  spirit  has  not  spread  elsewhere,  not  even  in  La  Vendee,  nor 
in  any  part  that  I  know  of  occupied  by  the  army.  The  events  in  my 
contemplation,  therefore,  have  not  occurred  ;  and  I  should  be  guilty 
of  a  gross  breach  of  my  duty  to  the  allied  sovereigns,  and  of  cruelty  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  if  I  were  to  deliver  them  over  to  your 
Royal  Highness  prematurely,  or  contrary  to  their  inclinations. 

"  3rdly.  I  entertain  no  doubt  whatever,  that  when  once  there  is 

any  declaration  in  favour  of  the   cause   of  your   Royal    Highness' 

family,  it  is  important  that  it  should  be  general ;  and  I  sincerely  wish 

it  was  so.     But  I  can  interfere  in  no  manner  to  produce  this  general 

declaration  ;  nay,  more,  I  must,  as  an  honest  man,  acquaint  all  those 

who  shall  talk  to  me  upon  the  subject  with  the  state  of  aflfairs  between 

the  allies  and  the  existing  government  of  France,  as  I  have  done  to 

this  moment. 

****** 

"  It  is  not  in  my  power,  under  existing  circumstances,  to  make 
your  Royal  Highness  the  advance  of  money  you  desire  ;  and,  indeed, 


1814.]  ADVANCE  TO  BORDEAUX.  821 

after  what  has  passed,  I  doubt  whether  I  do  not  exceed  the  line  of 
my  duty  in  affording  your  cause  any  countenance  or  support 
whatever. 

"  In  answer  to  the  note  enclosed  by  your  Royal  Highness,  drawn  by 
your  Royal  Highness'  council  in  the  name  of  your  Royal  Highness,  it 
appears  to  me  to  be  written  in  the  same  erroneous  view  with  the  proc- 
lamation of  the  Mayor  of  Bordeaux. 

"  The  object  of  the  note  is  to  show  that  I  am  bound  to  support  the 
operations  of  your  Royal  Highness'  Grovernment  by  the  military 
power  of  the  army,  because  your  Royal  Highness  entered  the  country 
with  the  army,  and  I  have  been  the  passive  spectator  of  the  declara- 
tion of  a  part  of  the  city  of  Bordeaux  in  favour  of  your  Royal  High- 
ness' family.  If  I  am  to  be  bound  by  such  means  to  employ  the 
army  in  this  manner,  it  is  still  more  incumbent  upon  me,  than  it  was 
before,  to  be  cautious  as  to  the  degree  of  encouragement  (and,  to 
speak  plainly,  permission),  I  shall  give  to  the  measures  taken  by  your 
Royal  Highness'  adherents,  to  induce  the  people  in  any  district  occu- 
pied by  the  army,  to  declare  in  your  Royal  Highness'  favour. 

"  I  must  say,  also,  that  it  is  a  curious  demand  to  make  upon  me, 
who,  in  any  light,  can  only  be  considered  as  an  ally,  to  permit  troops  to 
support  the  operations  of  your  Royal  Highness'  civil  government ; 
when  I  ought  to  have  a  right  to  expect  military  assistance  from  your 
Royal  Highness  against  the  common  enemy. 

"  In  answer  to  this  note,  I  must  tell  your  Royal  Highness  that, 
until  I  shall  see  a  general  and  free  declaration  of  the  people  in  favour 
of  your  Royal  Highness'  family,  such  as  I  know  they  are  disposed, 
and  pant  for  an  opportunity,  to  make,  I  will  not  give  the  assistance 
of  the  troops  under  my  command  to  support  any  system  of  taxation, 
or  of  civil  government,  which  your  Royal  Highness  may  attempt  to 
establish ;  and  I  hope  your  Royal  Highness  may  not  attempt  to 
establish  such  a  system  beyond  Bordeaux." 

The  divisions  of  Dalhousie  and  Beresford  had  moved  towards 
Bordeaux  on  the  8th  of  March.  Simultaneously  with  their  advance 
Lord  "Wellington  penetrated  further  into  France,  still  observing  the 
greatest  caution  and  enjoining  the  kindest  treatment  of  the  people. 
Upon  the  minds  of  the  Spanish  leaders  he  strongly  impressed  the 
policy  of  conciliation.  However  France  might  have  been  reduced, 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  allies  were  not  sufficiently  strong  to 
make  any  progress,  if  the  inhabitants  should  have  taken  part  in  the 
war  against  them.  What  had  occurred  in  the  previous  six  years  in 
the  Peninsula  was  an  example  to  all  military  men  on  that  point,  and 
provided  a  motive  for  endeavouring  to  conciliate  the  country,  which 

WM..  I.  X 


322  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

was  the  seat  of  war,  by  "  preserving  the  most  strict  discipline  among 
the  troops,  by  mitigating  as  much  as  possible  the  evils  which  were 
inseparable  from  war,  and  by  that  demeanour  in  the  officers,  in  par- 
ticular towards  the  inhabitants,  which  would  show  them  that  they,  at 
least,  did  not  encourage  the  evils  which  might  be  suffered  from  the 
soldiers." 

The  march  into  France  offered  much  gratification  to  the  troops. 
Their  footsteps,  like  their  spirits,  acquired  an  elasticity  from  the 
novel  circumstances  of  their  situation.  They  were  on  the  "  sacred 
soil "  so  much  valued  by  their  enemies — they  had  brought  the 
British  standard  triumphantly  from  the  Tagus  and  the  Douro  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Garonne — they  were  in  a  land  of  comparative  plenty 
— the  spring  was  advancing,  and  every  day  seemed  to  promise  a  con- 
summation of  the  object  with  which  they  had  toiled  and  fought  and 
bled,  and  suffered  privations,  since  1808.  Every  step  forward  brought 
them  change  of  scene,  though  the  change  was  not  invariably  for  the 
better' — but  there  was  a  charm  even  in  the  variety. 

1  "Nothing  more  exemplifies  the  vicissitudes  of  a  soldier's  life,  than  the  different  roofs  that 
cover  our  heads  within  a  week.  One  day  we  have  all  the  advantages  of  a  palace,  and  the  next 
the  dirt  and  misery  of  the  worst  chaumiere  ;  sometimes  even  in  the  same  day.  A  fortnight  ago, 
just  after  the  battle  of  Orthes,  opposite  Aire,  our  regiment  being  in  the  advance,  we  established 
ourselves  in  a  magnificent  ch&teau,  certainly  the  best  furnished  house  I  have  seen  since  I  left 
England,  decorated  with  a  profusion  of  fine  or-molu  clocks.  Just  as  we  had  congratulated  our- 
selves on  our  good  luck  and  prospect  of  comfort,  and  I  had  chosen  for  myself  a  red  damask 
bed,  an  awful  bustle  was  heard,  indicative  of  no  good,  as  was  speedily  proved  to  our  discomfiture. 
Whether  it  was  a  judgment  upon  us  for  looking  so  high  as  a  chateau,  on  the  principle  of  those 
who  exalt  themselves  being  abased,  I  leave  to  divines  to  decide  ;  but  we  quickly  learned  that, 
in  consequence  of  the  4th  Division  treading  on  our  heels,  and  Sir  Lowry  Cole  having  as  sharp 
an  eye  for  an  eligible  chateau  as  ourselves,  he  had  ordered  his  Aide-de-Carap  to  oust  all  its  in- 
mates, under  the  rank  of  a  Major-General. 

"  It  is  astonishing  how  very  soon,  as  if  by  intuition,  one  discovers  what  tends  to  personal 
comfort  and  gratification,  without  consulting  the  reason.  I  found,  very  soon  after  I  had 
arrived  in  the  Peninsula,  that  I  had  a  remarkable  preference  and  predilection  for  a  domicile 
in  a  padre's  house.  This  is  not  so  powerful  since  we  have  crossed  the  frontier ;  as,  perhaps 
(I  only  hazard  tht  suspicion),  the  Revolution  may  not  have  left  the  houses  of  these  gentlemen 
of  the  same  cloth  equally  desirable  in  Franco.  But,  to  the  south  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  houses  of 
the  clcrigns  are  almost  invariably  the  best ;  and  not  only  recommended  by  good  fare  and  ac- 
commodation, but  are  desirable  from  their  having,  generally,  should  the  divine  celebs  or  celibita 
(for  our  institutions  render  coining  a  word  necessary)  not  have  passed  the  prime  of  life,  a  pretty 
girl,  yclept  a  sobrina  (niece),  as  an  inmate,  who  does  the  honours  admirably."-  -Journal  of  an 
Officer  in  miV$  Division, 


1814..1 


CONfiRESS  AT  CHATILLON. 


323 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Dissolution  of  the  CJongress  at  Chatillon — Napoleon  resists  the  Allies  at  Craone,  Laon,  and 
Soissons — Revolution  in  Holland — Failure  of  Graham  at  Bergen-op-Zoom — The  affair  at  Aire 
—The  Battle  of  Toulouse,  and  investment  of  Bayonne. 

T  the  same  time  with  the 
battle  of  Orthes,  events 
were  taking  place  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine  which 
brought  the  affairs  of  Na- 
poleon nearer  to  a  crisis. 
It  has  been  said  that  a 
Congress  had  been  opened 
at  Chatillon,  with  a  view 
of  coming  to  a  pacific  ter- 
mination of  the  war  with 
the  Emperor,  and  had  the 
decision  of  the  questions  at 
issue  rested  only  with  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia,  Napoleon 
might  have  continued  mas- 
ter of  the  destinies  of 
France  for  some  time  long- 
er. Happily,  however,  for 
the  interests  of  mankind, 
two  master-minds  represented  England  and  Russia, — Lord  Castlereagh, 
the  British  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  came  in  person  to  assist  at  the  ne- 
gotiations, which  until  then  were  carried  on,  as  far  as  England  was  con- 
cerned, by  Lords  Aberdeen  and  Cathcart  and  Sir  Charles  Stewart ;  and 
the  Emperor  Alexander  was  the  representative  of  his  own  empire.  The 
principal  obstruction  to  the  continuance  of  hostile  operations  against 
France  was  Bernadotte,  the  Crown  Prince  of  Sweden.  To  force  him 
to  an  assent  to  the  invasion  of  France,  Lord  Castlereagh  threatened 


324  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON  [1814 

to  witthold  the  monthly  subsidies  which  England  had  granted.  This 
altered  Bernadotte's  tone,  and  he  became  a  party  forthwith  to  a  com- 
pact among  the  allied  powers,  signed  at  Chaumont  on  the  1st  of 
March,  in  which  they  bound  themselves  to  maintain  an  army  of  600,000 
men  (150,000  each.  Great  Britain  at  the  same  time  contributing  an 
annual  subsidy  of  5,000,000/.)  until  Napoleon  should  agree  to  the  re- 
duction of  France  within  her  ancient  limits — the  formation  of  a  fed- 
erative union  in  Germany — the  independence  of  Holland,  Switzer- 
land, and  the  lesser  States  of  Italy — and  the  restoration  of  Spain  and 
Portugal  under  their  ancient  sovereigns.  With  regard  to  the  re- 
storation of  the.  Bourbons,  the  Congress  determined  to  leave  the 
French  people  unconstrained.  The  treaty  of  Chaumont  led  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  Congress  at  Chatillon,  for  all  hopes  of  peace  were 
extinguished  by  Napoleon's  determination  to  hold  out  for  the  frontier 
of  the  Rhine. 

Hostilities  were  now  resumed.  Marshal  Bliicher  pushed  his  forces 
to  Meaux  in  the  direction  of  Paris,  and  General  Sacken  attacking 
Meaux,  the  trembling  inhabitants  of  the  French  capital  distinctly 
heard  the  Prussian  cannon  thundering  in  their  neighbourhood.  Bliichcrj 
however,  could  not  maintain  his  ground,  for  Napoleon  was  moving 
on  his  rear.  He  therefore  drew  off  his  army  to  Soissons  to  form 
a  junction  with  Generals  Winzingerode  and  Woronzow.  Marshal 
Oudinot,  at  the  head  of  the  French,  came  up  with  the  troops  of  the 
latter  generals  at  Bas-sur-Aube,  and  a  battle  ensued  on  the  27th  of 
February,  in  which  the  French  were  compelled  to  give  way  before 
superior  numbers.  Three  days  later,  Oudinot  being  joined  by  Mar- 
shal Macdonald,  again  offered  battle  to  the  allies,  and  with  a  heavy 
loss  was  driven  out  of  Troyes  after  a  most  gallant  resistance.  On 
the  4th  of  March,  Marshal  Bliichcr  formed  a  junction  with  Winzin- 
gerode (who  also  had  Bulow  with  him)  after  breaking  down  "all  the 
bridges  on  the  Marne,  and  escaping  Napoleon  through  the  capitula- 
tion of  Soissons,  which  event  made  the  passage  clear  between  the 
allied  troops. 

Napoleon  endeavoured  to  retake  Soissons  by  storm.  In  this  he 
failed.  He  next  attacked  the  Prussians  on  the  plateau  of  Craone, 
and  after  a  bloody  encounter,  only  to  be  paralleled  by  Albuera  and 
Culm,  the  Ilussian  and  Prussian  forces  fell  back  towards  Laon. 
This  victory,  if  it  merits  the  name,  cost  the  French  8000  men.  A 
brief  respite,  and  then  Napoleon  advanced  upon  Laon  and  attacked 
the  allied  forces  posted  there  and  in  the  vicinity,  on  the  10th  of 
March.  He  depended  for  a  successful  issue  to  the  encounter  on  the 
arrival  of  Marshal  Marmont,  but  Marmont  was   surprised  in   his 


1814.]  OPERATIONS   IN  HOLLAND.  325 

bivouac  by  the  Prussian  corps  of  Zeithen  and  Prince  William  of 
Prussia,  and  routed  with  the  loss  of  40  guns  and  2500  prisoners. 
Napoleon  then  drew  off  towards  Soissons,  after  losing  6000  men 
and  46  guns ;  and  had  hardly  reached  the  place  when  the  news  arrived 
that  Rheims  had  been  captured  by  General  St.  Priest.  With  light- 
ning speed  he  darted  off  to  Rheims — assaulted  and  retook  the  town 
with  heavy  loss  to  the  allies — and  then,  on  the  15th  of  March,  held 
his  last  review.  The  pitiable  aspect  of  the  troops — the  broken  ap- 
pearance of  the  regiments — and  the  disordered  state  of  the  equipment, 
conveyed  to  his  mind  in  language  not  to  be  misinterpreted  that  his 
sun  was  rapidly  setting.* 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  disinclination  of  Lord  Wellington, 
to  see  the  troops  withdrawn  from  the  south  of  France  to  operate  in 
Holland  ;  but  the  grounds  of  the  wish  of  the  British  minister  to  as- 
semble an  army  in  the  Low  Countries  are  yet  to  be  stated. 

Down  to  the  15th  of  November,  1813,  the  United  Dutch  Prov- 
inces had  remained  under  the  dominion  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
On  that  day  a  counter-revolution  broke  out  in  part  of  the  provinces  ; 
the  people  of  Amsterdam  rose  in  a  body — proclaimed  the  House  of 
Orange  with  the  old  cry  of  Orange  bovcn,  and  universally  hoisted  the 
Orange  colours.  This  example  was  immediately  followed  by  the 
other  towns  of  the  provinces  of  Holland  and  Utrecht,  as  Haul- 
bern,  Leyden,  the  Hague,  Rotterdam,  &c.  The  French  authorities 
were  dismissed  and  a  temporary  government  established  and  pro- 
claimed in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  until  the  Prince,  whose 
son  was  then  acting  as  aide-de-camp  to  Lord  Wellington,  should 
arrive.  The  English  were  immediately  invited  to  assist  in  placing  the 
Prince  upon  the  throne,  and  the  invitation  being  accepted,  in  the 
month  of  January,  Sir  Thomas  Graham,  who  had  recently  arrived  in 
England  from  the  capture  of  San  Sebastian,  was  despatched  with  6000 
men,  to  give  countenance  to  the  new  revolution.  But  the  expedition 
was  of  little  avail.     In  proportion  as  the  cause  of  Napoleon  waned 


1  The  tribute  paid  by  Lockhart  (Scott's  Lite)  to  Napoleon's  amazing  activity  of  mind 
and  body,  was  not  immerited.  "  Throughout  this  crisis  of  his  history,  it  is  impossible  to  survey 
the  rapid  energy  of  Napoleon — his  alert  transitions  from  enemy  to  enemy ;  his  fearless  assaults 
on  vastly  superior  numbers ;  his  imwearied  resolution,  and  exhaustless  invention — without  the 
highest  admiration  which  can  attend  on  a  master  of  warfare.  ...  To  complete  our  notions 
of  his  energies— he  had,  through  this,  the  most  extraordinary  of  his  campaigns,  continued  to  con- 
duct, from  his  perpetually  changing  head-quarters,  the  civil  business  of  his  empire.  He  occupied 
himself  largely  with  such  matters,  during  his  stay  at  Rheims;  but  it  was  there  that  the  last  de- 
spatches from  the  Home  Department  at  Paris  were  destined  to  reach  him ;  and  before  he  could 
return  answers,  there  came  courier  upon  courier  with  tidings  which  would  have  unnerved  any 
other  mind,  and  which  filled  even  his  with  perplexity." 


326  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON,         .        [1814- 

the  French  armies  augmented  the  stubbornness  of  their  resistance. 
General  Bizarrct  defeated  Sir  Thomas  Graham  with  considerable 
slaughter  and  the  loss  of  many  prisoners  at  Bergen-op-Zoom ;  and 
Carnot,  the  famous  republican  engineer,  resisted  all  the  efforts  of  the 
British  to  take  Antwerp.  Marshal  Davoust,  the  Prince  d'Eckmuhl, 
conducted  also  a  resolute  defence  of  Hamburgh,  which  will  long  be 
remembered  for  the  extremities  to  which  the  city  was  reduced. 
Hamburgh,  in  fact,  became  a  heap  of  ruins  ;  horses,  dogs,  the  hides  of 
slaughtered  animals,  rats  and  offal  of  the  most  disgusting  kind,  were 
used  as  food  both  by  soldiers  and  citizens.  Davoust  fared  as  fared 
his  men,  and  resisted  with  heroic  constancy  and  devotion  the  many 
tempting  offers  and  fierce  threats  that  were  alternately  held  out  by 
the  enemy  to  induce  him  to  surrender  his  trust. 

After  the  battle  of  Orthes,  Marshal  Soult  retreated  towards 
Tarbes,  in  order  to  secure  a  junction,  if  necessary,  with  Suchet  in 
Catalonia.  He  was  followed  by  Beresford  and  Hill,  the  former 
advancing  by  Mont  de  Marsan  and  the  latter  by  Aire,  where  a  short 
affair,^  disastrous  to  the  French,  took  place.  The  French  at  Aire 
were  well  posted,  but  Hill  saw  the  importance  of  instantly  bringing 
them  to  action,  and  sent  De  Costa's  Portuguese  to  open  the  ball. 
These  were  driven  back  in  confusion,  and  the  heavy  French  column 
was  on  the  point  of  taking  advantage  of  their  deroute^  when  Sir 
Rowland  Hill  detached  General  Byng's  brigade  to  their  relief.  This 
movement  settled  the  fortune  of  the  day — Byng  gallantly  charged  the 
enemy,  and  drove  them  from  the  field.  Soult  then  abandoned  the 
town  and  the  frontiers,  and  hastily  crossed  the  Adour. 

It  was  only  two  days  after  the  affair  at  Aire  that  the  Prince  Regent 
of  Great  Britain,  ever  generously  watchful  of  the  glorious  career  of 
Wellington,  granted  him  his  permission  to  wear  the  insignia  of  the 
Grand  Cross  of  the  Imperial  Order  of  Maria  Theresa,  bestowed  by 
Austria ;  the  Imperial  Russian  Military  Order  of  St.  George ;  the 
Royal  Prussian  Military  Order  of  the  Black  Eagle,  and  the  Royal 
Swedish  Military  Order  of  the  Sword.  It  was  a  most  unquestionable 
proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  Northern  allies  held  the  services 
of  the  British  Field-Marshal  that  each  should  have  evinced  em- 
pressement  to  do  him  honour.  They  felt  that  all  the  valour  and 
perseverance  displayed  in  the  North  would  have  been  as  nothing,  in 


1  Three  terms  are  used  by  Generals  to  denote  the  quality  of  a  contest.  A  battle,  a  combat, 
and  an  affair,  represent  the  three  degrees  of  importance.  An  affair  means  altogether  a  minor 
matter,  in  which,  though  a  large  force  may  bo  engaged,  the  duration  of  the  contest  is  brief,  and 
th«  Io«s  trifliagv 


1814.]  PASSAGE  OF  THE  GARONNE  327 

the  general  attempt  to  crush  Napoleon,  had  not  Spain  been  cleared 
and  the  south  of  France  occupied  by  the  British. 

The  next  measure  of  Lord  Wellington  was  to  invest  Bayonne. 
The  necessary  materiel  for  this  enterprise  was  speedily  obtained  from 
England  through  the  port  of  Passages,  and  in  the  meanwhile  Bordeaux 
was  left  to  the  care  of  Lord  Dalhousie,  and  Marshal  Beresford  was 
recalled  to  the  grand  army  with  his  corps. 

Soult  occupied  positions  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Adour,  with  ad- 
vanced pickets  on  the  town  of  Tarbes.  On  the  20th  of  March,  Hill 
drove  in  these  pickets,  while  General  Clinton  with  the  6th  Division, 
and  General  Ponsonby  and  Lord  Edward  Somerset  crossed  the  river 
between  Vie  Bigorse  and  Rabasters,  with  the  view  of  turning  the  right 
of  the  French,  and  so  gaining  Soult's  rear.  Soult  saw  his  danger, 
and,  under  the  cover  of  the  night,  fell  back  upon  Toulouse,  destroy- 
ing the  bridges  as  he  passed  them. 

The  city  of  Toulouse  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  the  canal  of 
Languedoc  and  the  river  Garonne.  The  suburb  to  the  left  of  the 
river  (called  St.  Cyprien)  was  fortified  with  strong  field-works  in 
front  of  an  ancient  wall,  and  formed  a  good  tete  de  pont.  Each  bridge 
of  the  canal  was  likewise  supplied  with  a  tete  de  pont^  defended  in 
some  places  by  musketry,  and  in  all  by  the  artillery  on  the  ancient 
wall.  Beyond  the  canal  to  the  eastward,  and  between  that  and  the 
river  Ers,  is  a  height  which  extends  as  far  as  Montaudran,  and  over 
which  pass  all  the  approaches  to  the  canal  and  town  to  the  eastward, 
which  it  defends.  This  height  (called  Calvinet)  was  additionally  for- 
tified with  five  redoubts  connected  by  lines  of  entrenchments,  and  to 
render  the  approach  to  Toulouse  still  more  diflicult,  Soult  destroyed 
all  the  bridges  over  the  Ers  within  reach  of  the  allied  army. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  Lord  Wellington  commenced  operations 
against  Toulouse  by  forcing  the  passage  of  the  Garonne,  and  by  the 
lOth  of  April  he  was  prepared  to  attack  the  enemy  in  his  very  for- 
midable positions. 

The  attack  was  commenced  by  Marshal  Beresford,  who,  marching 
over  some  very  difiicult  ground-  carried  the  village  of  Montblanc. 
General  Don  Freyre  then  moved  forward  with  the  Spanish  corps  under 
his  command,  under  a  very  heavy  fire  of  both  musketry  and  cannon, 
and  soon  gained  the  heights  of  Pugade,  where  his  men  lodged  them- 
selves under  some  banks  close  to  the  enemy's  entrenchments.  They 
then  attempted  the  heights  of  Calvinet,  but  were  driven  back  with 
great  loss.  They  rallied,  but  as  they  approached  a  hollow  road  which 
lay  in  their  path,  the  French  poured  upon  them  such  a  tremendous 
fire  that  they  fled  in  the  utmost  panic.     Lord  Wellington  covered 


328  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

their  flight  with  Ponsonby's  cavalry  and  a  heavy  fire  of  reserve 
artillery,  which,  joined  to  a  threatened  movement  of  the  light  division, 
soon  compelled  their  pursuers  to  retire.  Meanwhile  General  Picton 
had  been  ordered  to  make  a  false  attack  on  the  bridge  of  Jumeau,  but 
rashly  leading  his  men  across  ground  on  which  they  were  exposed  to 
a  most  awful  fire,  to  reach  works  which  could  only  be  taken  by 
escalade,  he  8ufi"ered  a  loss  of  400  men,  and  a  decisive  repulse.  Soult 
had  now  only  to  improve  the  advantage  thrown  in  his  way,  to  have 
secured  a  brilliant  victory.  In  the  interim,  however,  Beresford  having 
left  his  artillery  at  Montblanc,  had  been  making  with  the  4th  and  6th 
Divisions  a  flank  movement  of  two  miles  over  marshy  ground,  never 
out  of  cannon  range,  and  often  within  musket-shot ;  and  having  now 
completed  his  dangerous  and  difl&cult  march,  he  formed  at  the  foot  of 
the  French  position,  a  height  crowned  by  14,000  infantry.  Scarcely 
were  his  preliminaries  arranged  when  he  was  furiously  attacked,  but 
a  shower  of  rockets  threw  the  French  troops  into  disorder  :  a  gallant 
charge,  and  the  hill  was  mounted,  and  two  redoubts  carried  at  the 
bayonet's  point.  The  combat  was  now  suspended  ;  and,  during  the 
truce,  Soult  reinforced  his  right  with  his  reserves,  and  Beresford 
received  his  artillery.  About  two  o'clock,  a  Highland  and  a  Portu- 
guese brigade,  which,  on  the  failure  of  Freyre's  opening  attack,  had 
maintained  their  ground  under  cover  of  a  hill,  suddenly  assaulted  and 
won  the  redoubts  of  Colombette  and  Calvinet,  with  the  other  defences 
there.  The  French  retorted  by  a  murderous  fire  and  a  tremendous 
onslaught,  but  though  they  regained  Colombette,  they  could  not 
drive  the  Highlanders  from  the  hill.  The  6th  Division  now  advanced, 
and  forced  the  enemy  back,  so  that  the  whole  hill  was  once  more  ia 
the  hands  of  the  allies.  Beresford  had  also  gained  the  greatest  part 
of  Mont  Bave,  and  the  battle  was  won — for  Soult  the  next  night 
abandoned  the  town,  now  open  to  fire  from  the  heights,  and  made  a 
forced  march  of  twenty-two  miles  to  Ville  Franche.  The  losses  on 
both  sides  were  very  great.  On  the  English  595  were  killed,  4046 
(including  Generals  Pack,  Mendizabel,  and  Espelette)  wounded,  and 
eighteen  missing.  Soult's  loss  might  be  a  thousand  less  ;  but  he 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  allies  three  generals  (Harispe,  St.  Hilaire, 
and  Baurot),  1600  prisoners,  eight  cannon  (one  of  which  was  taken 
in  the  fight),  and  an  immense  magazine  of  stores  of  every  description. 
He  had,  in  all,  five  generals  disabled.'  Amongst  the  British  officers 
killed  in  the  desperate  battle  of  Toulouse — the  last  fought  during  the 
Peninsular  War — Lord  Wellington  especially  lamented  Lieutenant- 

1  *  UniUxi  Service  Magazino." 


1814.]  BATTLE  OF  TOULOUSE.  329 

Colonel  Coghlan  of  the  61st,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Forbes  of  the 
45th — officers  of  great  merit. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  Lord  Wellington  entered  Toulouse  in  tri- 
umph, the  authorities  declaring  for  the  Bourbons,  and  the  mob  shout- 
ing Vive  notre  Liber ateur !  On  the  evening  of  that  day,  Colonels 
Cooke  and  St.  Simon  arrived  at  the  allied  head-quarters  with  intelli- 
gence that,  on  the  3rd  of  April,  hostilities  between  France  and  the 
other  Powers  had  ceased,  and  the  war  was  virtually  at  an  end,  for 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  abdicated  the  throne  of  France.' 

Marshal  Soult  was  formally  apprised  of  the  abdication  of  Napoleon 
on  the  night  of  the  13th.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  he  was  aware 
of  the  abdication  before  the  battle  of  Toulouse,  and  merely  risked  the 
engagement  in  the  hope  of  closing  the  war  with  the  prestige  of  victory. 
From  this  imputation,  however,  he  was  fully  exonerated  by  Lord 
Wellington,  who  proved  to  Soult's  calumniators  the  physical  impos- 
sibility of  his  acquiring  the  information  at  that  distance  from  Paris, 
and  in  so  short  a  time.  But  even  when  the  news  of  the  abdication 
did  come,  Soult  refused  to  give  in  his  adhesion  to  the  Bourbons,  and 
merely  offered  a  suspension  of  hostilities.  To  this  Lord  Wellington 
would  by  no  means  assent,  and  immediately  commenced  the  pursuit 
of  the  beaten  divisions  of  the  Marshal ;  but  Soult  soon  saw  the  utter 
folly  and  inutility  of  continuing  the  contest,  and  in  five  days  after- 
wards halted  his  troops,  and  acknowledging  the  provisional  govern- 
ment, agreed  upon  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  to  which  Suchet,  who 
had  joined  him,  became  a  party.     The  convention  ran  as  follows : — 

"  Field  Marshal  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  and  the  Marshals  the 
Duke  of  Dalmatia  and  the  Duke  of  Albufera,  being  desirous  of  con- 
sidering a  suspension  of  hostilities  between  the  armies  under  their  re- 
spective orders,  and  of  agreeing  upon  a  line  of  demarcation,  have 
named  the  undermentioned  officers  for  that  purpose;  viz.,  on  the  part 
of  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  Major-General  Sir  George  Murray, 

1  Intermediately,  after  the  re-capture  of  Rheims,  Napoleon's  affairs  had  not  prospered  any- 
where. Augereau  languidly  upheld  his  cause  in  Switzerland,  and  then  retreated  upon  Lyons — 
with,  it  is  supposed,  the  treacherous  intention  of  opeuiug  the  gates  of  that  city  to  the  Allies. 
The  Grand  Army  of  the  latter,  forming  a  junction  with  Blucher  and  Bernadotte,  pushed  forward, 
beating  Napoleon  at  Acis-sur-Aube ;  Marmont  and  Mortier,  who  had  been  left  to  confront  the 
enemy  on  the  approaches  to  Paris,  were  compelled  to  retire,  fighting  fiercely ;  and  on  the  29th  of 
March,  the  Prussians  and  Russians  bivouacked  on  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  within  sight  of  Pans. 
The  Empress  Maria  Louisa  and  her  son  now  fled,  and  Paris  was  placed  in  a  state  of  defence,  in 
spite  of  a  thousand  declarations  in  favour  of  the  Bourbons,  by  the  middle  and  trading  classes. 
Marmont  and  Mortier,  with  only  25,000  men,  vigorously  defended  the  French  capital,  but  were 
compelled  to  succumb  to  superior  numbers.  A  capitulation  ensued.  Napoleon  hastened  from 
the  field  towards  Paris,  to  resist  the  AUieSj  but  before  he  could  arrive  the  capital  was  in  their 
possession.    He  then  abdicated  the  throna 


330  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

and  Major-General  Don  Luis  Wimpffen,  and  on  the  part  of  the  Duke 
of  Dalmatia  and  of  the  Duke  of  Albufera,  the  General  of  Division 
Count  Gazan. 

"  These  officers  having  exchanged  their  full  powers,  have  agreed 
upon  the  following  articles  : — 

"  Art.  1st. — From  the  date  of  the  present  convention  there  shall  be 
a  suspension  of  hostilities,  between  the  allied  armies  under  the  orders 
of  Field  Marshal  the  Marquis  of  Wellington,  and  the  armies  of 
France,  under  the  orders  of  Marshal  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia,  and  of 
Marshal  the  Duke  of  Albufera. 

"Art.  2nd. — Hostilities  shall  not  be  recommenced  on  either  part 
without  a  previous  notice  being  given  of  five  days. 

"Art.  3rd. — The  limits  of  the  department  Haute  Garonne,  with  the 
departments  of  Arriege,  Aude,  and  Tarn,  shall  be  the  line  of  demar- 
cation between  the  armies,  as  far  as  the  town  of  Buzet  on  the  river 
Tarn.  The  line  will  then  follow  the  course  of  the  Saur  to  its  junction 
with  the  Garonne,  making  a  circuit,  however,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Saur,  opposite  Montauban,  to  the  distance  of  three  quarters  of  a  league 
from  the  bridge  of  Montauban.  From  the  mouth  of  the  river  Saur 
the  line  of  demarcation  will  follow  the  right  bank  of  the  Garonne,  aa 
far  as  the  limits  of  the  department  of  the  Lot  and  Garonne,  with  the 
department  of  La  Gironde.  It  will  then  pass  by  La  E-eole,  Sanve* 
terre,  and  Rauzan,  to  the  Dordogne,  and  will  follow  the  right  hand  of 
that  river,  and  of  the  Gironde,  to  the  sea.  In  the  event,  however,  of 
a  different  line  of  demarcation  having  been  already  determined  by 
Lieutenant-General  Dalhousie  and  General  Decden,  the  line  fixed 
upon  by  those  officers  shall  be  adhered  to. 

"  Art.  4th. — Hostilities  shall  cease  also  on  both  sides  in  regard  to 
the  places  of  Bayonne,  St.  Jean  de  Pied  de  Port,  Navarreins,  Blaye, 
and  the  castle  of  Lourdes.  The  governors  of  these  places  shall  be 
allowed  to  provide  for  the  daily  subsistence  of  the  garrisons  in  the 
adjacent  country  ;  the  garrison  of  Bayonne,  with  a  circle  of  eight 
leagues  from  Bayonne,  and  the  garrisons  of  the  other  places  named 
within  a  circuit  of  three  leagues  round  each  place.  Officers  shall  b6 
sent  to  the  garrisons  of  the  above  places  to  communicate  to  them  the 
terms  of  the  present  convention. 

"  Art.  5th. — The  town  and  ports  of  Santona  shall  be  evacuated  by 
the  French  troops,  and  made  over  to  the  Spanish  forces.  The  French 
garrison  will  remove  with  it  all  the  property  that  properly  belongs 
to  it,  together  with  such  arms,  artillery,  and  otlier  military  effects  as 
have  not  been  the  property  originally  of  the  Spanish  government.  The 
Marquis  of  Wellington  will  determine  whether  the  French  garrison 


1814.]  SUSPENSION  OF  HOSTILITIES.  S31 

of  Santona  shall  return  to  France  by  land  or  by  sea,  and,  in  either 
case,  the  passage  of  the  garrison  shall  be  secured,  and  it  will  be 
directed  upon  one  of  the  places  or  ports  most  contiguous  to  the  army 
of  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia. 

"  The  ships  of  war  or  other  vessels  now  in  the  harbour  of  Santona, 
belonging  to  France,  shall  be  allowed  to  proceed  to  Kochefort  with 
passports  for  that  purpose.  The  Duke  of  Dalmatia  will  send  an 
officer  to  communicate  to  the  French  General  commanding  in  Santona 
the  terms  of  the  present  convention,  and  cause  them  to  be  complied 
with. 

"  Art.  6th. — The  fort  of  Venasque  shall  be  made  over  as  soon  as 
possible  to  the  Spanish  troops,  and  the  French  garrison  shall  proceed 
by  the  most  direct  route  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  French  army  ; 
the  garrison  will  remove  with  it  the  arms  and  ammunition  which  are 
originally  French. 

"  Art.  7th. — The  line  of  demarcation  between  the  allied  armies  and 
the  army  of  Marshal  Suchet,  shall  be  the  line  of  the  portion  of  Spain 
and  France,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  limits  of  the  department 
of  the  Haute  Garonne. 

"  Art.  8th. — The  garrisons  of  all  the  places  which  are  occupied  by 
the  troops  of  the  army  of  the  Duke  of  Albufera,  shall  be  allowed 
to  return  without  delay  into  France.  These  garrisons  shall  remove 
with  them  all  that  properly  belongs  to  them,  as  also  the  arms  and 
artillery  which  are  originally  French. 

"  The  garrison  of  Murviedro  and  of  Peniscola  shall  join  the  garrison 
of  Tortosa.  and  these  troops  will  then  proceed  together  by  the  great 
road,  and  enter  France  by  Perpignan.  The  day  of  the  arrival  of  these 
garrisons  at  Geuna,  the  fortresses  of  Fignuon  and  of  Busas  shall  be 
made  over  to  the  Spanish  troops,  and  the  French  garrisons  of  these 
places  shall  proceed  to  Perpignan. 

"  As  soon  as  information  is  received  of  the  French  garrisons  of 
Murviedro,  Peniscola,  and  Tortosa  having  passed  the  French  frontier, 
the  place  and  ports  of  Barcelona  shall  be  made  over  to  the  Spanish 
troops,  and  the  French  garrisons  shall  march  immediately  for 
Perpignan.  The  Spanish  authorities  will  provide  for  the  necessary 
means  of  transport  being  supplied  to  the  French  garrisons  on  their 
march  to  the  frontier.  The  sick  or  wounded  of  any  of  the  French 
garrisons,  who  are  not  in  a  state  to  move  with  the  troops,  shall  remain, 
and  be  cured  in  the  hospitals  where  they  are,  and  will  be  sent  mto 
France  as  soon  as  they  have  recovered. 

"Art.  9th. — From  the  date  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present 
convention,  there  shall  not  be  removed  from  Peniscola,  Murviedro, 


532*  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1814, 

Tortosa,  Barcelona,  or  any  of  the  other  places,  any  artillery,  arms 
ammunition,  or  any  other  military  effects  belonging  to  the  Spanish 
government,  and  the  provisions  remaining  at  the  evacuation  of  these 
places  shall  be  made  over  to  the  Spanish  authorities. 

"  Art.  10th. — The  roads  shall  be  free  for  the  passage  of  the  couriers 
through  the  cantonments  of  both  armies,  provided  they  are  furnished 
with  regular  passports. 

"Art.  nth. — During  the  continuance  of  the  present  convention 
deserters  from  either  army  shall  be  arrested,  and  shall  be  delivered 
up  if  demanded. 

"Art.  12th. — The  navigation  of  the  Garonne  shall  be  free  from 
Toulouse  to  the  sea,  and  all  boats  in  the  service  of  either  army 
employed  on  the  river,  shall  be  allowed  to  pass  unmolested. 

"  Art.  13th. — The  cantonments  of  the  troops  shall  be  arranged,  so 
as  to  leave  a  space  of  two  leagues  at  least  between  the  quarters  of 
the  different  armies. 

"Art.  14th. — The  movements  of  troops  for  the  establishment  of 
their  cantonments  shall  commence  immediately  after  the  ratification 
of  the  present  convention. 

"  The  ratification  is  to  take  place  within  twenty-four  hours  for  the 
army  of  the  Duke  of  Dalmatia,  and  within  forty-eight  hours  for  the 
army  of  the  Duke  of  Albufera. 

"Done  in  triplicate  at  Toulouse,  on  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1814." 


(Siffnei)    G.  MURRAY,  M.-G., 
&c.,  Q.-M.-G. . 

(^pprouve)    LE   M.   DUG  D'- 
ALBUFERA 


I  (Signed)   LUIS    WIMPFFEN,  I  (Signed)     DE    GAZAN,    Le 
Xefe  deE.-M.-G.de  ^  ■  ^.    .     . 

Campana     de     los 
exercitos  Espanoles. 

(Confirmed)      WELLINGTON. 


Lt.-G6nferal. 


(Approuve)  M.  DUG  DE  DAL- 
MATIE. 


In  publi.shing  the  foregoing  convention  to  the  army,  the  British 
Field-Marshal  took  the  opportunity  of  Congratulating  the  troops 
upon  the  prospect  of  an  honourable  termination  to  their  labours. 
He  thanked  the  generals,  the  officers,  and  soldiers  for  their  uniform 
gallantry  and  discipline  in  the  field,  and  for  their  conciliatory  conduct 
towards  the  inhabitants,  adding  his  hope  that  they  would  continue 
the  same  good  conduct  while  it  might  be  necessary  to  detain  them  in 
France,  that  they  might  leave  the  country  with  a  lasting  reputation 
not  less  creditable  to  their  gallantry  and  spirit  in  the  field  than 
to  their  regularity  and  good  conduct  in  quarters  and  in  camp. 

The  same  ignorance  of  what  was  passing  in  Paris,  and  caused  the 
battle  of  Toulouse,  prevailed  at  Bayonne,  and  led  on  the  14th  of 
April  to  a  needless  waste  of  blood,  which  filled  Lord  Wellington 


1814.]  SORTIE  FROM  BAYONNE.  333 

with  poignant  regret.  While  Lieutenant-G-eneral  Sir  John  Hope 
was  blockading  the  town,  the  garrison  made  a  dashing  sortie,  and, 
breaking  through  the  allied  line  of  investment,  carried  the  village 
of  St.  Etienne.  The  advanced  pickets  were  promptly  supported,  and 
the  besiegers  immediately  recovered  all  their  positions  ;  but  not  until 
900  of  the  French  had  been  placed  liors  de  combat,  and  600  of  the 
allies  killed  and  wounded.  The  latter  also  lost  236  prisoners,  among 
whom  was  the  brave  Sir  John  Hope,  the  commander.  Whilst  bringing 
up  reinforcements  to  the  deforced  pickets,  his  horse  was  killed  under 
him,  and  he  himself  was  wounded.  Before  he  could  extricate  himself, 
he  was  seized  by  a  party  of  the  enemy  and  carried  away  a  prisoner. 

It  will  surprise  the  English  reader,  not  already  versed  in  the 
history  of  the  Peninsular  War,  to  learn  that  the  battle  of  Toulouse 
was  claimed  as  a  victory  by  the  French,  and  that  in  long  after  years 
the  vanity  of  the  nation  was  gratified  by  the  grant  of  a  sum  of  money 
by  the  legislature  in  aid  of  a  monument  to  be  raised  in  honour  of 
the  battle !  The  grounds  on  which  the  claims  rested  were,  the 
repulse  of  Picton  and  the  failure  of  Sir  Kowland  Hill  to  carry  the 
suburb.  These,  however,  were  only  partial  reverses,  which,  more  or 
less,  distinguish  every  action.  It  is  the  upshot  which  determines 
where  the  victory  lies,  and  as  Lord  Wellington  occupied  Toulouse 
within  six-and-thirty  hours  after  the  battle,  the  French  Marshal  was 
to  all  intents  and  purpose.?  defeated. 

The  subject  of  the  claims  of  the  French  to  a  "  victory"  at  Toulouse 
was  ably  discussed  and  disposed  of  in  the  Quarterly  Review  of  1838. 
The  astute  reviewer  showed  that,  although  accidents  certainly  did 
happen  to  the  British  army,  such  as  the  carrying  away  a  bridge  on  the 
Garonne  after  Beresford  had  passed  it.  Marshal  Soult  did  not  take 
advantage  of  them  ;  and  that  if  he  had  attempted  to  do  so,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  in  a  position  to  have  thwarted  him.  "  It  was  like 
a  game  of  chess — Soult,  perhaps,  might  have  taken  Wellington's 
knight,  but  Wellington,  at  the  next  move,  would  have  taken  his 
queen,  and  checkmated  him  altogether."  The  reviewer  further 
established  on  the  evidence  of  French  writers,  General  de  Vaudan- 
court,  a  critic  in  the  Revue  du  Midi,  Marshal  Suchet,  Colonel  La 
Pena,  and  General  de  St.  Denys,  that  the  battle  was,  "  beyond  con- 
tradiction, lost  by  Soult :"  that,  after  the  loss  of  Fort  Sypiere,  the 
"  prospect  of  victory  was  abandoned  by  the  French ;"  that  Soult 
himself  admitted  in  letters  that  the  communication  with  Montauban, 
from  which  Lord  Wellington  '=  cut  him  off,"  was  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  him  ;  that  he  was  resolved  to  defend  Toulouse  '•  at  all 
risks,"   because   the  preservation   of  the    city  was  of  tlie  greatest 


384 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1814. 


importance  to  him ;  and  yet  that  the  enemy  had  succeeded  in  establishing 
tJiemselves  on  the  frontier  he  had  occupied  ;  and  that  at  last  he  found 
himself  under  tlie  7iecessity  of  retiring  from  Toulouse  before  the 
enemy,  and  did  retire  at  a  very  rapid  rate,  full  of  apprehension  of 
being  forced  to  fight  for  a  passage  to  Ville  Franche  !  Finally, 
Marshal  Suchet  speaks  of  the  army  under  Soult  as  having  been 
ecrasee  (destroyed)  in  a  chapter  of  his  Memoirs,  written  to  defend 
Soult. 

But,  after  all,  the  proof  of  the  victory  lay  in  the  result.  If  Lord 
Wellington  did  not,  by  the  valour  and  determination  of  his  troops, 
drive  Soult  out  of  Toulouse,  why  did  the  Marshal  quit  the  town  ? 


18U.1 


CREATED  A  DUKE. 


335 


CHAPTER  XXL 


Lord  Wellington  created  a  Duke — Honoiirs  to  his  Generals,  Lords  Combermere  and  Hill — The 
Duke  visits  Paris  and  Madrid — Fresh  Parliamentary  grants — The  Allied  Sovereigns  and  their 
Generals  visit  England— The  Duke  of  Wellington  also  returns  to  England. 

HE  conclusion  of  the  war  in  a  manner 
so  honourable  to  the  British  and 
allied  arms,  and  with  such  apparent 
definite  results  as  the  removal  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  to  a  little 
island  in  the  Mediterranean,  dif- 
fused universal  happiness.  Every 
one  concerned  had  done  his  part 
nobly,  and  it  was  fully  believed 
that  the  restoration  of  the  Bour- 
bons, wrought  by  foreign  arms,  was 
perfectly  acceptable  to  the  French 
people. 

To  complete  the  honours  which 
the  Prince  Regent  had  delighted  to  bestow  upon  the  man  who  had 
led  armies  victoriously  from  the  Tagus  and  the  Douro  to  the 
Garonne,  in  the  presence  of  ten  thousand  difficulties,  his  Royal 
Highness  now  advanced  the  Marquis  of  Wellington  to  the  peerage 
by  the  title  of  Marquis  of  Douro  and  Duke  of  Wellington.  And 
to  impart  all  possible  grace  to  this  magnificence  of  reward,  the 
Prince  at  the  same  time  conferred  peerages  on  Sir  John  Hope, 
Sir  Thomas  Graham,  Sir  Stapleton  Cotton,  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  and 
Sir  W.  Carr  Beresford,  who  thus  severally  became  Lords  Niddry, 
Lynedoch,  Combermere,  Hill,  and  Beresford.  The  Prince  had  pre- 
viously shown  some  kindness  to  the  Dowager  Lady  Morniugton,  the 
mother  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  battle 
of  Vittoria. 


336  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  sensibly  touched  by  the  generosity 
of  the  Prince — the  rather  that  he  always  abstained  from  asking 
for  any  favours  for  himself  Excepting  on  one  occasion,  when  we 
find  him  protesting  against  the  low  salary  of  a  Commander-in-Chief, 
who.  with  10/.  per  diem  (reduced  by  income-tax  and  other  charges  to 
eight  guineas),  was  expected  to  keep  up  a  good  table,  and  dispense 
money  in  charities,  &c.,  he  never  complained  of  an  inadequacy  of 
compensation.  On  the  contrary,  he  allowed  things  to  take  their 
course,  and  save  when  he  bespoke  distinctions  for  Sir  R.  Hill  and  Sir 
Stapleton  Cotton,  he  did  not  even  venture  to  point  out  who  should 
be  recompensed  by  the  Sovereign  for  the  services  rendered  under  his 
command.  This  did  not  spring  from  any  want  of  generosity  towards 
his  lieutenants,  but  from  a  deference  to  the  supreme  power  of  the 
Monarch  or  his  immediate  locum  tenens.  It  was  when  asked  by 
some  one  of  high  rank  to  solicit  an  honorary  distinction  for  him,  that 
he  wrote : — 

"  I  have  never  interfered  directly  to  procure  for  any  officer,  serving 
under  my  command,  those  marks  of  his  Majesty's  favour  by  which 
many  have  been  honoured  ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  any  have  ever 
applied  for  them,  or  have  hinted  through  any  other  quarter  their 
desire  to  obtain  them.  They  have  been  conferred,  as  far  as  I  have 
any  knowledge,  spontaneously,  in  the  only  mode  in  my  opinion  in 
which  favours  can  be  acceptable,  or  honours  and  distinction  can  be 
received  with  satisfaction.  The  only  share  which  I  have  had  in  these 
transactions  has  been  by  bringing  the  merits  and  services  of  the 
several  officers  of  the  army  distinctly  under  the  view  of  the  Sovereign 
and  the  public,  in  my  reports  to  the  Secretary  of  State  ;  and  I  am 
happy  to  state,  that  no  General  in  this  army  has  more  frequently 
than  yourself  deserved  and  obtained  this  favourable  report  of  your 
services  and  conduct. 

"It  is  impossible  for  me  even  to  guess  what  are  the  shades  of 
distinction  by  which  those  are  guided  who  advise  the  Prince  Hegent 
in  the  bestowing  those  honourable  marks  of  distinction,  and  you  will 
not  expect  that  I  should  enter  upon  such  a  discussion.  What  I 
would  recommend  to  you  is,  to  express  neither  disappointment  nor 
wishes  upon  the  subject,  even  to  an  intimate  friend,  much  less  to  the 
Government.  Continue,  as  you  have  done  hitherto,  to  deserve  the 
honourable  distinction  to  which  you  aspire,  and  you  may  be  certain 
that,  if  the  Government  is  wise,  you  will  obtain  it.  If  you  should 
not  obtain  it,  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  there  is  no  person  of 
whose  good  opinion  you  would  be  solicitous,  who  will  think  the  worse 
of  you  on  that  account. 


1814.] 


LORD  COMBERMERE. 


337 


"The  comparison  between  myself,  who  have  been  the  most 
favoured  of  his  Majesty's  subjects,  and  you,  will  not  be  deemed 
quite  correct ;  and  I  advert  to  my  own  situation  only  to  tell  you, 
that  I  recommend  to  you  conduct  which  I  have  always  followed. 
Notwithstanding  the  numerous  favours  that  I  have  received  from  the 
Crown,  I  have  never  solicited  one  ;  and  I  have  never  hinted,  nor 
would  any  one  of  my  friends  or  relations  venture  to  hint  for  me,  a 
desire  to  receive  even  one  ;  and  much  as  I  have  been  favoured,  the 
consciousness  that  it  has  been  given  spontaneously  by  the  King  and 
Regent,  gives  me  more  satisfaction  than  anything  else, 

"  I  recommend  to  you  the  same  conduct  and  patience  ;  and,  above 
all,  resignation,  if,  after  all,  you  should  not  succeed  in  acquiring  what 
you  wish  ;  and  I  beg  you  to  recall  your  letters,  which  you  may  be 
certain  will  be  of  no  use  to  you." 

Those  who  have  followed  the  fortunes  of  Wellington,  as  detailed  in 


LOED   COMBERMEEE. 


the  foregoing  pages,  will  have  met  with  the  names  of  the  five  generals, 
who  now  received  peerages,  often  enough  to  be  assured  that  they  had 


338  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

well  earned  the  titles  bestowed  on  them.  Lord  Combermere  was 
particularly  deserving  of  favour.  lie  had  led  the  young  and  inex- 
perienced cavalry  of  Great  Britain  and  the  allies  against  the  admir- 
ably-trained Dragoons  and  Cuirassiers  of  France,  and  was  almost 
always  successful  in  his  charges.  His  previous  service  in  Flanders 
and  in  India  had  given  him  considerable  experience  under  the  eye  of 
Wellington  and  Lake ;  and  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  Peninsula, 
Wellington  deemed  him  so  deserving  of  advancement  that  he  applied 
to  have  liim  promoted  to  Lieutenant-General  in  Portugal,  and,  after 
Salamanca,  begged  for  a  red  ribbon  on  his  behalf 

Of  Lord  Hill's  character,  mention  has  already  been  made.  No 
General  was  ever  more  beloved.  He  always  led  his  divisions  to 
victory  ;  always  had  care  for  his  men  and  officers  in  quarters  ;  always 
conducted  his  marches  with  skill,  ensuring  safety.  And  the  troops 
recognised  his  interest  in  them  by  exemplary  conduct,  devotion  to 
his  will,  and  an  anxiety  to  do  him  honour  on  all  possible  occasions. 
A  story  is  extant  that  when  the  28th  Regiment  was  quartered  at 
Galisteo,  four  leagues  from  Coria,  in  May,  1813,  they  determined  to 
celebrate  the  second  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Albuera  by  giving  a 
dinner  to  their  beloved  chief  This,  in  a  camp  on  such  service,  was 
not  a  very  easy  matter ;  but  what  cannot  Englishmen  do  when 
prompted  by  a  noble  enthusiasm  ?  They  had  neither  chairs  nor 
tables — two  very  important  accessories  to  dinners  in  general, — and 
they  therefore  hit  upon  the  expedient  of  making  Nature  supply  their 
places.  The  softest  and  most  even  piece  of  turf  that  could  be  found 
was  selected,  and  on  this  Lieutenant  Irwin,  of  the  Engineers,  marked 
out  the  length  and  breadth  of  a  table  required  for  one  hundred  guests, 
for  the  staff  of  the  Second  Division  were  invited  to  the  banquet  as 
well  as  the  General.  The  turf  was  pared  off,  and  a  trench  dug 
round  outlines  large  enough  for  the  company.  The  table  was  formed 
in  the  centre,  and  the  sods  and  mould  duly  levelled  and  excavated  to 
give  ample  room  for  the  legs ;  and  then  the  green  turf  was  once  more 
gently  laid  on,  and  supplied  the  place  of  the  table-cloth.  Each  officer 
invited  was  desired  to  bring  his  own  knife,  fork,  and  plate,  and  not  to 
be  particular  about  having  them  changed.  The  cookery  was  of  the 
substantial  order — the  heavy  artillery  of  the  field  cuisme.  There 
were  ponderous  joints  roasted,  and  ponderous  joints  boiled.  There 
was  soup  in  abundance,  in  which  the  shreds  of  meat  gave  assurance 
that  it  was,  at  least,  unsparingly  concocted.  There  were  pies  baked 
in  camp-kettles  turned  upside-down,  of  dimensions  and  quality 
Friar  Tuck  would  not  have  disdained.  "  Then  came  the  cordial 
welcome  of  the  chief  guest — the  man  who  never  had  an  enemy  but 


1814]  THE  DUKE'S  EMBASSY  TO  PARIS.  339 

on  public  grounds,  whose  bland  smiles  set  the  company  at  ease,  while 
his  genuine  dignity  prevented  in  his  presence  every  word  and  every 
act  that  did  not  perfectly  become  it."  ' 

Lord  Hill  had  a  very  narrow  escape  of  being  killed  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  While  engaged  in  a  reconnoissance  at  St.  Palais,  in 
company  with  Lord  Wellington,  a  shot  from  a  French  battery  killed 
the  horse  on  which  Lord  Hill  was  mounted.  Both  horse  and  rider 
fell,  the  latter  quite  stunned,  but  sustaining  no  serious  injury.  The 
escape  was  wonderful ;  for  the  ball  struck  the  horse's  shoulder,  passed 
through  his  body,  and  between  the  knees  of  Lord  (then  Sir  Rowland) 
Hill. 

The  new  relations  with  France  rendered  the  despatch  of  a  British 
Ambassador  to  the  French  Court  indispensable,  and  Lord  Castlereagh, 
who  justly  estimated  the  worth  and  talents  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
oflFered  him  the  appointment.  Preparatory  to  accepting  it,  the  Duke 
wished  to  pay  a  visit  to  Paris.  There  were  of  course  some  consid 
erations  of  delicacy  influencing  the  mind  of  the  illustrious  warrior. 
Would  the  presence  of  the  conqueror  of  the  French  legions  be 
acceptable  to  the  French  people,  whose  minds  had  for  years  been 
prejudiced  against  him  by  the  lying  newspapers  of  Paris — by  the 
published  sneers  of  Napoleon — and  the  eflForts  of  the  caricaturists? 
Would  he  not  be  an  eye-sore  to  those  who  identified  him  only  as  the 
author  of  their  own  humiliation  ?  These  were  grave  matters  of 
reflection,  and  to  the  generous  mind  of  Wellington  they  addressed 
themselves  forcibly.  On  the  other  hand,  would  not  the  presence, 
in  a  friendly  capacity,  of  the  recent  enemy  of  France — as  repre- 
sented by  NapoIeorCs  tyranny^  and  by  that  alone — offer  a  guarantee 
of  the  perfect  amity  which  had  now  been  established  between  the 
thrones  of  France  and  England,  and  offer  a  proof  of  the  confidence  of 
the  Ambassador  in  the  chivalry  of  the  nation  whose  armies  he  had  so 
long  and  so  successfully  opposed?  Wellington  could  only  appear 
in  Paris  either  in  the  offensive  character  of  a  conqueror,  or  in  the 
agreeable  position  of  the  representative  of  a  Monarch  whose  soldiers 
had  contributed  to  restore  peace  to  the  land  which  Napoleon's  ag- 
gressions and  thirst  of  conquest  had  drained  of  its  resources.  He 
would  not  go  in  the  former  capacity — he  did  not  think  that  he  would 
be  obnoxious  in  the  latter.  Thus  reasoning,  and  influenced  by  hia 
duty  to  the  Prince  Regent,  he  decided  to  accept  the  embassy,  and  ac- 
cordingly set  out  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  King,  Louis  XVIII.  He 
was  very  graciously  received,  and  became  an  object  of  much  curiosity 
among  the  Parisians.     The  allied  sovereigns  were   also  marked  in 

•      1  "  Life  of  Lord  Hill." 


340  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON,  [1814. 

their  attentions  to  him.     His  stay,  however,  was  very  brief,  for  his 
services  were  required  for  a  short  period  at  Madrid. 

Restored  to  his  throne  unshackled  by  the  conditions  Napoleon 
sought  to  impose,  the  King,  Ferdinand  VII.,  looked  for  counsel,  in 
the  difl&cult  position  in  which  he  found  himself  after  so  long  an 
absence,  from  the  mighty  soldier  who  had  paved  the  way  for  his 
restoration;  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  believing  it  to  be  his 
duty,  while  yet  holding  office  under  the  Spanish  government,  to 
afford  all  the  aid  that  might  be  required  of  him,  did  not  delay  to  join 
the  King.  Much  anarchy  and  confusion  prevailed  in  the  Spanish 
councils.  Split  into  parties,  the  Cortes  distracted  themselves  with  a 
multitude  of  amateur  "  constitutions,"  and  none  of  these  crotchets 
seemed  to  promise  a  continuance  of  peace,  or  to  promote  the  happi- 
ness of  the  nation.  This  division  was  not  to  be  wondered  at.  The 
nation  had  been  engaged  in  one  of  the  most  terrible  and  disastrous 
contests  by  which  any  country  was  ever  afflicted;  its  territory  had 
been  occupied  by  the  enemy,  society  torn  to  pieces  by  internal 
dissensions,  its  ancient  constitution  destroyed,  without  being  replaced, 
its  marine,  its  commerce,  and  revenue  utterly  annihilated ;  its  colonies 
cast  into  a  state  of  rebellion,  and  its  credit  with  other  countries 
shaken  to  the  brink.  To  devise  a  plan  for  restoring  the  country  to 
its  pristine  tranquillity,  and  to  reduce  the  political  agitators  and 
antagonists  to  moderation,  was  the  task  which  Ferdinand  committed 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  His  Grace's  scheme,  developed  in  a  state 
paper  of  remarkable  clearness,  was  submitted  to  the  King  during  his 
stay  at  Madrid,  It  was  fraught  with  wise  suggestions  and  marked  by 
the  candour  and  straight-forwardness  which  were  alike  conspicuous 
in  his  diplomatic  and  military  passages.  Ferdinand  seized  the  first 
opportunity  after  the  Duke's  arrival  of  confirming  all  the  honours 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  Regency  and  the  Cortes ;  but  this  act  of 
grace  did  not  deter  Wellington  from  the  frank  expression  of  his 
sentinients.  He  advised  the  King  to  look  at  the  geographical 
position  and  topographical  peculiarities  of  Spain,  and  to  be  content 
to  confine  the  nation  within  its  natural  limits.  He  showed  that 
Spain  had  benefited  but  little  by  the  possession  of  anything  beyond 
the  boundaries  which  Nature  had  prescribed.  The  branches  of  the 
Royal  House,  established  in  Italy  and  elsewhere,  had  only  adhered  to 
Spain  when  the  adhesion  was  likely  to  be  beneficial  to  themselves. 
It  was,  therefore,  the  true  policy  of  the  government  to  attend  only 
to  the  internal  interests  of  the  country,  especially  as  the  then  state 
of  Europe  rendered  a  long  peace  probable.  Giving  the  King  credit, 
then,  for  a  desire  to  ameliorate  the  internal  situation  of  his  kingdom, 


1814.]  ADVICE  TO  THE  KING  OF  SPAIN.  341 

to  restore  its  marine,  its  commerce,  and  its  revenue,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  its  colonies,  the  Duke  proceeded  to  examine  'which  of  the 
two  powers,  France  or  Great  Britain,  would  be  the  most  desirable 
ally  in  assisting  the  King  to  restore  his  monarchy  to  its  ancient 
splendour.  He  at  once  decided  that  France,  from  her  crippled  condi- 
tion and  the  injuries  she  had  inflicted  on  the  Spanish  people,  would 
be  both  useless  and  unpopular.  To  preserve  a  commerce  with  Great 
Britain  was  obviously  a  measure  of  policy ;  for  not  only  would  it  be 
the  most  profitable,  because  Great  Britain  consumed  in  a  greater 
degree  than  other  countries  those  articles  in  which  the  riches  of  Spain 
principally  consisted,  but  because  the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain, 
from  their  cheapness,  would  bear,  on  importation,  larger  duties  than 
those  of  any  other  country.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  always 
plumed  himself  a  little  on  his  capacity  to  fill  the  office  of  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  and  in  this  advice  he  vindicated  his  claim  to  be 
regarded  as  a  financier.  He  further  urged  the  policy  of  a  strict 
alliance  with  Great  Britain,  as  the  only  means  of  settling  the  Spanish 
colonies  an-d  adjusting  satisfactorily  the  disputes  with  the  United 
States,  who  had  unjustifiably  seized  some  part  of  the  Spanish  colonies, 
and  aided  and  abetted  the  others  in  rebellion.  Glancing  at  the 
financial  condition  of  Spain,  the  Duke  pointed  out  that  everything 
was  in  disorder,  and  the  revenue  unproductive,  the  army  in  arrears, 
and  the  means  of  maintaining  a  body  of  troops  inadequate.  From 
Great  Britain  alone  was  pecuniary  aid  to  be  expected,  but  the  Duke 
honestly  told  the  King  that  this  would  not  be  granted  unless  he 
adhered  to  the  promises  he  had  made  to  his  subjects  on  his  restora- 
tion, and  would  release  the  numerous  innocent  prisoners  who  had 
been  arrested  for  alleged  political  ofi'ences,  and  subject  the  presumably 
guilty  to  judicial  trials.  The  Duke  wound  up  his  able  memorandum 
in  these  words : — 

"  Great  Britain  is  materially  interested  in  the  prosperity  and  great- 
ness of  Spain,  and  a  good  understanding  and  close  alliance  with  Spain 
is  highly  important  to  her,  and  she  will  make  sacrifices  to  obtain  it ; 
and  there  is  no  act  of  kindness  which  may  not  be  expected  from  such 
an  ally.  But  it  cannot  be  expected  from  Great  Britain  that  she  will 
take  any  steps  for  the  firm  establishment  of  a  government  which  she 
still  sees  in  a  fair  way  of  connecting  itself  with  her  rival,  and  of 
eventually  becoming  her  enemy.  Like  other  nations  she  must,  by 
prudence  and  foresight,  provide  for  her  own  interests  by  other  modes, 
if  circumstances  should  prevent  his  Majesty  froiH  connecting  himself 
with  Great  Britain,  as  it  appears  by  the  reasoning  in  this  memorandum 
is  desirable  to  him." 


342r  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

A  few  days  later  the  Duke  offered  the  Spanish  Minister  of  War  his 
advice  as  to  the  best  method  of  organising  the  Spanish  infantry,  and 
then  resigning  his  ofl&ce  of  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Spanish  army, 
he  returned  to  France. 

Peace  had  been  signed  at  Paris  on  the  30th  of  May.  Considering 
the  relative  positions  of  France  and  the  other  parties  to  the  treaty, 
who  occupied  Paris  as  conquerors,  the  treaty  was  exceedingly  moderate 
— nay,  generous — in  its  provisions.  It  restored  to  France,  with  slight 
exceptions,  the  possessions  which  she  held  in  1792,  and  placed  the 
boundaries  of  the  kingdom  nearly  where  they  were.  Such  points  as 
could  not  be  readily  adjusted  at  the  moment  were  referred  to  a  Con- 
gress of  Sovereigns,  to  be  thereafter  held  at  Vienna,  and  the  allied 
troops  immediately  began  to  evacuate  France. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  took  leave  of  the  army  at  Bordeaux,  on 
the  14th  of  June,  publishing  the  following  General  Order  on  his 
departure : — ■ 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  being  on  the  point  of  returning  to 
England,  again  takes  this  opportunity  of  congratulating  the  army  upon 
the  recent  events,  which  have  restored  peace  to  their  country,  and  to 
the  world. 

"  The  share  which  the  British  army  have  had  in  producing  these 
events,  and  the  high  character  with  which  the  army  will  quit  this 
country,  must  be  equally  satisfactory  to  every  individual  belonging  to 
it  as  they  are  to  the  Commander  of  the  Forces ;  and  he  trusts  that  the 
troops  will  continue  the  same  good  conduct  to  the  last. 

"  The  Commander  of  the  Forces  once  more  requests  the  army  to 
accept  his  thanks. 

"  Although  circumstances  may  alter  the  relations  in  which  he  has 
stood  towards  them  for  some  years  so  much  to  his  satisfaction,  he 
assures  them  he  will  never  cease  to  feel  the  warmest  interest  in  their 
welfare  and  honour,  and  that  he  will  be  at  all  times  happy  to  be  of 
any  service  to  those,  to  whose  conduct,  discipline  and  gallantry,  their 
country  is  so  much  indebted." 

The  Duke,  personally  bidding  farewell  to  the  principal  officers,  im- 
mediately embarked  in  H.M.'s  sloop  of  war  the  Rosario,  and,  sailing 
for  England,  reached  Dover  on  the  23rd  of  June.  The  salute  fired 
by  the  sloop  announced  the  valuable  freight  she  bore.  Immediately 
the  yards  of  all  the  vessels  in  Dover  harbour  were  manned,  and  the 
launch  of  the  Nymjjhcn  frigate  was  sent  to  convey  on  shore  the 
"hero  of  a  hundred  fights."  The  guns  along  the  heights  -and  the 
adjoining  batteries  thundered  their  welcome  to  the  incomparable 
soldier;    and    the    news    of   his    arrival    spreading    like   wildfire 


1814.]  ROYAL  VISITORS   IN  ENGLAND.  343 

thousands  of  persons  assembled  at  the  pier-heads  and  along  the  shore 
to  greet  him  with  their  cheers.  A  carriage  stood  at  the  pier  to 
convey  him  to  the  Ship  Inn  ;  but  "Wellington's  foot  was  scarcely  on 
the  shore,  when  he  was  lifted  on  to  the  shoulders  of  an  enthusiastic 
crowd  and  borne  to  his  destination  amidst  the  iterated  cheers  of  the 
populace. 

A  fortnight  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Duke,  the  Emperor  of 
Russia,  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  sons,  brother,  and  nephew  of  the 
latter,  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Oldenburgh,  the  sister  of  the  Emperor ; 
Marshal  Bliicher;  the  Hetman  of  the  Cossacks,  Platoff;  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  a  great  many  more  princes  and  members  of  illustrious 
foreign  Houses,  had  arrived  in  England  on  a  visit  to  the  Prince 
Regent ;  and  numerous  appropriate  fetes  at  Carlton  Palace,  the 
Guildhall,  the  parks,  &c.,  had  been  given  in  their  honour.  Public 
enthusiasm  was  raised  to  a  high  pitch  of  effervescence.  The  Royal 
visitors  were  the  objects  of  great  curiosity.  The  Duchess  of  Olden- 
burgh gave  a  fashion  to  bonnets  ;  Platoff  and  his  attendant  Cossacks 
were  followed  by  crowds,  and  the  trousers  of  the  fierce  horsemen  of 
the  Don  and  the  Volga  were  universally  adopted  by  the  petits 
mditres  of  the  day.  But,  perhaps,  the  visitor  who  attracted  the 
largest  share  of  notice  was  the  veteran  soldier,  Bliicher.  For  many 
months  his  deeds  of  heroism  and  undaunted  perseverance  in  the  war 
with  Napoleon,  had  been  in  the  mouths  of  thousands,  and  England 
now  panted  to  mark  her  admiration  by  the  cheers  which  accompanied 
his  progress  whenever  he  moved  abroad.  Marshal  Prince  Bliicher, 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Prussian  army,  was  no  common  man. 
Born  in  1742,  at  his  father's  country-seat  in  Pomerania,  he  served 
from  his  fifteenth  year,  beginning  his  military  career  in  the  "  Seven 
Years'  "War,"  under  the  patronage  and  command  of  the  celebrated 
Zeiten,  the  friend  and  favourite  of  Frederic  the  Great.  Ardent  from 
infancy,  Bliicher  preferred  the  cavalry  and  entered  into  the  regiment 
of  Red  Hussars,  which  had  acquired  peculiar  distinction  for  its  bravery 
on  different  occasions,  but  particularly  for  defeating  the  French  in 
the  memorable  battle  of  Rosbach.  Tn  this  regiment  he  continued 
nearly  twenty  years,  when  he  took  offence  at  the  promotion  over  him 
of  a  junior  officer.  Superior  influence  caused  his  remonstrances  to 
be  disregarded ;  irritated  at  the  injustice,  he  challenged  the  favoured 
youngster — a  duel  took  place ;  and  Bliicher,  in  disgust,  demanded 
and  received  his  discharge.  After  this  he  lived  some  years  in  retire- 
ment, occupying  himself  in  the  cultivation  of  his  paternal  estates, 
which  were  tolerably  extensive.  In  this  seclusion  he  became  par- 
ticularly partial  to  literature  and  the  arts.     Bliicher  did  not  remain 


344 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1814. 


unknown  to  the  different  administrations  of  the  Prussian  government 
while  absent  from  his  profession ;  but  the  stern  and  unforgiving 
disposition  of  the  sovereign  caused  him  to  repel  all  attempts  of  the 
friends  .of  Bliicher  to  procure  his  restoration  to  the  service.  He, 
however,  regularly  appeared  as  a  spectator  at  the  grand  annual 
reviews,  and  at  one  of  these,  after  the  death  of  Frederic  II.,  he  was 
noticed  by  Frederic  William  III.,  who  restored  him  to  his  rank. 
From  this  period  he  began  to  ascend  most  rapidly  to  eminence.  He 
very  soon  obtained  a  squadron  in  his  old  regiment  of  hussars.     The 


MARSHAL  PEINCE  BLUCHEE. 


Colonel  not  long  after  died,  and  Bliicher  obtained  his  rank.  He 
now  came  into  perpetual  service,  his  regiment  being  under  the 
orders  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick ;  whose  name  and  deeds  are 
familiar  to  this  hour  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  where  he  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  revolutionary  campaigns.  The  various  attacks 
which  he  made  were  all  similar  and  characteristic.  It  was  his  plan 
vO   rush   upon  the  enemy  with  irresistible  impetuosity,  to  retire  on 


1814.]  MARSHAL   PRINCE   BLUCHER.  345 

meeting  with  serious  opposition ;  to  place  himself  at  a  distance  and 
minutely  observe  the  enemy's  movements,  to  take  advantage  of  every 
indication  of  weakness  and  disorder  by  a  new  attack,  and  then  to 
dart  upon  his  opponents  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  cut  his  way 
into  the  ranks,  make  a  few  hundred  prisoners,  and  retire  again. 
This  was  the  usual  manoeuvre  of  Blucher,  who,  by  such  a  mode  of 
warfare,  acquired  considerable  reputation,  particularly  at  Hientveller. 
When  the  French  invaded  Prussia,  in  the  year  1806,  Blucher  was  fore- 
jQOSt  in  opposing  their  progress  through  Westphalia,  whence  ho  made 
*  masterly  retreat  in  the  face  of  GO, 000  French,  his  own  force  being 
only  20,000.  At  the  battle  of  Auerstadt,  in  1806,  Blucher  very 
nighly  distinguished  himself;  and  although  he  differed  from  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick  respecting  the  time  and  mode  of  attack,  he 
showed  the  most  consummate  generalship  and  determined  bravery 
during  the  whole  of  that  memorable  action.  At  the  battle  of 
Preutzlau,  where  he  likewise  very  much  signalised  himself,  he  had 
the  command  of  the  cavalry,  under  Prince  Hohenlohe  Ingelfingen. 
He  also  signalised  himself  by  a  gallant  charge  of  the  French  at  Frank- 
enhausen ;  but  as  their  numbers  were  irresistible,  Blucher  was 
obliged  to  retreat,  which  he  did  in  admirable  order,  and  threw  him- 
self into  Lubec,  where  he  was  besieged  by  the  French,  who  summoned 
him  to  surrender,  but  with  his  characteristic  bravery  he  replied  in 
these  remarkable  words — "  Ich  wercle  mich  nicht  crgeben  bis  ich 
meinen  letztcn  Bhdstropfen  verlohrcn  habe  !"  i.  e.  "  I  will  not  sur- 
render till  I  have  lost  the  last  drop  of  my  blood  !"  The  French, 
however,  with  an  overwhelming  force,  stormed  the  city  and  took  it, 
after  a  most  gallant  resistance.  Blucher  was  made  prisoner,  but 
shortly  after  exchanged  for  Marshal  Victor,  Duke  of  Belluno.  He 
then  returned  to  Konigeburgh,  and  was  soon  afterwards  sent  by  sea, 
at  the  head  of  a  division  to  Swedish  Pomerania,  in  order  to  assist  in 
the  defence  of  Stralsund,  and  generally  to  support  the  operations  of 
the  Swedes  ;  but  the  peace  of  Tilsit  rendered  his  farther  operations 
unnecessary,  and  he  once  more  retired  to  Prussian  Pomerania,  the  site 
of  his  birth. 

After  the  unfortunate  engagement  near  Halle,  in  October,  1806, 
in  which  Bernadotte  commanded,  and  which  ended  in  the 
capitulation  of  the  Prussian  army,  under  Prince  Hohenlohe, 
General  Blucher,  by  a  ruse  de  guerre,  succeeded  in  saving  the 
5000  men  under  his  command.  He  was  separated  from  the 
main  body  of  the  army  by  General  Klein,  to  whom  he  sent 
a  message,  stating  that  an  armistice  was  concluded  for  six 
months.       This    the   general    believed,    and    Blucher's    division   was 


346  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

consequently  saved.  After  the  peace  of  Tilsit  he  remained  in  appa- 
rent inactivity,  till  the  unexpected  and  important  defection  of  General 
Von  Yorck  gave  the  signal  for  a  general  insurrection  in  the  Prussian 
States  against  the  French.  Immediately  after  this  event,  we  find 
the  veteran  availing  himself  of  every  opportunity  for  vengeance. 
By  the  end  of  the  year  1812,  he  had  raised  a  corps  of  volunteers, 
composed  of  youths  of  the  first  families  in  Prussia,  who  rushed  to 
range  themselves  under  his  banner,  and  at  the  revival  of  the  cam- 
paign, we  find  him  holding  the  important  rank  of  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  Prussian  army,  which  when  united  with  certain  divisions  of 
Austrians  and  Russians,  was  termed,  froni  the  site  of  its  operations, 
the  army  of  Silesia.  Blucher  had  two  sons,  both  men  of  distinguish- 
ed bravery  and  abilities.  The  eldest  signalised  himself  materially 
in  the  campaign  in  Germany,  in  1813,  by  destroying, — in  the  rear 
of  the  French  army,  just  at  the  time  when  the  armistice  in  September 
was  concluded, — a  large  park  of  artillery  and  ammunition.  Bona- 
parte ordered  a  detachment  against  him,  by  whom  he  was  captured 
after  a  brave  resistance.  He  was  soon,  however,  exchanged  for  an 
ofiicer  of  equal  rank,  but  unfortunately  he  fell  sick  and  died  in  a  few 
days.  He  was  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  Prussian  hussars.  His 
brother  was  then  a  major  in  the  light  cavalry,  under  the  immediate 
orders  of  his  father.  The  sequel  to  Blucher's  career  down  to  this 
point  has  been  described  in  the  brief  notices  of  the  operations  of  the 
northern  allies  in  1812-13. 

At  the  moment  when  Wellington  set  foot  in  England,  the  allied 
sovereigns  were  at  Portsmouth  with  the  Prince  Regent,  attending  a 
grand  naval  review.  The  Duke  immediately  proceeded  to  Portsmouth 
to  pay  his  respects  to  his  Royal  Highness,  who,  on  returning  to  his 
hotel  after  the  review,  met  and  embraced  the  British  chief.  The  in- 
stant it  was  known  at  Portsmouth  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had 
arrived,  the  royal  visitors  ceased  to  be  objects  of  attraction.  The 
hero  of  Salamanca  and  Vittoria,  the  Pyrenees  and  Toulouse,  became 
the  cynosure  of  all  eyes.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  sought  to 
behold  him,  and  to  swell  the  sound  of  general  welcome  with  their 
voices.  At  dinner  that  evening,  the  Duke  enjoyed  the  highest  post 
of  honour  ;  and  Regent,  Emperor,  and  King  felt  themselves  flattered 
that  they  sat  at  table  with  one  whose  purity  of  character  was  on  a 
level  with  his  military  greatness.  The  town  was  brilliantly  illumin- 
ated, and  for  some  hours  after  midnight  the  people  walked  the  streets, 
congratulating  each  other  that  they  had  lived  not  merely  to  see  peace 
established,  but  to  look  upon  its  illustrious  author. 

Proceeding  to  Loudon,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  hailed  with 


1814.]  WELLINGTON   IN   LONDON.  347 

enthusiastic  and  grateful  acclamations  by  the  myriads  who  poured 
out  to  line  his  path  wherever  he  went.  Coriolanus,  after  fluttering  the 
Volscians  at  Corioli,  did  not  receive  a  more  cordial  welcome. 

"  All  tongues  spahe  of  him,  and  the  bleared  sights 
Were  spectacled  to  see  him    .    .    . 

.     .    .    Stalls,  bulks,  windows. 
Were  smothered  up,  leads  filled,  and  ridges  horsed 
With  variable  complexion ;  all  agreeing 
In  earnestness  to  see  him    .    .    . 

The  matrons  flung  their  gloves, 
Ladies  and  maids  their  scarfs  and  handkerchiefs 
Upon  him  as  he  passed  ;  the  nobles  bended 
As  to  Jove's  statue ;  and  the  commoners  made 
A  shower  of  thunder  with  their  caps  and  shouts." 

But  gratifying  as  may  have  been  those  symptoms  of  popular  admi- 
ration and  thankfulness,  it  was  from  Parliament  that  the  Duke  was 
to  receive  the  substantial  reward  of  his  great  service. 

The  28th  of  June  was  fixed  upon  for  his  formal  reception.  The 
Lord  Chancellor  having  taken  his  seat,  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
attired  as  a  Field  Marshal,  with  the  addition  of  his  robes,  was  intro- 
duced, supported  by  the  Dukes  of  Richmond  and  Beaufort,  also  in 
military  uniform,  and  in  their  ducal  robes.  Having  arrived  in  the 
body  of  the  House,  the  Duke  made  the  usual  obeisance  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  and  showed  his  patent  and  right  of  summons,  as  Baron 
and  Viscount,  Earl,  Marquis,  and  lastly  Duke,  which  were  each  read 
by  the  clerks.  The  oaths  were  then  administered,  and  the  Test  Bolls 
having  been  signed  by  him,  the  Duke,  accompanied  by  his  noble 
supporters,  took  his  seat  on  the  Dukes'  bench,  and  saluted  the  House 
in  the  usual  manner,  by  rising,  taking  off  his  hat,  and  bowing 
respectfully.' 

The  Lord  Chancellor  then  rose,  and  pursuant  to  their  lordships' 
order,  addressed  his  Grace  : — 

"  My  Lord  Duke  of  Wellington, 

"  I  have  received  the  commands  of  this  House,  which,  I  am 
persuaded,  has  witnessed  with  infinite  satisfaction  your  Grace's  per- 
sonal introduction  into  this  august  assembly,  to  return  your  Grace 
the  thanks  and  acknowledgments  of  this  House,  for  your  great  and 
eminent  services  to  your  King  and  country. 

"  In  the  execution  of  these  commands,  I  cannot  forbear  to  call  the 
especial  attention  of  all  who  hear  me  to  a  fact  in  your  Grace's  life, 

1  "Annals  of  Parliament.'' 


•548  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

singular,  I  believe,  in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  infinitely 
honourable  to  your  Grace,  that  you  have  manifested,  upon  your  first 
entrance  into  this  House,  your  right,  under  various  grants,  to  all  the 
dignities  in  the  peerage  of  this  realm  which  the  Crown  can  confer. 
These  dignities  have  been  conferred  at  various  periods,  but  in  the 
short  compass  of  little  more  than  four  years,  for  great  public  services, 
occurring  in  rapid  succession,  claiming  the  favour  of  the  Crown,  in- 
fluenced by  its  sense  of  justice  to  your  Grace  and  the  country ;  and 
on  no  one  occasion  in  which  the  Crown  has  thus  rewarded  your  merits 
have  the  Houses  of  Parliament  been  inattentive  to  your  demands 
upon  the  gratitude  of  the  country.  Upon  all  such  occasions  they  have 
oflfered  to  your  Grace  their  acknowledgments  and  thanks,  the  highest 
honours  they  could  bestow. 

"  I  decline  all  attempts  to  state  your  Grace's  eminent  merits  in 
your  military  character ;  to  represent  those  brilliant  actions,  those 
illustrious  achievements,  which  have  attached  immortality  to  the 
name  of  "Wellington,  and  which  have  given  to  this  country  a  degree 
of  glory  unexampled  in  the  annals  of  this  kingdom.  In  thus  acting, 
I  believe  I  best  consult  the  feelings  which  evince  your  Grace's  title 
to  the  character  of  a  truly  great  and  illustrious  man. 

'•'  My  duty  to  this  House  cannot  but  make  me  most  anxious  not  to 
fall  short  of  the  expectation  which  the  House  may  have  formed  as  to 
the  execution  of  what  may  have  been  committed  to  me  on  this  great 
occasion ;  but  the  most  anxious  consideration  which  I  have  given  to 
the  nature  of  that  duty  has  convinced  me  that  I  cannot  more 
effectually  do  justice  to  the  judgment  of  the  House,  than  by  referring 
your  Grace  to  the  terms  and  language  in  which  the  House  has  so 
repeatedly  expressed  its  own  sense  of  the  distinguished  and  consum- 
mate wisdom  and  judgment,  the  skill  and  ability,  the  prompt  energy, 
the  indefatigable  exertion,  the  perseverance,  the  fortitude,  and  the 
valour,  by  which  the  victories  of  Vimiero,  Talavera.  Salamanca,  and 
Vittoria  were  achieved  ;  by  which  the  deliverance  of  Portugal  was 
effectuated  ;  by  which  the  ever  memorable  establishment  of  the  allied 
armies  on  the  frontiers  of  France  was  accomplished  ;  armies  pushing 
forward,  in  the  glory  of  victory  at  Orthes,  to  the  occupation  of 
Bordeaux. 

"  These  achievements,  in  their  immediate  consequences  infinitely 
beneficial  to  the  common  cause,  have,  in  their  final  results,  secured 
the  peace,  prosperity,  and  glory  of  this  country ;  whilst  your  Grace's 
example  has  animated  to  great  exertions  the  other  nations  of  Europe, 
exertions  rescuing  them  from  tyranny,  and  restoring  them  to  inde 
pendence,  by  which  there  has  been  ultimately  established  among  all 


1814.]  IBANKS  OF  PARLIAMENT.  849 

the  nations  of  Europe  that  balance  of  power  which,  giving  sufficient 
strength  to  every  nation,  provides  that  no  nation  shall  be  too  strong. 

"  I  presume  not  to  trespass  upon  the  House  by  representing  the 
personal  satisfaction  which  I  have  derived  from  being  the  honoured 
instrument  of  conveying  to  your  Grace  the  acknowledgments  and 
thanks  of  this  House  upon  every  occasion  upon  which  they  have  been 
offered  to  your  Grace,  or  by  endeavouring  to  represent  the  infinite 
gratification  which  I  enjoy  in  thus  offering,  on  the  behalf  of  the  House, 
on  this  day,  to  your  Grace  in  person,  those  acknowledgments  and 
those  thanks.  Your  Grace  is  now  called  to  aid  hereafter,  by  your 
wisdom  and  judgment,  the  great  council  of  that  nation,  to  the  peace, 
prosperity,  and  glory  of  which  your  Grace  has  already  so  essentially 
contributed  ;  and  I  tender  your  Grace,  now  taking  your  seat  in  this 
House,  in  obedience  to  its  commands,  the  thanks  of  the  House  in  the 
words  of  its  resolution  : — 

"  '  That  the  thanks  of  this  House  be  given  to  Field-Marshal  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  on  his  return  from  his  command  abroad,  for  his 
eminent  and  unremitting  service  to  his  Majesty  and  to  the  public'  " 

The  Duke  answered  the  address  to  the  following  effect : — 

"  My  Lords, — I  have  to  perform  a  duty  to  which  I  feel  myself  very 
inadequate,  to  return  your  lordships  my  thanks  for  the  fresh  mark  of 
your  approbation  of  my  conduct,  and  of  your  favour. 

'•'  I  assure  your  lordships  that  I  am  entirely  overcome  by  the  honours 
which  have  been  conferred  upon  me,  and  by  the  favour  with  which  I 
have  been  received  in  this  country  by  the  Prince  Regent,  by  your 
lordships,  aud  by  the  public. 

"  In  truth,  my  lords,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  advantages  which  I 
enjoyed  in  the  confidence  reposed  in  me,  and  the  support  afforded  by 
the  Government,  and  by  H.  R.  H.  the  Commander-in-Chief,  in  the 
cordial  assistance  which  I  invariably  received  upon  all  occasions  from 
my  gallant  friends,  the  general  officers  of  the  army,  who  are  an  honour 
to  the  country — the  gallantry  aud  discipline  of  the  troops,  and  in  the 
manner  in  which  I  was  encouraged  and  excited  to  exertion  by  the 
protection  and  gracious  favour  of  the  Prince,  I  cannot  but  consider 
that,  however  great  the  difficulties  with  which  I  had  to  contend,  the 
means  to  contend  with  them  were  equal  to  overcome  them  ;  and  I  am 
apprehensive  that  I  shall  not  be  found  so  deserving  of  your  favour  as  I 
wish. 

"  If,  however,  my  merit  is  not  great,  my  gratitude  is  unbounded ; 
and  I  can  only  assure  your  lordships  that  you  will  always  find  me 


860  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLTNGTOK  [1814 

ready  to  serve  his  Majesty  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability  in  any 
capacity  in  which  my  services  can  be  at  all  useful  to  this  great 
country." 

His  Grace  then  retired  to  unrobe,  re-entered  the  House,  for  a  few 
minutes  sitting  on  the  extremity  of  one  of  the  benches,  and  then  took 
his  departure  for  the  evening. 

Three  days  after  this  ceremonial,  the  House  of  Commons  offered 
the  Duke  a  similar  tribute.  In  the  middle  of  May  the  House,  in 
consequence  of  a  message  from  the  Prince  Regent  intimating  that  he 
had  conferred  the  rank  and  title  of  a  Duke  and  a  Marquis  on  "Well- 
ington, and  recommending  the  grant  to  him  of  an  annuity  that  would 
enable  him  to  support  the  high  dignity  of  the  title,  granted  the  sum  of 
400.000/.,  ncmine  dissentiente.  On  the  27th  of  June  the  House  of 
Commons  resolved  further  to  honour  the  Duke,  by  '•  paying  him  the 
highest  tribute  of  respect  and  applause  that  it  was  possible  to  bestow 
on  a  subject — that  of  its  thanks,"  accompanied  by  a  deputation  to 
congratulate  him  on  his  return  to  England.  The  Duke  fixed  upon 
the  1st  of  July  to  receive  the  compliment. 

At  about  a  quarter  before  five,  says  the  precise  Annual  Register, 
the  Spoaker  being  dressed  in  his  official  robes,  and  the  House  being 
crowded  with  members,  some  of  them  in  military  and  naval  uniforms, 
and  many  in  the  Court  dresses  in  which  they  had  been  attending  the 
Speaker  with  an  address  to  the  , Prince  Regent  on  the  peace,  the 
House  was  acquainted  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  in  waiting. 
His  admission  being  resolved,  and  a  chair  being  set  for  him  on  the 
left  hand  of  the  bar.  towards  the  middle  of  the  House,  his  Grace 
entered,  making  his  obeisances,  while  all  the  members  rose  from  their 
seats.  The  Speaker  then  informing  him  that  a  chair  was  placed  for 
his  repose,  he  sat  down  in  it  for  some  time  covered,  the  Sergeant 
standing  on  his  right  hand  with  the  mace  grounded,  and  the  members 
resumed  their  scats. 

He  then  rose,  and  spoke,  uncovered,  to  the  following  eflfect : — 

"Mr.  Speaker, — I  was  anxious  to  be  permitted  to  attend  this 
House,  in  order  to  return  my  thanks  in  person  for  the  honour  they 
have  done  mc  in  deputing  a  committee  of  their  members  to  congratu- 
late me  on  my  return  to  this  country ;  and  this,  after  the  House  had 
animated  my  exertions  by  their  applause  upon  every  occasion  which 
appeared  to  merit  their  approbation,  and  after  they  had  filled  up  the 
measure  of  their  favours  by  conferring  upon  me,  at  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Prince  Regent,  the  noblest  gift  that  any  subject  had  ever 
received. 


1814, J  THA2TKS   OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  COMMONS.  351 

"  I  hope  it  will  not  be  deemed  presumptuous  in  me  to  take  this  op- 
portunity of  expressing  my  admiration  of  the  great  efforts  made  by 
this  House,  and  the  country,  at  a  moment  of  unexampled  pressure 
and  difficulty,  in  order  to  support  the  great  scale  of  operations  by 
which  the  contest  was  brought  to  so  favourable  a  termination.  By  the 
wise  policy  of  Parliament,  the  Government  was  enabled  to  give  the 
necessary  support  to  the  operations  which  were  carried  on  under  my 
direction ;  and  I  was  encouraged,  by  the  confidence  reposed  in  me  by 
His  Majesty's  Ministers,  and  by  the  Commander-in-Chief,  by  the  gra- 
cious favour  of  H.R.H.  the  Prince  Regent,  and  by  the  reliance  which 
I  had  on  the  support  of  my  gallant  friends,  the  general  officers  of  the 
army,  and  on  the  bravery  of.  the  officers  and  troops,  to  carry  out  the 
operations  in  such  a  manner  as  to  acquire  for  me  those  marks  of  the 
approbation  of  this  House,  for  which  I  have  now  the  honour  to  make 
my  public  acknowledgments. 

"  Sir,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  the  gratitude  which  I  feel ; 
I  can  only  assure  the  House  that  1  shall  always  be  ready  to  serve  His 
Majesty  in  any  capacity  in  which  my  services  can  be  deemed  useful, 
with  the  same  zeal  for  my  country,  which  has  already  acquired  for  me 
the  approbation  of  this  House." 

This  speech  was  received  with  loud  cheers,  at  the  end  of  which  the 
Speaker,  who  had  sat  covered  during  its  delivery,  rose,  and  thus  ad- 
dressed his  Grace  : — 

"  My  Lord, — Since  last  I  had  the  honour  of  addressing  you  from 
this  place,  a  series  of  eventful  years  have  elapsed,  but  none  without 
some  mark  and  note  of  your  rising  glory. 

"  The  military  triumphs  which  your  valour  has  achieved  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Douro  and  the  Tagus,  of  the  Ebro  and  the  Garonne, 
have  called  forth  the  spontaneous  shouts  of  admiring  nations.  Those 
triumphs  it  is  needless  on  this  day  to  recount.  Their  names  have 
been  written  by  your  conquering  sword  in  the  annals  of  Europe,  and 
we  shall  hand  them  down  with  exultation  to  our  children's  children. 

"  It  is  not,  however,  the  grandeur  of  military  success  which  has 
alone  fixed  our  admiration,  or  commanded  our  applause  ;  it  has  been 
that  generous  and  lofty  spirit  which  inspired  your  troops  with  un- 
bounded confidence,  and  taught  them  to  know  that  the  day  of  battle 
was  always  a  day  of  victory  ;  that  moral  courage  and  enduring  for- 
titude, which,  in  perilous  times,  when  gloom  and  doubt  had  beset 
ordinary  minds,  stood,  nevertheless,  unshaken  ;  and  that  ascendancy 
of  character,  which,  uniting  the  energies  of  jealous  and  rival  ua- 


352  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814 

tions,  enabled  you  to  wield  at  will  the  fate  and  fortunes  of  mighty 
empires. 

"  For  the  repeated  thanks  and  grants  bestowed  upon  you  by  this 
House,  in  gratitude  for  your  many  and  eminent  services,  you  have 
thought  fit  this  day  to  offer  us  your  acknowledgments ;  but  this  nation 
well  knows  that  it  is  still  largely  your  debtor  It  owes  to  you  the 
proud  satisfaction  that,  amidst  the  constellation  of  great  and  illustri- 
ous warriors  who  have  recently  visited  our  country,  we  could  present 
to  them  a  leader  of  our  own,  to  whom  all,  by  common  acclamation, 
conceded  the  pre-eminence  ;  and  when  the  will  of  Heaven,  and  the 
common  destinies  of  our  nature,  shall  have  swept  away  the  present 
generation,  you  will  have  left  your  great  name  and  example  as  an  im- 
perishable monument,  exciting  others  to  like  deeds  of  glory,  and  serv- 
ing at  once  to  adorn,  defend,  and  perpetuate  the  existence  of  this  coun- 
try among  the  ruling  nations  of  the  earth. 

'•  It  now  remains  only  that  we  congratulate  your  Grace  upon  the 
high  and  important  mission  on  which  you  are  about  to  proceed,  and 
we  doubt  not  that  the  same  splendid  talents,  so  conspicuous  in  war, 
will  maintain,  with  equal  authority,  firmness,  and  temper,  our  national 
honour  and  interests  in  peace." 

His  Grace  then  withdrew,  making  the  same  obeisances  as  when  he 
entered  ;  and  all  the  members  rising  again,  he  was  reconducted  by  the 
Serjeant  to  the  door  of  the  House.  After  he  was  gone,  Lord  Castle- 
reagh  moved,  that  what  the  Duke  had  said  on  returning  thanks  to  the 
House,  together  with  the  Speaker's  answer,  be  printed  in  the  votes, 
which  was  agreed  to,  7iem.  con. 

If  the  great  captain  had  not  shared  in  the  feelings  of  indifference 
with  which  Coriolanus  treated  the  homage  of  grateful  Rome  upon 
his  return  from  Corioli,  it  must  have  been  difficult  for  him  to  suppress 
BOme  emotions  of  contempt  when  the  Common  Council  of  the  City 
of  London  besought  him  to  accept  a  banquet  at  the  Guildhall. 
Only  five  years  previously,  the  same  Common  Council,  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  its  wisdom,  had  denounced  the  campaign  in  Spain  and 
Portugal  as  useless,  and  freely  censuring  the  victory  at  Talavera, 
petitioned  the  Prince  Regent  not  to  confirm  the  grant  which  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  the  fulness  of  its  gratitude,  had  made.'  But 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  in  no  mood  to  quarrel  with  the  testi- 
monials of  applause  the  citizens  were  now  eager  to  offer.     Forgetting 

1  Home-bred  Uannibals  and  civic  .Scipios  now  denounced  liis  waiting,  now  deprecated  his  rasb 
nesa.  Even  I.ondon'a  train-bands,  redolent  of  Finchley,  sbot  their  goose-quill  arrows  at  the  war 
tier's  reputation.— CAaW«#  Phillips. 


1814.]  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL.  353  ' 

and  forgiving  the  folly  suggested  by  ignorance,  his  Grace  accepted 
the  splendid  hospitality  of  the  City  of  London  on  the  9th  July  ;  and 
from  the  profuseness  of  compliment  emanating  from  the  chief  magis- 
trate on  that  memorable  occasion,  it  might  have  been  imagined  that 
there  had  never  been  but  one  opinion  east  of  Temple  Bar  of  the  great 
public  merits  of  the  Duke  !  Can  it  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that,  with 
such  startling  evidence  before  him  of  the  unsubstantial  character  of 
popular  applause,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  should  have  acquired  a 
lofty  indifference  to  public  opinion,  and  cultivated  a  resolution  to  seek 
no  other  guide  than  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  and  the  will  of 
his  Sovereign?  He  had  seen  and  felt  the  fluctuating  character  of 
the  breath  of  the  multitude,  and  garnered  in  his  heart  a  manly  scora 
both  of  the  praises  and  censures  of  the  impulsive  mob.  While  the 
civic  council  fawned  upon  the  fortunate  hero  present,  whom  they  had 
freely  censured  when  absent  and  apparently  unfortunate,  the  lan- 
guage put  into  the  mouth  of  the  proud  Roman  must  have  occurred  to 
him : — 

«  Trust  ye  ? 
With  every  minute  you  do  change  a  mind, 
And  call  him  noble  that  was  now  your  hate ; 
Him  vile  that  was  your  garland. 

He  that  trusts  yoa 
Where  he  should  find  you  lions,  finds  you  hares, 
WTiere  foxes,  geese ;  you  are  no  surer,  no, 
Than  is  the  coal  of  fire  upon  the  ice, 
Or  loadstone  in  the  sun.    Your  virtue  is 
To  make  him  worthy  whose  offence  subdues  him, 
And  curse  that  Justice  did  it.    He  that  depends 
Upon  your  favours,  swims  with  fins  of  lead. 
And  hews  down  oaks  with  rushes." 

Upon  the  occasion  of  the  ftte  at  Guildhall,  a  superb  sword  was 
presented  to  the  Duke  by  the  citizens  of  London,  and  the  Chamber- 
lain, in  offering  the  gift,  addressed  the  Duke  in  a  speech  of  which  the 
following  extract  has  been  preserved  : — 

"  I  am  conscious,  my  lord,  how  inadequately  I  express  the  sense  of 
my  fellow-citizens  of  your  Grace's  merits — but  they  will  recollect 
that,  where  I  have  failed,  no  one  has  succeeded — the  most  eloquent  of 
the  British  senate,  and  the  first  authorities  in  the  two  Houses  of 
Parliament,  have  confessed  themselves  unequal  to  the  task.  But 
ample  justice  will  be  done  to  your  Grace  by  the  world  at  large,  who 
will  frequently  and  attentively  peruse,  with  admiration  and  delight, 
those  inimitable  despatches,  which,  like  the  Commentaries  of  Caesar, 
will  hand  down  with  honour  the  name  of  their  illustrious  author  to 
the  latest  posterity. 

VOL.  I.  Z 


354  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814 

"  Your  Grace  has  been  a  chosen  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Provi- 
dence during  war.  May  you  long  enjoy  in  peace  the  love  oi  your 
country,  and  the  admiration  of  mankind  !  and,  in  the  discharge  of  that 
honourable  office  to  which  his  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  Regent,  has 
recently  appointed  you,  may  you  cement  and  perpetuate  union  and 
good-will  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  so  essential  to  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  Europe  ! 

"  The  citizens  of  London  can  never  forget  the  many  signal  victories 
obtained  by  your  Grace,  in  those  regions  which  have  been  dignified  by 
the  triumphs  of  an  Alexander,  an  Aurungzebe,  and  a  Clive.  By  the 
exertions  of  your  Grace,  the  British  empire  in  India  has  been  placed 
in  a  state  of  security,  which  promises  felicity  to  millions  in  that 
country,  and  an  extension  of  commerce  to  Great  Britain.  To  enumer- 
ate the  brilliant  actions  of  your  Grace  in  Europe,  would  require 
more  time  than  the  present  occasion  will  permit,  and  would  trespass 
too  much  upon  your  Grace's  delicacy ;  but  it  is  a  truth  which  I  can- 
not refrain  from  declaring,  that  during  the  war  in  Spain  and  Portugal, 
which  terminated  in  the  complete  emancipation  of  those  kingdoms,  a 
more  illustrious  instance  is  not  recorded  in  history,  of  the  caution 
of  Fabius,  most  happily  combined  with  the  celerity  of  Ca;sar ;  and 
when  your  Grace  had  planted  the  British  standard  in  the  heart  of 
the  enemy's  country,  you  gave  a  great  example  to  the  world  of  the 
practicability  of  that  lesson  which  the  great  Roman  poet  taught  his 
countrymen — 

" '  Parcere  subjectos,  et  debellare  Buperbos.' " 

The  noble  Duke  expressed  his  high  sense  of  the  honour  conferred 
tipon  him  by  the  city  ;  and  attributed  the  success  of  all  his  enter- 
prises to  the  ability  with  which  he  was  supported  by  his  brother 
officers,  and  to  the  valour  and  discipline  of  his  Majesty's  forces  and 
those  of  the  allies.  On  receiving  the  sword,  he  with  particular 
energy  declared  his  readiness  to  employ  it  in  the  service  of  his 
Sovereign  and  his  country,  should  it  unfortunately  happen  that  the 
general  wish  of  the  nations  of  Europe  for  a  permanent  peace  should 
be  disappointed,  and  that  he  should  be  again  called  upon  to  assist  in 
the  public  cause. 

On  the  11th  of  July,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  sumptuously 
entertained  by  the  Prince  Regent,  at  a  fete  at  Carlton  Palace,  at 
which  Queen  Charlotte  was  present ;  and  soon  afterwards  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Paris,  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  embassy,  to  which  he  had 
been  nominated  officially  on  the  4th  of  the  month. 


1814.1 


DISCUSSIONS  ON  SLAVERY. 


355 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

DlsCTissioM  on  Slavery— The  Duke  moves  Louis  XVIII.  to  procure  its  abolition— The  Congro»a 
at  Vienna— Lord  Castlereagh. 


Y  the  middle  of  the  year  1814,  the 
steady  efforts  of  Wilberforce  and 
Clarkson,  continued  through  a 
long  series  of  years,  to  procure  the 
emancipation  of  the  negroes  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  to  annihilate  the 
horrible  slave  traffic  on  thS  coast 
of  Africa,  had  begun  to  operate 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
England,  and  the  inertness  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century  was  now  suc- 
ceeded by  a  passionate  enthusiasm 
in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  the 
trade  in  human  flesh.  To  such  a 
pitch  indeed  was  the  public  mind 
wrought  upon  the  subject,  that 
much  discontent  was  engendered  by  the  slave  article  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  signed  at  Paris.  That  clause  gave  the  French  five  years'  time 
to  put  an  end  to  the  traffic,  and  as  other  clauses  restored  to  France 
many  of  the  colonies  in  the  West  Indies  and  elsewhere,  which 
depended  in  a  measure  for  their  prosperity  on  slave  labour,  it  was 
expected  that  much  suffering  and  misery  would  ensue  from  the 
measures  which  would  be  taken  to  supply  these  colonies.  In  the 
House  of  Lords  and  Commons,  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr.  Wilberforce 
spoke  warmly  on  the  subject  ;  and  moved  addresses  to  the  Prince 
llegent,  praying  that  he  would  use  his  influence  with  the  French 
Government  to  procure  a  diminution  of  the  period.  They,  and 
others  of  the  Liberal  party,  were  of  opinion  that  the  clause  in  the 


356  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  |^1814 

Treaty  of  Peace  should  have  stipulated  for  the  immediate  renun- 
ciation of  the  trade  by  France,  instead  of  permitting  its  continuance 
for  five  years.  But  Lord  Liverpool  in  one  House,  and  Lord 
Castlereagh  in  the  other,  impressed  upon  the  Anti-Slavery  members 
that  it  was  a  great  mistake,  founded  upon  a  misconception  of  the 
right  of  one  nation  to  dictate  a  course  of  policy  to  another  and  an 
independent  nation,  to  suppose  that  such  a  clause  could  have  been 
insisted  upon.  Perseverance  in  a  stipulation  to  which  France  was  in 
no  mood  to  assent  would  in  all  probability  have  interrupted,  or  totally 
stopped,  the  negotiations  at  Paris,  and  the  war  might  have  been  con 
tinned.  Was  the  country  disposed  to  accept  the  alternative  1  A 
question  not  to  be  asked. 

The  result  of  the  Parliamentary  debates  and  the  clamours  of  the 
Press  was,  that,  although  the  British  Government  would  not  pledge 
itself  to  do  more  than  refer  the  matter  to  the  Congress  about  to 
be  holden  at  Vienna,  it  was  an  instruction  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
to  press  the  subject  upon  the  attention  of  the  French  Monarch  ;  and, 
if  possible,  to  procure  a  limitation  of  the  period  within  which  France 
had  engaged  to  terminate  the  trade. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  communicated  with  Talleyrand,  the 
Prince  de  Benevento,  Prime  Minister  of  France  holding  the  direction 
of  Foreign  AflFairs,  and  through  his  means  sought  an  interview  with 
the  King,  which  was  readily  granted.  At  this  interview  Louis  XVIIL 
went  into  the  question  with  much  intelligence  and  rationality.  He 
expressed  his  willingness  and  his  determination  to  fulfil  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  ;  but  in  reference  to  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the 
immediate  abolition  of  the  trade,  His  Majesty  referred  to  the  wishes 
and  sentiments  of  his  own  people.  "  The  opinions  in  France  are  by 
no  means  what  they  were  in  England  upon  this  subject.  Many 
years  had  elapsed  and  much  discussion  had  taken  place,  and  great 
pains  had  been  taken  by  many  individuals,  and  by  societies,  before 
the  opinions  in  England  had  been  brought  to  that  state  of  unanimity 
upon  this  subject,  in  which  they  then  were,  and  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  opinion  in  France  should  immediately  agree  upon  it.' 
The  Duke,  however,  elicited  from  the  French  government  a  promise 
that  the  navy  should  be  employed  to  check  the  traffic  on  the  coast 
of  Africa,  and  that  was  all.  The  Government  had  not  that  support 
(in  respect  to  the  slave  commerce  at  least)  without  which  no  govern- 
ment can  or  ought  to  proceed — the  support  of  public  opinion.  There 
was  no  general  knowledge  in  France  of  the  horrors  which  for  years 
had  been  so  forcibly  exhibited  to  the  British  community,  and  there- 
fore no  strong  sympathy  on  the  subject.     On  the  contrary,  all  the 


1814.]  •    LORD   CASTLEREAGH.  357 

sympathy,  all  the  prejudice,  went  the  other  way  ;  for  slavery  was 
supposed  to  be  necessary  to  the  ends  of  commerce  and  the  prosperity 
of  the  colonies.  And  there  were  not  wanting  writers  in  the  West 
India  interest  who  fed  the  popular  antipathy  to  change ;  and  they  were 
listened  to  with  the  greater  relish  because  they  represented  that 
England  opposed  slavery  from  motives  of  commercial  jealousy  alone 
and  a  desire  to  monopolise  all  the  profit  of  intercourse  with  the 
colonies.  Amidst  these  difficulties,  enhanced  by  the  violence  of  the 
British  press  and  its  strictures  upon  the  French  people  and  the  French 
authorities,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  drew  up  a  note  regarding  the 
trade,  which  was  reserved  for  discussion  by  the  Congress.  Through- 
out, one  point,  interesting  to  the  biographer  of  Wellington,  was 
established.  The  Duke  held  the  traffic  in  slaves  in  great  horror,  and 
used  every  effort  which  the  best  feelings  of  humanity  could  dictate  to 
procure  its  overthrow. 

The  Congress  assembled  at  Vienna  on  the  1st  of  November. 
According  to  the  treaty  of  Paris,  it  was  to  have  met  two  months 
after  the  signing  of  that  document,  but  when  business  came  to  be 
discussed  among  the  ministers  of  the  several  Powers,  it  was  found 
that  so  much  previous  labor  was  requisite  to  bring  the  questions  for 
determination  to  a  due  state  of  maturity,  that  an  adjournment  to 
the  Ist  of  November,  became  unavoidable. 

Lord  Castlereagh,  the  brother  of  General  Sir  Charles  Stewart,' 
proceeded  to  Vienna  as  the  representative  of  British  interests.  The 
choice  of  this  statesman  was  judicious.  He  was  a  man  who  thoroughly 
understood  wherein  the  true  welfare  of  this  country  lay  in  her 
relations  with  foreign  countries.  Possessed  of  a  degree  of  personal 
and  political  courage  bordering  on  heroism,  he  suffered  no  considera- 
tions to  induce  him  to  swerve  from  the  diplomatic  path  chalked  out 
by  the  cabinet  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Of  an  elegant  person 
and  graceful  manners,  he  won  his  way  with  the  reserved  and  cautious ; 
and  by  his  manly  bravery  overawed  the  hostility  of  the  stubborn. 
At  Chantillon  his  brave  deportment  and  impregnable  resolution 
decided  the  allied  sovereigns  to  push  the  war  when  all  but  the 
Emperor  Alexander  were  disposed  to  come  to  terms  with  Napoleon. 
Even  one  of  his  greatest  political  opponents  (Lord  Brougham)  has 
done  justice  to  his  intrepidity  while  criticising  the  faults  of  his 
oratory — which,  to  say  the  truth,  was  certainly  very  remarkable  for 
•'a  nice  derangement  of  epitaphs."  "Lord  Castlereagh,"  writes 
Lord  Brougham,  "  had  some  qualities  well  fitted  to  conciliate  favour, 
and  even  to  provoke   admiration,  in  the  absence  of  everything  like 

1  Afterwards  Marquis  of  Londonderry. 


368  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

eloquence.  He  was  a  bold  and  fearless  man ;  the  very  courage  with 
which  he  exposed  himself  unabashed  to  the  most  critical  audience  in 
the  world,  while  incapable  of  uttering  two  sentences  of  anything  but 
the  meanest  matter,  in  the  most  wretched  language ;  the  gallantry 
with  which  he  faced  the  greatest  difficulties  of  a  question;  the 
unflinching  perseverance  with  which  he  went  through  a  whole  subject, 
leaving  untouched  not  one  of  its  points,  whether  he  could  grapple 
with  it  or  no.  and  not  one  of  the  adverse  arguments,  however  forcibly 
and  felicitously  they  had  been  urged  ;  neither  daunted  by  recollecting 
the  impression  just  made  by  his  antagonist's  brilliant  display,  nor 
damped  by  consciousness  of  the  very  rags  in  which  he  now  presented 
himself — all  this  made  him,  upon  the  whole,  rather  a  favourite  with 
the  audience  whose  patience  he  was  taxing  mercilessly,  and  whose 
gravity  he  ever  and  anon  put  to  a  very  severe  trial.  Nor  can  any 
one  have  forgotten  the  kind  of  pride  that  mantled  on  the  fronts  of 
the  Tory  phalanx,  when,  after  being  overwhelmed  with  the  powerful 
fire  of  the  Whig  opposition,  or  galled  by  the  fierce  denunciations  of 
the  Mountain,  or  harassed  by  the  splendid  displays  of  Mr.  Canning, 
their  chosen  leader  stood  forth,  and  presenting  the  graces  of  his 
eminently  patrician  figure,  flung  open  his  coat,  displayed  an  azure 
riband  traversing  a  snow-white  chest,  and  declared  '  his  high  satis- 
faction that  he  could  now  meet  the  charges  against  him  face  to  face, 
and  repel  with  indignation  all  that  his  adversaries  had  been  bold  and 
rash  enough  to  advance.'  Such  he  was  in  debate ;  in  council  he  had 
far  more  resources.  He  possessed  a  considerable  fund  of  plain  sense, 
not  to  be  misled  by  any  refinement  of  speculation,  or  clouded  by  any 
fanciful  notions.  He  went  straight  to  his  point;  he  was  brave 
politically  as  well  as  personally.  Of  this  his  conduct  on  the  Irish 
Union  had  given  abundant  proof;  and  nothing  could  be  more  just 
than  the  rebuke  which,  as  connected  with  the  topic  of  personal 
courage,  we  may  recollect  his  administering  to  a  great  man  who  had 
passed  the  limits  of  parliamentary  courtesy.  '  Every  one  must  be 
sensible,'  he  said,  '  that  if  any  personal  quarrel  were  desired,  any 
insulting  language  used  publicly  where  it  could  not  be  met  as  it 
deserved,  was  the  way  to  prevent  and  not  to  produce  such  a 
rencounter.'  No  one  after  that  treated  him  with  disrespect.  The 
complaints  made  of  his  Irish  administration  were  perfectly  well- 
grounded  as  regarded  the  corruption  of  the  Parliament  by  which  he 
accomplished  the  Union  ;  but  they  were  entirely  unfounded  as 
regarded  the  cruelties  practised  during  and  after  the  rebellion.  Far 
from  partaking  in  the  atrocities,  he  uniformly  and  strenuously 
set  his   face   against   them.     He  was  of  a  cold   temperament   and 


1814.]  THE   CONGRESS   OF   VIENNA.  859 

determined  character,  but  not  of  a  cruel  disposition;  and  to  him. 
more  than  perhaps  to  any  one  else,  was  owing  the  termination  of 
the  system  stained  with  blood." 

The  subjects  discussed  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna  were  of  a  com- 
plicated and  vexing  character.  The  independence  or  otherwise  of 
Saxony,  Poland,  and  Italy  particularly  agitated  the  assembled  kings 
and  ministers.  On  the  question  of  Poland,  Lord  Castlereagh  was 
opposed  to  the  plans  of  the  Russian  cabinet,  and  he  did  not  restrain 
the  expression  of  his  dissatisfaction  respecting  the  Polish  suzerainete, 
which  the  Emperor  Alexander  was  desirous  of  reserving  to  himself 
"  There  was  a  degree  of  steadiness,  I  may  say  of  nobleness,"  writes 
M.  Capefigue,'  "  in  his  private  conferences  with  Alexander,  in  the 
midst  of  the  splendid  salons  of  Vienna,  that  was  quite  admirable.  No 
aristocracy  in  Europe  is  more  magnificient  than  that  of  England. 
Lady  Castlereagh's  parties  at  Vienna  exceeded  in  splendour  those 
even  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria  ;  while  her  ladyship,  who  was  a 
woman  of  extraordinary  abilities,  afforded  considerable  assistance  to 
the  diplomatic  proceedings  of  her  husband." 

The  tendencies  of  the  Congress  were  decidedly  Russian,  and  there 
was  every  reason  to  fear  that  if  a  stand  were  not  made  against  the 
Emperor's  ambitious  views,  the  effect  of  the  new  treaty  of  alliance 
would  be  to  give  to  the  Czar  a  preponderating  power  almost  as  fatal 
to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  prosperity  of  British  commerce  as  that 
which  had  recently  been  destroyed.  When,  therefore.  Lord  Castle- 
reagh was  recalled  to  England  to  take  his  place  in  Parliament  at  the 
beginning  of  1815,  it  became  necessary  to  select  a  person  as  his 
successor  at  Vienna,  the  influence  of  whose  name  and  the  firmness  of 
whose  character  would  be  a  guarantee  for  a  perseverance  in  the 
policy  which  Lord  Castlereagh  had  chalked  out.  The  choice  naturally 
fell  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  was  not  likely  on  any  one 
point  to  yield,  if  concession  compromised  the  interests  of  Great 
Britain. 

The  Duke  promptly  accepted  the  appointment.  His  position  in 
France — in  spite  of  the  means  at  his  disposal  for  lending  splendour 
to  the  embassy — was  not  free  from  alloy.  The  King  was  unremitting 
in  his  kindness  and  condescension,  and  all  the  Bourbons  delighted  to 
render  homage  to  the  man  who  had  so  effectually  fought  their  battles. 
But  the  feeling  in  France,  generally,  was  that  of  repugnance  to  the 
English.  Soult,  as  Minister  of  War,  showed  as  much  chivalrous 
courtesy  to  the  British  Ambassador  as  if  he  had  not  been  chased 
from  Oporto,  baffled  in  the  Pyrenees,  and  driven  out  of   Toulouse ; 

1  "  Diplomatists  of  Europe."    Edited  by  Major-General  Monteith. 


360  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814, 

and  the  other  Marshals  who  held  power  were  by  no  means  deficient 
in  civilities.  Still  the  people  at  large  were  dissatisfied.  And  it  was 
not  only  on  account  of  the  presence  of  Englishmen  who  had  taken 
the  lead  in  conquering  their  veteran  soldiers  and  experienced  generals. 
Poverty  was  all  but  universal.  The  revolution  had  ruined  the 
country,  and  the  political  institutions  of  France  offered  a  bar  to  the 
accumulation  of  riches  and  power  by  any  private  families.  Con- 
sequently every  one  sought  public  employment — not  for  the  honour 
of  the  thing,  but  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  the  wherewithal  of 
existence.  Corresponding  with  his  old  friend  Dumourier,  the  Duke 
took  an  accurate  view  of  the  state  of  France  at  this  juncture. 
Bonaparte  had  left  an  army  of  a  million  of  men  in  France.  The 
King  was  unable  to  maintain  a  quarter  of  the  number.  All  who 
were  not  employed  were  consequently  discontented.  Bonaparte 
governed,  directly,  one-half  of  Europe,  and  indirectly  the  other  half. 
For  reasons  well  understood,  he  employed  an  infinite  number  of 
persons  in  public  offices  ;  and  all  who  had  thus  been  entertained, 
whether  in  civil  or  military  duties,  had  been  discharged.  To  this 
numerous  class  were  to  be  added  a  great  many  emigrants  and  others 
who  had  returned  to  France,  all  dying  of  hunger,  and  all  seeking 
public  employment,  that  they  might  live.  Thus,  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  French  society  not  in  government  pay,  or  pursuing 
handicraft  work,  or  labouring  in  the  fields,  were  in  a  state  of  indigence, 
and  therefore  discontented. 

All  these  circumstances  combined  to  make  the  Duke  desirous  of  a 
change  of  scene  and  occupation ;  and  Vienna,  besides  supplying  scope 
for  his  diplomatic  talents,  held  out  the  promise  of  cheerful  social 
intercourse  amongst  the  first  personages  of  Europe,  in  a  city  always 
remarkable  for  its  elegant  gaiety. 

To  Vienna  the  Duke  of  Wellington  repaired. 

It  is  time  to  advert  to  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  the  circumstances 
attending  his  departure  for  the  island  of  Elba.  That  island  Napoleon 
reached  on  the  3rd  of  May,  the  very  day  on  which  Louis  XVIII. 
made  his  public  entry  into  Paris.  The  Emperor — for  he  was  suffered 
to  retain  the  title — landed,  as  sovereign  of  the  island,  on  the  4th  of 
May,  under  a  salute  of  100  guns  from  the  batteries  of  Porto 
Ferrajo. 

Elba,  which  is  situated  between  the  Etrurian  or  Tuscan  coast,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  a  channel  twelve  English  miles  in  breadth, 
was  added  to  the  territory  of  France  in  August,  1802,  by  right  of 
conquest.  The  i.sland  is  covered  with  lofty  mountains,  which  offer  a 
rich   and   spontaneous  vegetation  of  multifarious  odoriferous  plants 


1814.]  NAPOLEON   AT  ELBA.  361 

and  shrubs.  There  are,  however,  a  few  extensive  places,  of  which 
Lacona  is  the  chief ;  and  these  are  as  remarkable  for  their  fertility, 
under  good  agricultural  mauagement,  as  the  mountains.  In  miner- 
alogy, the  island  is  likewise  peculiarly  rich.  Nature  appears  to  have 
heaped  together  all  her  treasures  in  this  branch  of  produce.  The 
island  possesses  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  magnet,  lead,  sul- 
phur, vitriol,  and  quarries  of  marble,  granite,  slate,  and  others.  But 
it  is  from  its  iron  mines  that  Elba  draws  the  chief  part  of  its  wealth, 
and  the  residue  is  derived  from  the  tunny  fishery.  The  country  is 
well  watered  by  springs  and  brooks,  which  take  their  source  in  the 
mountains.  The  population  at  this  time  numbered  about  12,000 
souls,  and  their  affairs  were  managed  by  an  electoral  assembly  of  sixty 
members. 

Napoleon  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  joy.  After 
the  formalities  of  reception  were  at  an  end,  he  proceeded  to  take  a 
survey  of  his  diminutive  empire,  and,  immediately  discovering  its 
deficiencies,  applied  his  active  mind  and  the  resources  at  his  disposal 
to  their  remedy.  He  caused  new  roads  to  be  laid  out ;  fortified  the 
island  of  Rianosa,  which  had  been  left  uninhabited  on  account  of  the 
frequent  piratical  descents  from  the  coast  of  Barbary  ;  built  a  house 
for  his  sister  Pauline;  constructed  stables  for  150  horses;  a  new 
lazaretto  ;  stations  for  the  tunny  fishery ;  and  buildings  to  facilitate 
the  operations  of  the  salt  works  at  Porto  Longone.  He  changed  the 
name  of  the  capital  (Porto  Ferrajo)  to  Cosmopoli,  and  hoisted  a  new 
national  flag,  which  had  a  red  band  dexter  charged  with  three  bees  in 
a  white  field.  Towards  the  end  of  May,  Cambronne  arrived  from 
France  with  some  hundreds  of  volunteers  from  the  Old  Guard,  and 
soon  afterwards  the  Emperor's  mother  and  sister  Pauline  joined 
him.  A  British  officer,  Colonel  Sir  Neil  Campbell,  was  likewise  dis- 
patched to  the  island,  with  the  appellation  of  a  British  commissioner ; 
but,  in  reality,  to  keep  up  a  sort  of  espionnage  over  the  movements 
of  Napoleon. 

Elba  became  a  place  of  great  resort  during  the  period  of  the  Em- 
peror's residence  there.  Numerous  travellers,  merchants,  artizans, 
and  others,  continually  visited  the  place — some  attracted  by  curiosity 
— some  by  sympathy — many  by  the  hope  of  advantage.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  likens  the  island  at  this  time  to  a  great  barrack  filled  with 
military,  gens  d'armes,  refugees  of  all  descriptions,  expectants,  de- 
pendants, domestics,  and  adventurers.'  Nobles  and  ladies  were  also 
there,  with  statesmen,  artists,  warriors,  and  wealthy  citizens.  Never, 
Bays  Bussey,  was   Elba   so    busy  or   so    prosperous   as   during   the 

^  1  "  Life  of  Napoleon." 


362  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

abode  among  its  sea-beaten  rocks  of  "  the  Emperor  ; "  never  did 
its  ships  traverse  seas  infested  with  Moorish  pirates  with  so  much 
impunity  as  while  they  were  protected  by  the  golden  bees  of  Na- 
poleon. 

The  revenues  of  Elba  were,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  inadequate  to 
meet  the  expenses  which  the  Emperor  had  incurred  in  improving  the 
island  committed  to  his  government.  He  depended,  therefore,  in  a 
great  measure,  upon  the  pension  assigned  to  him  by  the  allies  upon 
his  abdication  of  the  throne.  This  pension  amounted  to  six  millions 
of  francs,  chargeable  on  the  great  book  of  France,  and  should  have 
been  paid  in  advance.  Unhappily,  however,  for  the  French  govern- 
ment, this  salutary  proceeding  was  neglected.  By  the  middle  of  sum- 
mer, Napoleon  found  himself  deficient  of  the  means  of  carrying  on  all 
the  improvements  he  had  projected.  The  money  he  had  brought  from 
France  was  exhausted,  and  he  had  no  other  resources  than  the  pension. 
He  applied  for  it,  and  immediately  adopted  a  system  of  retrenchment. 
The  allowances  of  his  retinue  and  the  wages  of  the  native  miners  were 
reduced.  Part  of  the  provisions  laid  up  for  his  Guard  were  disposed 
of,  together  with  a  small  park  of  artillery.  Napoleon  called  upon 
the  inhabitants  for  arrears  of  contributions,  but  they  claimed  exempt- 
ion from  pressure  on  this  head  on  the  ground  of  a  want  of  a  market 
for  their  wines.  The  troops  of  the  Emperor  were  then  quartered  upon 
them,  as  a  substitute  for  the  enforcement  of  the  contributions,  and  as 
an  economical  way  of  supporting  an  army  ;  and  the  Emperor,  morti- 
fied at  a  condition  so  entirely  new  to  one  who  had  for  years  kept  the 
key  of  the  treasury  of  France,  shut  himself  up  in  his  palace,  and  gave 
utterance  to  his  discontent. 

The  want  of  good  faith  conspicuous  in  the  French  Grovernment, 
ehort-sighted  as  it  was,  attracted  the  attention  of  Lord  Castlereagh, 
and  that  acute  minister,  apprehending  a  world  of  danger  from  the 
neglect  of  Napoleon's  remonstrances,  appealed  to  the  ministry  of 
Louis  XVIIL  The  reply  which  he  received  was,  that  Bonaparte  had 
manifested  a  spirit  of  infraction  of  the  treaty  on  his  part  by  recruiting 
for  his  guards  in  Corsica  and  other  places,  and  that  Louis  XVIII. 
had  dispatched  a  person  to  Elba  to  afford  him  some  pecuniary  aid, 
but  not  to  pay  the  entire  stipend  until  a  satisfactory  explanation  had 
been  given  of  some  specious  points  of  his  conduct.  Whether  these 
statements  were  true  or  false.  Napoleon  continued  without  his  pen- 
sion, and  the  idea  of  returning  to  France  suggested  itself  to  him, 
as  the  only  means  of  terminating  the  misery  of  his  situation  —  a 
misery  increased  by  certain  nervous  apprehensions  that  some  designs 
upon  his  life  and  liberty  were  meditated  by  the  British  Government. 


1814.]  PRANCE   UNDER  THE  BOURBONS.  363 

A  man  had  been  appointed  Governor  of  Corsica  who  bad  once 
threatened  his  existence,  and  the  British  Ministry  had  purchased 
St.  Helena  for  the  East  India  Company,  with  the  apparent  purpose 
of  transferring  Napoleon  to  the  rock-bound  prison. 

To  return  to  France  without  some  prospect  of  being  received  with 
open  arms  by  the  inhabitants,  would  have  been  madness.  The 
memory  of  his  tyranny  was  too  fresh  to  warrant  the  belief  that  his 
sudden  re-appearance  would  be  acceptable.  It  therefore  became  ne- 
cessary to  employ  the  agency  of  intrigue  to  feel  the  pulse  of  the 
multitude,  and  especially  to  ascertain  the  sentiments  of  the  army  in 
respect  to  the  proposed  resumption  of  power. 

Happily  for  the  project  of  Napoleon,  the  Bourbons  had  misruled 
France  most  wofully  since  their  accession  to  power.  The  "  good 
intentions"  of  the  King  were  not  sustained  by  a  corresponding 
amount  of  wisdom.  In  lieu  of  conciliating  the  people  who  had  been 
accustomed  for  twenty  years  to  the  institutions  of  the  Republic  and 
the  Empire,  by  preserving  what  was  good  and  introducing  only  those 
changes  which  affected  few  personal  interests,  the  ministry  of  Louis, 
— composed  chiefly  of  returned  eynigres  who  claimed  favour  as  the 
price  of  their  loyalty. — completely  disturbed  every  department  of  the 
government.  The  soldiers  of  Marengo,  Austerlitz,  Dresden,  and 
Smolensko  were  either  superseded  by  generals  of  the  ancicnne  noblesse 
who  had  never  seen  a  shot  fired,  or  turned  adrift  with  miserable 
stipends  ;  the  possessors  of  estates  which  had  formerly  belonged 
to  royalists,  were  ejected  and  their  property  handed  over  to  those 
in  whose  hands  they  were  before  the  Revolution.  Then  the  influence 
of  the  priesthood  revived  and  was  encouraged ;  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  guaranteed  by  the  charter,  was  abrogated  for  a  censorship  as 
strict  as  any  that  had  been  in  force  during  the  government  of  Napo- 
leon ;  the  consolidated  taxes,  the  promised  abolition  of  which  had 
been  one  of  the  strongest  allurements  of  Bourbonism,  were  re- 
established in  all  their  oppressive  rigour ;  pensions  to  various  classes 
were  withheld  on  the  ground  of  the  necessity  for  a  rigid  economy ; 
the  Legion  of  Honour,  so  prized  by  the  French,  was  degraded  by 
distributions  amongst  the  most  despicable  adherents  of  the  Bour- 
bons ;  stage-players  were  again  declared  excommunicated,  and  Chris- 
tian burial  refused  to  their  remains ;  *    and,  by  way  of  fixing  upon 

1  Mademoiselle  Raucour,  a  celebrated  actress  of  the  Theatre  Francais,  and  a  woman  of 
respectable  character,  died  at  the  age  of  sixty.  Her  corpse,  attended  by  a  train  of  carriages, 
and  a  lai^e  concourse  of  people  of  all  ranks  and  descriptions,  was  brought  for  interment  to 
the  Church  of  St.  Brigue.  By  the  rigorous  ordinances  of  the  Romish  worship,  actors  and 
actresses  are  in  a  state  of  excommunication.    This,  if  strictly  enforced,  deprived  them  of  tho 


364  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

the  Revolution  the  deepest  stigma  of  disgrace,  the  bones  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  his  queen  were  pompously  removed  to  St.  Denis. 

The  effect  of  all  these  and  other  measures  was  to  disgust  and 
offend  and  alienate  vast  numbers  of  the  French  people.  They  began 
to  sigh  for  the  days  when  Napoleon,  at  once  tolerant  and  despotic, 
gratified  their  passions  while  he  trampled  their  true  interests  under 
foot.  They  felt  that  they  had  exchanged  one  stork  for  another,  the 
gourmands  differing  only  in  the  quality  of  their  food.  Soon  it  be- 
came bruited  about  that  Napoleon  was  dissatisfied,  wronged,  and 
wished  to  be  back  among  the  people  whose  "  grandeur  "  at  any  rate 
he  had  always  promoted.  The  active  agents  in  his  interest  while 
they  disseminated  the  statement  encouraged  the  expression  of  a 
reciprocal  feeling,  and,  with  an  ingenuity  truly  French,  they  typified 
the  Emperor  and  his  advent  in  the  spring  by  pictures  of  the  violet, 

beneflUi  of  Cliristian  burial.  Many  years  had  passed  since  this  barbarous  exclusion  had  been 
practised,  and,  certainly,  the  attendants  on  the  remains  of  this  performer  were  little  prepared 
for  the  disappointment  which  awaited  them,  when  they  found  the  gates  of  the  church  locked 
against  them,  and  admission  peremptorily  refused.  The  dismay  of  the  spectators  was  succeeded 
by  universal  indignation.  An  immense  crowd  began  to  assemble,  and  cries  of  fury  and  ven- 
geance were  heard  in  all  the  adjoining  quarters  of  Paris.  Tlie  Rue  Saint  Ilonord;,  and  every 
avenue  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  scene,  were  blocked  up  by  the  populace. 

The  church  doors  were  broken  open,  but  no  priest  appeared,  and  the  most  frightful  disturbance 
was  apprehended,  nor  was  it  supposed  that  the  effects  of  the  popular  agitation  would  end  with 
the  cause  which  had  produced  it. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  message  was  sent  to  the  King,  supplicating  his  Majesty's  interposition,  (br 
the  sake  of  humanity,  and  for  the  public  peace  of  the  capital.  .\n  answer  was  immediately  r^ 
turned  from  the  palace,  that  the  affair  belonged  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church,  and  that  the 
King  could  not  intermeddle  with  the  spiritual  authorities. 

The  tumult  increased,  and  the  danger  of  some  movement  approaching  to  insurrection  became 
ever)'  moment  more  visible,  when  a  second  deputation  proceeded  to  the  Tuillcries.  At  the  same 
time  a  declaration  was  communicated  to  the  Court,  on  the  part  of  all  the  actors,  actresses,  and 
attendants  on  every  theatre  in  Paris,  tliat  if  the  remains  of  Mademoiselle  Rancour  were  not 
instantly  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  Christian  sepulture,  they  would,  in  a  body,  read  their  re- 
cantation, and  adopt  the  Lutheran  or  Calvanistic  faith.  The  second  message  succeeded  better 
than  the  first,  and  brought  back  .^n  order  from  the  King  to  the  clergymen  to  receive  the  corpse, 
and  read  the  funeral  service.  This  w.is  accepted  by  the  multitude  as  a  pledge  of  peace  ;  long, 
loud,  and  reiterated  shouts  broke  from  more  than  twenty  thousand  people— "Vive  le  Roi!  4 
bas  les  Culottes!  li  has  les  Calotins!  au  diablc  Ics  Calotins!"  The  ceremony  was  then  per- 
formed, but  with  "  maimed  rites."  The  troops,  instead  of  quelling  the  tumult,  manifested  a 
disposition  to  support  the  people.  They  were  ordered  not  to  permit  more  than  a  certain  num- 
ber of  the  followers  of  the  funeral  into  the  church,  but  they  gave  free  admission  to  all.  The 
church  was  crowded.  The  torches  which  had  been  prepared  for  an  ensuing  festival  were 
lighted  up,  and  the  performers  of  the  Opera  and  the  principal  theatres  sung  a  solemn  anthem  on 
the  occasion. 

The  disappointed  did  not  fail  to  represent  this  as  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  superstition 
and  bigotry.  It  was  asserted  that  fanaticism  had  attalne<l  a  powerful  influence  in  the  councils 
of  the  sovereign,  and  would  rapidly  bring  back  all  the  burdens  of  the  ptiesthood,  without  the 
blessings  of  religion.  Those  calumnies  were  too  easily  credited,  and  made  an  indelible  and 
fatal  impression. 


1814.]-         NAPOLEON  RETURNS  TO  FRANCE.  365 

which  were  dispersed  over  the  kingdom  accompanied  by  the  significant 
notice,  "  ilreviendra  avec  le  printemps?^  The  intriguers  established 
a  species  of  fraternity,  and  the  violet  worn  at  the  button-hole  was  the 
symbol  of  the  commingled  parties  who  now  sank  all  other  distinctive 
appellations  in  that  of  Patriots. 

Time  waned.  The  Bourbons,  who,  as  Talleyrand,  the  epigrammatist, 
averred,  "  had  learnt  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing "  during  their 
absence,  took  no  heed  of  the  indications  which  wiser  men  would  have 
accepted  as  suggestive  of  precaution,  and  in  the  mean  while  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  matured  his  plans  for  a  return  to  France. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1815,  assembling  his  guards  on  the 
terrace  in  front  of  the  castle  of  Cosmopoli,  Napoleon  announced  to 
them  his  intended  departure  for  France  on  that  day.  The  announce- 
ment, not  altogether  unexpected,  was  received  with  enthusiasm. 
Vive  V  Empereur !  was  shouted  by  a  thousand  voices,  and  the  pre- 
parations for  embarkation  were  made  with  such  rapidity  that  by 
four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  400  of  the  Old  Guard 
were  embarked  in  the  Inconstayit  brig ;  200  light  infantry,  100  Polish 
light  horsemen,  and  a  battalion  oi  flanquerus  were  distributed  among 
five  smaller  vessels.  As  night  fell,  Napoleon  embarked,  accompanied 
by  Generals  Bertrand  and  Drouet,  and  all  sail  was  crowded  for 
France. 

Three  days  later  Bonaparte  landed  at  Cannes,  near  Frejus,  in 
the  south  of  France.  Proclamations,  prepared  on  board  the  Incon- 
stant, were  immediately  printed  and  distributed,  and  at  the  head  of 
his  handful  of  troops  Napoleon  moved  towards  Grenoble  with 
marvellous  speed.  In  two  days  he  had  marched  twenty  leagues, 
the  people  everywhere  received  him  with  acclamation.'  The  pro- 
clamations denounced  Augereau  and  Marmont  as  the  cause  of  the 
success  of  the  allies,  who,  according  to  Napoleon,  had  been  placed 
in  a  desperate  situation  by  the  victories  he  had  personally  achieved. 
He  declared  that  he  had  exiled  himself  to  serve  the  interests  of  the 
people,  and  now  returned  with  the  same  view.  He  reconciled  the 
French  to  disloyalty  to  the  Bourbons  by  telling  them  that  there  was 
no  nation,  however  small,  which  had  not  the  right  to  withdraw  from 
the  dishonour  of  obeying  a  prince  imposed  by  an  enemy  in  the 
moment  of  victory ;  and  he  appealed  to  their  prejudices  against  a 
dynasty  which  held  power  through  foreign  favour,  by  telling  them 

1  "Once  fairly  set  out  on  his  party  of  pleasure, 

Taking  towns  at  his  liking,  and  crowns  at  his  leisure, 

From  Elba  to  Lyons  and  Paris  he  goes, 

Making  balls  for  the  ladies,  and  bows  to  his  foes."— Byros. 


366  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

that  "  when  Charles  VII.  re-entered  Paris  and  overthrew  the 
ephemeral  throne  of  Henry  V.,  he  won  his  sceptre  by  the  valour  of 
his  followers,  and  held  it  not  by  permissio7i  of  a  Prince  Regent  of 
England  /" 

To  the  soldiers  he  addressed  Proclamations  of  a  still  more  exciting 
kind : — 

"  Soldiers  !"  exclaimed  he,  "  we  have  not  been  vanquished.  Two 
men,  sprung  from  our  ranks,  betrayed  our  laurels,  their  country,  their 
Prince,  Iheir  benefactor.  Those  whom  we  have  seen  for  twenty-five 
years  traversing  all  Europe  to  raise  enemies  against  us,  who  have 
passed  their  lives  in  fighting  against  us  in  the  ranks  of  foreign 
armies,  and  in  venting  execrations  on  our  beautiful  France  ;  shall 
they  who  have  been  unable  to  sustain  our  troops,  pretend  to  com- 
mand or  enchain  our  eagles  ?  Shall  we  suffer  them  to  inherit  the 
fruits  of  our  glorious  toils  ;  to  rob  us  of  our  honours,  our  fortunes, 
and  to  calumniate  our  glory  ?  If  their  reign  were  to  continue,  all 
would  be  lost,  even  the  memory  of  our  immortal  achievements  ;  with 
what  fury  do  they  misrepresent  our  actions  !  They  seek  to  tarnish 
what  the  world  admires  ;  and  if  they  still  remain  defenders  of  our 
glory,  they  are  to  be  found  among  the  very  enemies  whom  we  have 
defeated  on  the  field  of  battle. 

"  Soldiers  I  In  my  exile,  I  have  heard  your  voice.  I  have  returned 
in  spite  of  all  obstacles  and  dangers.  Your  general,  called  to  the 
throne  by  the  choice  of  the  people,  and  raised  on  your  shields,  is 
restored  to  you,  come  and  join  him.  Cast  down  those  colours  which 
the  nation  has  proscribed,  and  which,  during  twenty-five  years,  served 
as  a  rallying  point  to  all  the  enemies  of  France.  Mount  again  the 
tri-colour  !  You  wore  it  in  the  days  of  our  greatness  !  It  is  our  duty 
to  forget  that  we  have  been  the  mast-ers  of  nations ;  but  we  ought  to 
sufier  no  foreign  interference  in  our  affairs.  Who  can  pretend  to  be 
our  masters  ?  who  has  power  to  become  so  ?  Resume  those  eagles 
which  you  had  at  Ulm,  at  Austerlitz,  at  Jena,  at  Eylau,  at  Friedland, 
at  Zudila,  at  Echmukl,  at  Essling,  at  Wagram,  at  Smolensk,  at  the 
Moskwa,  at  Lutzen,  at  Wurchen,  and  at  Montmirail  !  Think  you 
that  the  handful  of  French,  at  present  so  arrogant,  will  have  courage 
to  meet  our  troops  ?  Let  them  return  whence  they  came  ;  and  then, 
if  they  will,  they  may  reign  as  they  pretend  to  have  reigned  for  nine- 
teen years. 

"  Your  fortunes,  your  honours,  your  glory — the  fortunes,  honours, 
and  glory  of  your  children,  have  no  greater  foes  than  the  Princes  im- 
posed on  you  by  foreigners.  They  are  the  enemies  of  our  glory ; 
since  the  recital  of  the  heroic  deeds  by  which  the  French  name  has 


1814.]  PROCLAMATION  OF  NAPOLEON.  367 

been  rendered  illustrious — performed  in  order  to  escape  from  tyrannic 
misrule — is  their  condemnation.  The  veterans  of  the  armies  of  the 
Sambre  and  Mouse,  of  the  Rhine,  of  Italy,  of  Egypt,  of  the  West,  and 
of  the  Grand  Army,  are  humiliated.  Their  honourable  scars  are  dis- 
graced. Their  successes  would  be  crimes,  the  brave  would  be  rebels, 
if,  as  the  enemies  of  the  people  pretend,  the  legitimate  sovereigns 
were  always  in  the  midst  of  the  foreign  armies.  Honours,  recom- 
pences,  and  favours  are  reserved  for  those  who  have  served  against 
the  country  and  against  us. 

"  Soldiers  !  come  and  range  yourselves  under  the  banners  of  your 
chief  His  existence  is  identified*  with  yours ;  his  rights  are  yours 
and  those  of  the  people ;  his  interest;  his  honour,  his  glory  are  your 
interest,  honour,  and  glory.  Victory  shall  march  at  the  charging 
step ;  the  eagle,  with  the  national  colours,  shall  fly  from  steeple  to 
steeple  till  it  alights  on  the  towers  of  Notre  Dame.  Then  you  will 
be  able  to  show  your  scars  with  honour  ;  then  you  may  boast  of  what 
you  have  done.  You  will  be  the  liberators  of  the  country.  In  your 
old  age,  surrounded  and  honoured  by  your  fellow-citizens,  they  will 
listen  with  respect  while  you  recount  your  high  deeds ;  while  you 
exclaim  with  pride,  '  And  I  also  was  one  of  that  grand  army  which 
twice  entered  within  the  walls  of  Vienna,  within  those  of  Rome,  of 
Berlin,  of  Madrid,  of  Lisbon,  of  Moscow ;  and  which  delivered  Paris 
from  the  stain  imprinted  upon  it  by  treason  and  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.'  Honour  to  those  brave  soldiers — the  glory  of  their  country ! 
and  eternal  infamy  to  the  French  criminals,  in  whatever  rank  they 
were  born,  who,  for  twenty-five  years,  fought  beside  foreigners,  tearing 
open  the  bosom  of  their  country  ! " 

These  proclamations  at  once  rekindled  the  enthusiasm  of  the  army 
and  the  people,  and  one  universal  cry  of  "  welcome ! "  assured 
Napoleon  that  he  was  still  master  of  Prance. 


368 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OP  "WEUvINGTON. 


[1814. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


The  news  of  Napoleon's  arrival  in  France  received  by  the  Congress  at  Vienna— Project  for 
meeting  the  new  invasion— Tlic  Duke's  plan  of  fortifying  the  Netherlands. 

HE  Congress  still  sat 
at  Vienna.  The  most 
voluptuous  capital  in 
Europe  had  attrac- 
tions for  Sovereigns 
and  Ministers  alike, 
and  they  lazily  dis- 
cussed the  questions 
which  had  brought  them  together. 
Business  and  pleasure  had  formed 
so  agreeable  a  partnership,  that 
the  former  was  delayed  that  the 
latter  might  be  prolonged.  Sud- 
denly the  news  arrives — "  Napoleon 
has  escaped  from  Elba,  and  has 
landed  in  France  !  "  A  bombshell 
exploding  in  the  council-chamber 
could  not  have  produced  a  greater  consternation.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  grinds  his  teeth — the  lips  of  Frederic  William  of  Prussia 
blanch  and  quiver — Talleyrand  mutters  an  epigram — the  pulse  of 
Metternich  of  Austria  throbs  violently.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
rises,  and  calmly  turning  to  Talleyrand,  exclaims — "  Remember, 
Monsieur  de  Talleyrand,  I  am  the  soldier  of  the  King." 

What  was  now  to  be  done?  Here  was  an  occurrence  which 
threatened  again  to  complicate  the  affairs  of  Europe,  and  throw  back 
the  Congress  upon  its  starting  point.     No  questions  now  of  readjust- 


1814.]  PLAN   FOR  CHECKING  NAPOLEON.  369 

ments  and  partitions — of  freedom  here  and  dependence  there.     The 
"  new  Sesostris  "  had  reappeared — he 

"  Whose  game  was  empires,  and  whose  stakes  were  thrones, 
Whose  table,  earth— whose  dice  were  human  bones." 

All  thoughts  were  now,  and  instantaneously,  to  converge  towards  one 
point ;  and  that  point,  the  certain  means  of  crushing  at  once,  and  for 
ever,  the  daring  fugitive  from  Elba.  The  delegates  of  distant  govern- 
ments did  not  feel  at  liberty  immediately  to  decide  upon  the  course  tu 
be  taken ; — references  were  therefore  made  to  the  principals  ;  but  by 
the  25th  of  March,  1815,  a  course  had  been  settled,  and  a  treaty  was 
concluded  by  which  Austria,  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Great  Britain 
renewed  their  engagement  to  defend  the  restored  order  of  affairs  in 
Europe,  and  specifically  to  maintain  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of 
Paris  in  May,  1814,  and  those  of  the  Congress,  against  any  attacks, 
and  especially  against  the  projects  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  To  this 
end  they  bound  themselves  each  to  have  constantly  in  the  field 
150,000  men  complete;  and  not  to  lay  down  their  arms  but  in  con- 
currence with  each  other,  nor  until  the  object  of  the  war  should  be 
accomplished,  and  Bonaparte  deprived  of  the  power  of  exciting 
disturbances,  and  of  renewing  his  attempts  to  obtain  the  chief  power 
in  France. 

TJie  manner  in  which  the  allies  contemplated  carrying  out  this 
design  was  to  form  a  perfect  line  of  troops  from  the  channel  to  the 
Mediterranean  ;  and,  at  a  time  to  be  afterwards  determined  upon,  to 
pour  the  whole  of  this  vast  army  into  the  plains  of  France.  Not  a 
moment  was  lost  in  giving  substantial  effect  to  the  magnificent 
scheme.  The  Emperor  of  Russia,  with  characteristic  promptitude, 
called  the  resources  of  his  mighty  empire — which,  with  amazing 
elasticity,  had  recovered  the  shock  of  1812 — into  play,  and  his  quota 
of  troops  was  in  less  than  a  fortnight  prepared  to  take  its  part  in  the 
operations  to  the  south  of  the  Prussian  line.  To  England  was 
assigned  the  task  of  occupying  the  country  nearest  to  the  Channel, 
and  for  every  man  less  than  the  stipulated  number  it  was  her  part  of 
the  compact  to  supply,  she  engaged  to  pay  a  given  sum.  At  this 
time  there  was  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  British,  Hanoverian, 
Dutch,  and  Belgic,  in  the  occupation  of  the  Low  Countries  ;  for,  at  the 
Congress  of  Vienna,  the  seventeen  provinces  had  been  united  under 
one  government,  and  the  numerous  strong  places  of  the  country  were 
garrisoned,  to  form  a  protection  to  Holland  an4  Belgium  against  the 
arms  and  the  influence  of  France.     In  the  month  of  September,  1814, 

VOL.  I.  2  a 


870  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1814 

when  on  liis  way  to  Paris  to  assume  the  duties  of  the  embassy,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  had  taken  a  survey  of  the  Netherlands,  with  a 
view  to  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  defence  against  possible 
French  aggression.  He  found  that  there  was  no  situation  in  the 
country  which  afforded  any  advantages  to  be  taken  up  as  a  fortress, 
or  which  covered  or  protected  any  extent  of  country  ;  and  no  situation 
to  which  the  enemy  could  not  have  easy  access  both  by  land  and  by 
water  for  the  artillery  and  stores  necessary  to  attack  it.  He  likewise 
perceived  (what  could  escape  his  eagle  glance?)  that  if  any  place 
were  fortified,  the  enemy  could  pass  it  without  risk ;  as,  in  case  of 
being  defeated  and  obliged  to  retire,  he  could  not  fail  to  find  innu- 
merable roads  which  would  lead  him  to  some  one  or  other  of  the 
strong  places  on  the  French  frontier.  He  therefore  recommended 
that  the  country  should  be  fortified  upon  the  old  principle,  all  the  old 
situations  being  adhered  to,  and  the  old  sites,  with  modern  improve- 
ments on  the  flanks,  in  every  instance  be  followed.  The  advice  was 
adopted.  The  right  line  of  the  Scheldt  to  the  sea  was  thus  made  so 
strong  as,  with  the  aid  of  inundation,  to  be  quite  secure  when  well 
garrisoned,  leaving  the  armies  disposable  for  operations  to  the  left. 
The  Duke  did  not  go  very  deeply  into  the  subject  of  the  positions 
which  it  might  be  advisable  for  disposable  armies  allotted  to  th^e 
defence  of  the  Netherlands  to  take  up ;  but  on  a  cursory  view  of  the 
topography  of  the  country,  he  came  to  the  remarkable  conclusion — 
the  soundness  of  which  was  singularly  justified  by  after  events — -that 
the  entrance  to  the  forest  of  Soignies  by  the  high  road  which  leads  to 
Brussels  from  Benit,  Charleroi,  and  Namur,  would,  if  worked  upon, 
afford  an  advantageous  position. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna  broke  up  ;  but  not  until  it  had  published 
a  declaration  to  the  world  of  the  sentiments  and  intentions — as 
regarded  Napoleon — of  the  allied  powers  of  Austria,  Kussia,  Prussia, 
Sweden,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  England.  This  declaration 
proclaimed  that  Napoleon  had  destroyed  the  only  legal  title  on  which 
his  existence  depended ;  that  he  had,  by  appearing  in  France  with 
projects  of  confusion  and  disorder,  deprived  himself  of  the  protection 
of  the  law,  and  had  manifested  to  the  universe  that  there  could  be 
neither  peace  nor  truce  with  him.  He  was  therefore  declared  beyond 
the  pale  of  civil  and  social  relations,  and  liable  to  public  vengeance} 


1  The  words  used  in  the  French  copy  of  the  Declaration  were  vindicte  publigue,  which  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  contended  meant  public  justice,  and  not  vengeance.  The  phrase  was  much 
canvassed  in  Europe,  demonstrating  the  value  of  the  opinion  of  the  lato  Duke  of  Sussex,  that  all 
treaties  should  be  drawn  up  in  Latin. 


1814.]  NAPOLEON  ATTEMPTS  CONCILIATION.  3ll 

The  allies  further  declared  that  they  were  resolved  to  maintain  entire 
the  treaty  of  Paris  of  May,  1814,  and  would  employ  all  their  means 
and  unite  all  their  efforts  to  prevent  the  disturbance  of  the  general 
peace.  Although  entirely  persuaded  that  all  France,  rallying  round 
its  legitimate  Sovereign,  would  immediately  annihilate  what  they 
called  the  "  attempt  of  a  criminal  and  impotent  delirium,"  the  Sover- 
eigns declared  that  if,  contrary  to  all  calculations,  any  real  danger 
should  arise,  they  would  be  ready  to  give  to  the  French  King  and 
nation,  or  any  other  government  that  should  be  attacked,  all  the  assist- 
ance requisite  to  the  restoration  of  public  tranquillity. 

The  British  Parliament  was  sitting  at  the  moment  of  Napoleon's 
return  to  France.  But  no  measure  could  be  brought  before  it  in 
reference  to  him  until  communications  had  been  held  with  the  allied 
powers,  and  the  effect  of  Napoleon's  attempt  to  regain  the  crown  had 
been  ascertained.  Early  in  April,  all  doubts  being  at  an  end,  the 
ministry  announced  that  by  a  convention  with  the  allied  powers,  his 
Britannic  Majesty  had  engaged  to  furnish  a  subsidy  of  five  millions 
sterling,  to  be  divided  in  equal  portions  amongst  those  powers  which 
could  not  be  expected  to  supply  150,000  men  for  the  new  service 
that  might  be  required  of  them.  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia  had 
between  them  750,000  men  under  arms ;  but  England  and  Holland 
could  only  supply  50,000  each,  and  the  states  of  Germany  150,000. 
Some  little  opposition  to  this  was  offered  by  Burdett,  Whitbread,  the 
Marquis  of  Wellesley,  and  others,  on  the  ground  that  we  had  no 
business  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  France,  and  that  Napoleon  had 
not  been  sufficiently  watched  at  Elba;  but,  as  usual,  the  "ayes" 
carried  their  point  triumphantly. 

On  the  4th  of  April  Bonaparte  had  resumed  the  government  of 
France.  Aware  of  the  insecurity  of  his  position,  he  began  by  at- 
tempting the  game  of  conciliation ;  and  therefore,  through  Caulain- 
court,  addressed  letters  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  England,  the  Em- 
peror of  Austria,  &c.  ;  the  letters  were  either  returned  or  left  unan- 
swered. In  a  letter  from  Lord  Clancarty,  the  British  representative  at 
Vienna,  it  was  stated,  in  reference  to  the  overtures  made  through 
Caulaincourt,  that,  in  this  war,  the  allied  powers  did  not  desire  to 
interfere  with  any  legitimate  right  of  the  French  people :  they  had 
no  design  to  oppose  the  claim  of  that  nation  to  chose  their  own  form 
of  government,  or  an  intention  to  trench  in  any  respect  upon  their 
independence  as  a  great  and  free  people  ;  but  they  considered  they 
had  a  right,  and  that  of  the  highest  nature,  to  contend  against  the 
re-establishment  of  an  individual  at  the  head  of  the  French  govern- 
ment "  whoso  past  conduct  had  invariably  demonstrated  that  in  such 


372  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1814. 

a  situation  he  would  not  suffer  other  nations  to  be  at  peace, — whose 
restless  ambition.— whose  thirst  for  foreign  conquest — and  whose 
disregard  for  the  rights  and  independence  of  other  states  must  ex- 
pose the  whole  of  Europe  to  renewed  scenes  of  plunder  and  devasta- 
tion." 

On  the  12th  of  March,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  written  from 
Vienna  to  Lord  Castlereagh  : — 

"  I  now  recommend  to  you  to  put  all  your  force  in  the  Netherlands 
at  the  disposal  of  the  King  of  France;  I  ivill  go  and  join  it  if  you 
like  it,  or  do  anything  else  that  gove^-nvient  choose?'' 

Could  it  be  doubted  which  way  the  wishes  of  the  government 
would  tend  at  this  imminent  crisis  1  Was  it  possible  that  any  other 
soldier  living  could  be  expected  to  cope  with  the  terrible  warrior  who 
had  embarked  in  the  most  desperate  enterprise  of  a  life  of  enter- 
prises ?  What  name  could  have  given  confidence  to  Europe  at  thia 
juncture,  or  warned  Napoleon  of  the  dangers  of  the  precipice  on 
whose  brink  he  stood  but  that  which  had  become  identified,  through- 
out the  civilised  world,  with  victory — and  all  that  led  to  victory — with 
truth,  with  honour,  with  justice,  mercy,  magnanimity,  patience,  fore- 
sight, constancy,  and  valour  1  Kansack  the  page  of  history  for 
bright  names — invoke  the  spirits  of  Cossar  and  Hannibal,  of  Scipio 
and  Alexander, — weigh  them — conjure  with  them — none  could  "  start 
a  spirit "  as  soon  as  Wellington. 

The  offer  of  the  Duke  was  accepted  joyfully,  and  on  the  11th  of 
April  he  was  appointed  to  command  the  armies  of  the  Netherlands. 

Our  history  has  reached  a  point  at  which  repose  is  necessary.  Wo 
have  humbly  followed  the  incomparable  chief  through  the  swamps  of 
Holland — the  plains  of  India — the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Portu- 
gal and  Spain — and  the  fair  fields  of  France.  We  have  tracked  his 
steps,  sympathised  with  his  vexations,  disappointments,  and  sorrows, 
gloried  in  his  hard-worn  triumphs,  and  rejoiced  in  his  honours.  Let 
us  breathe  awhile,  ere,  accompanying  him  to  Belgium,  we  behold 
Napoleon  prostrate  at  his  feet. 


APPENDIX,  No.  I. 


ON  THE  SPANISH  ARMY  (See  page  231.) 


TO  SENOR  DON  ANDRES  ANGEL  DE  LA  VEGA,  INFANZON. 

«  Frenada,  3rd  Jlpril,  1813. 

"  Before  I  accepted  the  command  of  the  Spanish  armies  and  went 
to  Cadiz,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  late  Regency,  on  the  4th  of  Decem- 
ber, in  which  I  apprised  them  of  my  opinion  of  the  state  of  the  armies, 
of  the  difficulty  which  I  should  find  in  exercising  the  command,  and  of 
the  powers  with  which  it  was  necessary  that  the  Government  should 
intrust  me ;  and  after  I  went  to  Cadiz  I  wrote  them  a  second  letter 
on  the  subject,  on  the  25th  of  December,  in  which  I  explained,  and 
again  urged  them  to  agree  to  what  I  had  proposed  in  my  first  letter 
of  the  4th  of  December ;  and,  after  repeated  discussions,  they  did 
fully  agree  to  these  proposals  of  mine,  in  a  letter  from  the  Minister 
at  War,  of  the  1st  of  January.  My  object  in  proposing  these 
measures  was  to  place  the  armies  of  Spain  on  the  same  footing  of 
subordination  and  discipline  with  the  other  armies  of  Europe,  and  to 
preclude  all  chance  of  the  continuance  of  those  intrigues,  by  applica- 
tions to  the  Government  which  had  brought  the  army  to  the  state  ia 
which  I  found  it. 

'- 1  could  have  no  object,  or  wish  of  ambition,  personal  to  myself. 
There  are  not  ten  officers  in  the  army  whom  I  know  even  by  sight.  I 
can  have  no  feeling  for  any  but  the  public  interest,  connected  as  it  \b 
with  the  discipline  of  the  army.  . 

"  Another  proof  that  I  can  have  no  object  of  that  description,  is  to 
be  found  in  my  letter  to  the  Government,  of  the  27th  of  December, 
in  which  I  proposed  that  the  Captains-General  of  the  different  armies., 


374  APPENDIX. 

and  not  myself,  should  be  tlie  Captains-General  of  the  provinces 
allotted  for  their  support ;  and  that  in  their  hands  should  be  vested  all 
the  power  which  the  military  were  to  have  in  the  country. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  inform  you,  that  whatever  my  views  may 
have  been,  they  have  been  entirely  frustrated  by  the  departure  of  the 
Government  from  every  article  of  their  engagements  with  me,  as 
sanctioned  by  their  letter  of  the  1st  of  January. 

"First  they  have  removed  officers  from  their  stations,  and  have 
placed  them  in  others,  without  any  recommendation  from  me,  or  any 
other  superior  officer ;  and  without  even  acquainting  me,  or  the 
superiors  of  those  officers,  that  they  have  made  such  arrangements. 

"  Secondly,  they  have  appointed  officers  to  stations  without  my 
recommendation,  or  that  of  any  other  superior  officer  ;  and  have  given 
them  assurances  that  they  should  remain  in  those  stations,  contrary  to 
their  engagements  with  me  ;  and  to  the  Royal  Ordenanzas,  by  which 
the  powers  and  responsibility  of  the  Captains-General  of  the  provinces 
are  regulated. 

"  Thirdly,  they  have  without  my  recommendation,  or  sending 
through  me  their  orders,  and  even  without  acquainting  me  with  their 
intentions,  moved  corps  of  cavalry  and  infantry  from  the  army  to 
which  they  belonged  to  other  stations,  and  this  without  any  reason, 
that  I  am  acquainted  with,  of  a  public  nature.  By  this  last  measure 
the  greatest  inconvenience  and  confusion  has  been  produced. 

"  I  had  proposed,  and  the  Government  had  consented  to,  a  reform 
of  the  cavalry  ;  and  they  had  ordered  that  it  should  be  carried  into 
execution.  I  sent  orders  in  consequence,  and  I  might  have  hoped 
that  the  armies  would  have  had  a  tolerably  well-organized  cavalry  by 
the  commencement  of  the  campaign.  Instead  of  that,  I  find  that  the 
Government  have  likewise  sent  orders  to  the  same  corps,  diffisrent 
from  those  which  I  had  sent ;  and  I  am  informed,  but  not  by  the 
Minister  at  War,  that  the  cavalry  which  I  had  destined  to  form  part 
of  the  army  of  Galicia,  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign  in  May,  had 
been  ordered,  some  of  it  on  the  Gth  of  February,  and  others  on  the 
6th  of  March,  without  my  knowledge,  to  the  Isla  de  Leon,  there  to 
join  a  cavalry  depot  which  had  been  formed  at  that  station,  likewise 
without  my  knowledge.  Another  corps  of  cavalry,  ordered  by  me 
to  Alicante,  to  receive  its  clothing  and  horse  appointments  at  Ali- 
cante, has  been  ordered  by  the  Minister  at  War  in  the  province  of 
Seville. 

"  I  have  frequently  remonstrated  upon  these  breaches  of  agreement 
with  me,  and  on  the  evils  likely  to  result  from  them  ;  but  I  have 
hitherto  been  unable  to  obtain  from  the  Government  any  satisfactory 


APPENDIX.  375 

reply,  whether  they  intended  to  conform  to  their  agreement  with  me 
or  not. 

"  To  this  statement  add,  that  owing  to  the  delays  of  the  Govern- 
ment in  issuing  the  orders  to  the  financial  department  in  the  provinces, 
to  carry  into  execution  the  measures  decreed  by  the  Cortes,  and  ar- 
ranged with  me  to  provide  for  the  support  of  the  armies,  that  branch 
of  the  service  is  in  the  same  confusion  as  it  was  in  the  end  of  last 
year.  All  the  armies  are  in  the  greatest  distress,  for  want  of  pay  and 
provisions  ;  nothing  can  be  realised,  even  from  those  provinces  which 
have  been  longest  freed  from  the  enemy  ;  and  the  expectations  of  the 
country,  and  of  the  allies,  that  we  should  have  a  good  Spanish  army 
in  this  campaign,  will  certainly  be  disappointed. 

"  I  am  fully  alive  to  the  importance  which  has  been  attached 
throughout  Spain,  as  well  as  in  England  and  in  other  parts  of  Europe, 
to  the  circumstance  of  my  having  been  intrusted  with  the  command 
of  the  Spanish  armies ;  and  the  officers  of  the  Spanish  staff  who  are 
here  with  me,  will,  I  am  convinced,  do  justice  to  the  interest,  the 
devotion,  and  diligence  with  which  I  have  laboured  to  place  the  mili- 
tary affairs  of  the  country  in  the  state  in  which  they  ought  to  be. 
But  I  have  a  character  to  lose  ;  and  in  proportion  as  expectation  has 
been  raised  by  my  appointment,  will  be  the  extent  of  the  disappoint- 
ment and  regret  at  finding  that  Jihings  are  no  better  than  they  were 
before. 

"  I  confess  that  I  do  not  feel  inclined  to  become  the  object  of 
these  disagreeable  sensations,  either  in  Spain,  in  England,  or  through- 
out Europe  ;  and  unless  some  measures  can  be  adopted  to  prevail 
upon  the  Government  to  force  the  Minister  at  War  to  perform  the 
engagements  of  the  Government  with  me,  I  must,  however  unwillingly, 
resign  a  situation  and  trust  which  I  should  not  have  accepted  if  these 
engagements  had  not  been  entered  into,  and  I  had  not  believed  that 
they  would  have  been  adhered  to. 

''  I  have  written  you  this  long  story,  because  I  believe  you  were 
principally  instrumental  in  producing  the  unanimous  votes  of  the 
Cortes,  that  the  command  of  the  army  should  be  conferred  upon  me  ; 
and  I  wish  you  to  communicate  this  letter  to  Sefior  Argiielles  and 
the  Conde  de  Toreno  ;  and  to  Sefior  Ciscar,  who,  I  believe,  was  the 
person  who  first  moved  the  subject  in  the  Cortes.  I  wish  them  to 
call  for  all  my  letters  to  the  Minister  at  War  and  his  answers,  from 
the  1st  of  December  last  to  the  present  day  ;  and  they  will  learn  from 
them  the  exact  state  of  the  case  :  and  will  be  able  to  judge  whether 
any,  and  what  measures  ought  to  be  adopted.  But  I  must  tell  you 
that,  whatever  may  be  their  opinion  regarding  the  measures  to  be 


876  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

adopted  by  the  Cortes  on  this  subject,  I  must  reserve  to  myself  the 
power  of  acting  according  to  my  own  judgment ;  and  if  the  agreement 
made  with  me,  or  something  substantially  the  same,  is  not  adhered  to 
by  the  Regency,  I  must  resign  my  situation. 

'•  I  have  now  to  tell  you,  that  I  propose  to  take  the  field  at  the 
head  of  the  Allied  British  and  Portuguese  army,  as  soon  as  the  rain 
shall  have  fallen,  and  the  appearance  of  the  green  forage  will  enable 
me  to  support  the  cavalry  of  the  army  ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you, 
that,  owing  to  the  measures  which  are  the  subject  of  this  letter,  I  do 
not  believe  that  a  single  Spanish  soldier  will  be  able  to  take  the  field 
till  after  the  harvest." 


APPENDIX,  NO  II. 


OiT  THE  PORTUGUESE  APwMY  (See  page  231). 


TO  H.  R.  K  THE  PRINCE  REGENT  OF  PORTUGAL. 

"Frenada,  12tA  .Spril,  1813. 

"  I  REQUEST  permission  to  call  the  attention  of  your  Royal  Highness 
to  the  state  of  your  troops,  and  of  all  your  establishments,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  great  arrear  of  pay  which  is  due  to  them. 

"  According  to  the  last  statements  which  I  have  received,  pay  is 
due  to  the  army  of  operations  from  the  end  of  last  September ;  to  the 
troops  of  the  line  in  garrison,  from  the  month  of  June  ;  and  to  the 
militia,  from  February.  The  transports  of  the  army  have  never,  I 
believe  received  any  regular  payment ;  and  none  whatever  since  June, 
1812.  The  honour  of  your  Royal  Highness's  arms  may  perhaps  suf- 
fer greatly  by  these  evils ;  and  I  have  repeatedly  called,  but  in  vain, 
the  attention  of  the  Governors  of  the  kingdom  to  this  subject. 

"  I  am  now  on  the  point  of  opening  a  new  campaign  with  your 
Royal  Highness's  army,  to  which  pay  is  due  for  a  greater  space  of 
time  than  when  the  last  campaign  was  concluded ;  although  the 
subsidy  from  Great  Britain  has  been  hitherto  regularly  paid,  granted 
especially  for  the  payment  and  maintenance  of  a  certain  body  of 
troops ;  and  even  although  it  has  been  proved  within  the  last  three 
months,  that  the  revenue  of  the  state  has  produced  a  sum  nearer  » 


APPENDIX.  377 

third  than  a  fourth  larger  than  in  any  other  three  months  during  the 
whole  time  I  have  been  aufait  of  this  matter. 

"  The  serious  consequences  which  may  probably  result  from  the 
backwardness  of  these  payments,  affecting  as  much  the  honour  of 
your  Royal  Highness's  arms,  as  the  cause  of  the  allies  ;  and  the 
uniform  refusal  of  the  Governors  of  the  kingdom  to  attend  to  any 
one  of  the  measures  which  I  have  recommended,  either  for  temporary 
or  permanent  relief,  have  at  last  obliged  me  to  go  into  your  Royal 
Highness's  presence,  for  the  purpose  of  stating  the  result  of  the 
measures  which  I  have  recommended  to  the  Governors  of  the 
kingdom  for  the  reform  of  the  Custom-house,  which  measures  have 
not  yet  been  carried  into  full  effect,  in  consequence  of  the  opposition 
they  encounter  from  the  Chief  of  the  Treasury  ;  although  the  Gov- 
nors  ought  to  have  been  convinced  there  was  room  for  the  suggestion 
of  improvements  in  the  several  branches  of  the  public  administration 
of  the  kingdom  of  Portugal.  But  I  cannot  prevail  against  the  influ- 
ence of  the  chief  of  the  Treasury  ;  this  is  what  induces  me  to  lay  this 
expose  before  your  Royal  Highness. 

"  In  order  to  improve  the  resources  and  means  of  the  kingdom,  I 
have  recommended  the  adoption  of  some  method  by  which  the  taxes 
might  be  actually  and  really  collected,  and  the  merchants  and  capi- 
talists really  pay  the  tenth  of  their  annual  profits  as  an  extraordinary 
contribution  for  the  war ;  the  effects  of  this  system  being  first  tried 
in  the  great  cities  of  Lisbon  and  Oporto. 

"  I  can  declare  that  no  one  knows  better  than  I  do  the  sacrifices 
which  have  been  made,  and  the  sufferings  which  have  been  experienced 
by  your  Royal  Highness's  faithful  subjects  during  the  war ;  for  there 
is  no  one  who  has  seen  more  of  the  country,  or  who,  for  the  last  four 
years,  has  lived  so  much  among  the  people. 

"  It  is  a  fact.  Sir,  that  the  great  cities,  and  even  some  of  the 
smallest  places  of  the  kingdom,  have  gained  by  the  war  ;  the  mer- 
cantile class  generally  has  enriched  itself  by  the  great  disbursements 
which  the  army  makes  in  money  ;  and  there  are  individuals  at  Lisbon 
and  Oporto  who  have  amassed  immense  sums.  The  credit  of  your 
Royal  Highness's  Government  is  not  in  a  state  to  be  able  to  derive 
resources  from  these  capitals,  owing  to  remote  as  also  to  present 
circumstances ;  and  it  can  obtain  advantage  only  through  the  means 
of  taxes.  The  fact  is  not  denied,  that  the  tributes  regularly  estab- 
lished at  Lisbon  and  Oporto,  as  also  the  contribution  of  ten  per 
cent,  upon  the  profits  of  the  mercantile  class,  are  not  really  paid  to 
the  state  ;  nor  is  it  denied  that  the  measures  which  I  have  proposed 
would,  if  efficaciously  carried  into  execution  in  the  above-mentioned 


378  APPENDIX. 

cities,  furnish  the  Government  with  great  pecuniary  resources.  It 
remains  for  the  GiDvernment,  therefore,  to  explain  to  your  Royal 
Highness  the  reasons  why  it  has  not  put  them  in  practice,  or  some 
other  expedient  which  might  render  the  revenue  of  the  State  equal  to 
its  expenses. 

"  All  I  have  stated  to  your  Royal  Highness  respecting  the  arrear 
of  payment  to  the  troops  is  equally  undeniable.  The  only  motive  to 
which  I  can  attribute  the  Government  not  having  adopted  the 
measures  aforesaid,  is  the  fear  that  they  might  not  be  popular  ;  but 
the  knowledge  I  have  of  the  good  sense  and  loyalty  of  your  Royal 
Highness's  subjects,  the  reliance  I  place  therein,  and  my  zeal  for  the 
cause  in  which  your  Royal  Highness  is  engaged  with  your  allies, 
induce  me  to  offer  myself,  not  only  as  responsible  for  the  happy  issue 
of  the  measures  which  I  have  recommended,  but  to  take  upon  myself 
all  the  odium  which  they  might  create.  I  have,  nevertheless,  not  been 
able  to  overcome  the  influence  of  the  Treasury. 

"  Another  measure  which  I  recommended,  was  the  entire  abolition 
of  the  Jiinta  de  Viveres^  to  put  an  end  to  a  monthly  expense  of  nearly 
fifty  cantos  of  reis,  caused  by  the  Junta,  under  the  plea  of  paying 
their  old  debts.  Never  was  any  Sovereign  in  the  world  so  ill  served 
as  your  Royal  Highness  has  been  by  the  Junta  de  Viveres  ;  and  I  do 
not  think  I  have  rendered  a  greater  service  to  your  Royal  Highness 
than  that  which  I  did  in  soliciting  that  it  might  be  abolished. 

'■  However,  after  its  abolition,  under  the  specious  pretext  of  paying 
its  debts,  it  has  received  monthly  from  the  Treasury,  a  little  more  or 
less,  fifty  contos  of  reis.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Junta  de 
Viveres  is  very  much  in  debt ;  and  it  is  of  great  importance  to  your 
Royal  Highness's  Government  that  some  method  of  arranging  and 
paying  these  debts  should  be  adopted.  But  I  request  that  your 
Royal  Highness  will  order  the  Governors  of  the  kingdom  to  let  your 
Royal  Highness  see  in  detail  the  manner  in  which  the  above-men- 
tioned fifty  contos  of  rds,  granted  monthly,  have  been  applied. 

"  Have  all  the  accounts  of  the  Junta  de  Viveres  been  called  in  and 
liquidated  ?  Who  has  performed  this  operation  ?  To  what  sum 
does  their  debt  amount?  Has  it  been  classified?  Finally,  have 
measures  been  adopted  to  know  with  certainty  how  much  is  really 
due  to  those  to  whom  something  has  already  been  paid  upon  account 
of  their  debt  ?  Is  my  part  of  the  fifty  contos  of  rm,  which  are  issued 
for  many  months  by  the  Treasury,  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  sala- 
ries of  the  members  of  the  Junta  de  Viveres^  abolished,  I  believe,  by 
your  Royal  Highness's  orders? 

"I   request   that  your  Royal    Highhess   will  command    that  an 


APPENDIX.  379 

answer  be  given  to  each  of  the  questions  aforesaid,  which  will  enable 
your  Royal  Highness  to  see  the  state  of  these  transactions. 

"  But  admitting  that  it  be  convenient  to  pay  at  this  time  the  debts 
of  the  Junta  de  Viveres,  it  would  be  almost  superfluous  to  propose 
the  question,  whether  it  be  more  important  to  pay  those  debts,  or  to 
pay  the  army  which  has  to  defend  your  Royal  Highness's  kingdom 
and  Government;  and,  to  protect  the  honour  and  property  of  your 
Royal  Highness's  subjects,  and  everything  most  dear  to  them  in  life ; 
without  which,  nothing  could  escape  destruction.  This  army  will 
neither  be  able  nor  willing  to  fight,  if  it  be  not  paid. 

"  Another  measure  which  I  have  lately  recommended,  as  a  remedy 
capable  of  putting  the  Government  in  a  condition  to  pay  the  army  of 
operations  for  some  time,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same  period 
to  which  their  comrades  in  the  British  army  are  paid,  is,  that  there  be 
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  all  the  collectors  of  the  revenue  of  the  State 
the  balances  which  they  may  owe  to  the  royal  Treasury. 

"  My  attention  was  called  to  this  subject  by  a  communication  made 
to  me  by  a  military  officer  in  the  province  of  Trasos  Montes,  relating 
to  a  large  sum  of  money  in  the  hands  of  the  collector  of  the  revenue 
at  Braganza,  at  the  time  when  the  enemy  made  movements  towards 
the  Esla ;  and  having  inquired  into  this  mattter,  I  found  that,  accord- 
ing to  the  manner  in  which  the  Treasury  manages  its  transactions, 
every  one  of  the  collectors  of  the  revenue  of  the  State  has  always  in 
his  possession  the  amount  of  the  revenue  he  has  received  in  the  space 
of  a  month. 

'■  I  recommended  that  the  collectors  should  be  obliged  to  deliver  in, 
every  fifteen  days,  whatever  they  had  received;  but  I  have. not  been 
able  to  accomplish  it. 

''Your  Royal  Highness  has  frequently  deigned  to  make  known  to 
the  Governors  of  the  kingdom  your  royal  desire  that  they  should  at- 
tend to  my  advice,  and  they  have  as  frequently  assured  your  Royal 
Highness  that  they  give  it  every  attention. 

"  I  can  assure  your  Royal  Highness,  that  when  I  devote  myself  to 
the  labour  of  taking  into  consideration  the  affairs  of  the  State,  and 
giving  my  opinion  upon  them  to  the  Governors  of  the  kingdom,  I  have 
no  object  in  doing  so,  excepting  the  interest  I  feel  in  the  good  of  the 
nation,  and  the  honour  and  prosperity  of  your  Royal  Highness ;  and  I 
am  not  in  any  degree  induced  to  do  so  from  objects  of  personal  in- 
terest, for  none  can  I  have  relatively  to  Portugal ;  nor  can  I  have  any 
with  regard  to  individuals,  for  not  having  any  relations,  and  being 
almost  unacquainted  with  those  who  direct,  or  would  wish  to  direct, 
the  affairs  of  your  Royal  Highness. 


380  APPENDIX. 

"  Although  the  measures  which  I  have  hitherto  recommended,  and 
which  have  at  last  been  adopted — such  as  the  payment  of  the  interest 
upon  the  national  debt  in  paper  currency,'  the  reform  of  the  custom 
houses,  the  establishment  of  a  military  chest,  and  others  which  it  is 
unnecessary  to  mention — have  answered  the  ends  of  their  adoption; 
and  perhaps  I  might  say,  that  other  measures  which  I  could  propose, 
would  have  similar  results ;  yet  I  am  ready  to  allow  that  I  may 
perhaps  deceive  myself  Nevertheless,  I  request  with  great  earnest- 
ness that  your  Royal  Highness  will  deign  to  be  persuaded  that  the 
motives  which  induce  me  to  recommend  these  measures,  and  to  appeal 
against  the  chief  of  the  Treasury,  are  founded  upon  my  wishes  to  pro- 
mote and  forward  the  benevolent  intentions  of  your  Royal  Highness, 
as  well  as  the  best  results  to  the  cause  in  which  your  Royal  Highness 
is  engaged. 

"  I  venture  to  express  again,  in  the^ost  decided  manner,  my  very 
ardent  wish  that  your  Royal  Highness  will  be  pleased  to  return  to 
your  kingdom,  to  take  charge  of  its  government ;  which  not  only  myself, 
but  all  your  Royal  Highness's  /aithful  subjects,  desire  with  the 
greatest  anxiety. 

"  May  God  preserve  your  Royal  Highness  many  years  ! " 


APPENDIX,  No.  III. 


THE  CONTINENTAL  PYRENEES,  (See  page  2G2). 


They  extend  in  a  line  of  22i  miles  from  Cape  Creux  as  far  as  Cape 
Figuier.  Their  greatest  breadth,  which  is  towards  the  middle  of 
this  line,  is  about  75  miles.  They  do  not  form  one  single  straight 
line,  but  are  composed  of  two  nearly  parallel  lines  about  20  miles 
apart  from  each  other,  and  united  at  the  middle  of  their  mass  by  some 
mountains  which  bend  round  at  nearly  right  angles  with  the  general 
direction.  Their  vertical  arrangement  resembles  somewhat  that  of 
an  amphitheatre  whose  several  terraces,  or  steps,  rise  from  1968  to 
11,150  feet.  They  sink  down  by  successive  declivities  towards  the 
ocean   and   the   Mediterranean,  but   the   depression   is   not  equally 


APPENDIX.  381 

Bensible  at  the  two  extremities :  in  the  eastern  portion  the  chain  which 
had  regularly  decreased  in  elevation  suddenly  rises  again  for  25  miles, 
and  then  sinks  abruptly  into  the  Mediterranean. 

The  principal  mass  of  the  Pyrenees  is  arid,  rocky,  precipitous  and 
covered  with  snow  and  ice ;  but  its  spurs,  being  much  less  elevated, 
form  smiling  and  fertile  valleys.  These  spurs  are  detached  nearly 
at  right  angles ;  those  on  the  south,  although  longer  than  those 
on  the  north,  have,  notwithstanding,  the  steeper  slope.  Some  of 
them  are  very  considerable,  and  reach  to  the  Ebro,  which  they  im- 
pede in  its  course.  The  most  remarkable  and  the  longest  of  them 
runs  between  the  Segre  and  the  Llobregat,  like  a  long  wall,  parallel 
with  the  coast,  and  proceeds  to  join,  upon  the  Ebro,  the  last  hillocks 
of  the  Sierra  Penagolosa.  The  highest  part  of  the  Pyrenees  occurs 
near  the  middle  of  the  chain,  its  average  elevation  being  about 
9184  feet.  The  lowest  portion  of  this  chain  are  its  two  extremities, 
which  decrease  in  altitude  to  2624  feet,  and  even  to  1968  feet.  The 
limit  of  perpetual  snow  is  here  at  8858  feet.  The  culminating  points 
do  not  belong  to  the  main  ridge,  but  are  found  upon  the  southern 
spurs;  they  are  the  peak  of  Malladetta,  11,168  feet  in  height.  The 
Pyrenees  are  interesting  not  only  from  their  elevation  and  their 
mass,  but  still  more  so  by  reason  of  their  natural  riches,  their 
picturesque  beauty,  their  historical  association's,  their  active  and 
intelligent  population,  and  finally,  from  their  position  between  two 
powerful  states,  to  both  of  which  tbey  form  a  protecting  rampart. 
The  passes  formed  by  the  depressions  of  this  chain  are  very  numerous, 
but  very  difiicult ;  and  the  greater  number  of  them  are  impracticable 
for  carriages.  "We  may  note  in  the  "Western  Pyrenees,  that  is  to 
say,  from  the  Gorge  of  Goritty  to  the  sources  of  the  Ad  our  and  the 
Cinco : — 

1.  The  road  from  Pampeluna  to  Bayonne,  passing  first  by  the 
Gorge  of  Belatte,  in  the  great  chain,  and  afterwards  by  the  Gorge 
of  Maya,  in  the  ridge  into  Bidassoa  and  Nivelle ;  it  is  a  bad  one, 
but  important  on  account  of  the  valley  of  Bastan,  which  it  traverses 
by  the  way  of  EUisondo.  The  two  passes  belong  to  Spain,  and  the 
road  does  not  reach  the  French  frontier  until  it  touches  the 
Nivelle. 

2.  The  road  from  Pampeluna  by  Zubiri,  the  Gorge  of  the  Alludes 
and  the  valley  of  Baigorry,  to  Saint  Jean  Pied-de-Port ;  it  is  exceed- 
ingly bad,  passing  through  frightful  gorges. 

3.  The  route  from  Pampeluna  passes  Roncesvalles,  the  Gorge  of 
Ibagnetta  (at  a  height  of  5771  feet),  and  Orisson,  to  Saint  Jean 
Pied-de-Port.     This  is  a  better  road  than  the  preceding,  but  runs 


382  APPENDIX. 

from  Roncesvalles  as  far  as  Orisson  along  the  crest  of  the  mountains  : 
it  was  followed  in  the  campaign  of  1813. 

4.  From  Jaca  by  the  pass  of  Canfranc  to  Oleron.  In  the  Central 
Pyrenees,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  sources  of  the  Adour  and  of  the 
Cinca,  to  those  of  the  Ariege  and  the  Segre,  we  meet  nothing  but 
mere  footpaths  impracticable  for  armies,  and  which  are  scarcely 
travelled  even  by  smugglers.  The  principal  of  these  are: — 1,  that 
from  Venasque  to  Saint  Gaudens ;  and  2,  that  from  Rialp  to  Saint 
Gaudens.  In  the  Eastern  Pyrenees,  that  is  from  the  sources  of  the 
Ariege  and  of  the  Segre  to  the  Mediterranean,  there  are : — 

1.  The  road  from  Urgel  to  Perpignan  by  Puycerda,  the  Gorge  of 
la  Perche,  and  Montlouis ;  it  has  many  defiles. 

2.  The  road  from  Camprcdon  to  Perpignan.  by  Pratz-de-Mollo  and 
the  Boulon. 

3.  The  road  from  Figuieres  to  Perpignan,  by  the  Junquera,  the 
Gorge  of  Pertus,  the  Fort  of  Bellegarde,  and  the  Boulon:  this  is  the 
great  eastern  high  road. 

The  two  first-mentioned  roads  turn  the  third  in  skirting  along  the 
Tesh  and  the  Tet,  the  first  lines  of  defence  of  France.  Communica- 
tion in  a  direction  parallel  with  the  crest  of  the  chain  is  impossible, 
by  reason  of  the  breadth  of  the  spurs.  The  nearest  road  on  the 
southern  face  is  that  which  runs  from  Pampeluna  by  Balbostro  and 
Lerida  to  Barcelona. 

The  invasion  of  Spain  cannot  therefore  be  eflfeeted  on  a  continuous 
line ;  and  as  the  want  of  roads  prevents  the.  country  from  being 
entered  by  the  middle  of  the  chain,  an  invading  army  can  only 
advance  by  the  great  western  and  eastern  roads.  That  on  the  west 
appears  to  be  the  easier  of  the  two,  because  there  are  fewer  fortified 
places  upon  it ;  but  the  aggressor  has  upon  his  flank  the  maritime 
Pyrenees,  from  whence  he  may  be  shut  up  in  the  defiles  of  the  Ebro. 
On  the  east  there  is  a  quadruple  line  of  fortresses,  covered  by  winding 
streams,  and  by  a  large  river ;  and  by  this  road  only  the  regions 
bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  are  reached ;  it  does  not  lead  to  the 
centre  of  the  Peninsula.  It  would  be  an  act  of  the  greatest  impru- 
dence to  endeavour  to  penetrate  by  both  these  roads  at  once,  for  they 
do  not  converge,  and  are  separated  by  large  expanses  of  territory,  and 
by  natural  obstacles  of  every  description.  An  invader,  therefore, 
must  advance  by  the  one,  and  be  satisfied  with  observing  the  other. 
It  is  impossible  to  penetrate  by  the  middle  of  the  chain  in  the  present 
state  of  the  passes.  Napoleon  dared  not  attempt  it,  but  he  enter- 
tained the  project  of  levelling  the  Pyrenees  by  excavating  a  great 
road   through   the   middle   of  them.      If  this  were   aflfected,   then, 


APPENDIX.  383 


indeed,  an  invading  army  might  enter  directly,  by  the  centre,  upon 
Saragossa  ;  and  two  detached  corps  would  suffice  to  observe  the  for- 
tresses of  the  east  and  the  west.     (Lavallee.) 


APPENDIX,  No.  IV. 
(See  page  269.) 


TO  EARL  BATHURST. 

Lesaca,  8th  August,  1813. 

"  It  is  a  very  common  error,  among  those  unacquainted  with 
military  affairs,  to  believe  that  there  are  no  limits  to  military  success. 
After  having  driven  the  French  from  the  frontiers  of  Portugal  and 
Madrid  to  the  frontiers  of  France,  it  is  generally  expected  that  we 
shall  immediately  invade  France ;  and  some  even  expect  that  we  shall 
be  at  Paris  in  a  month.  None  appear  to  have  taken  a  correct  view 
of  our  situation  on  the  frontier,  of  which  the  enemy  still  possess  all 
the  strongholds  within  Spain  itself;  of  which  strongholds,  or  at  least 
some  of  them,  we  must  get  possession  before  the  season  closes,  or  we 
shall  have  no  communication  whatever  with  the  interior  of  Spain. 
Then  in  France,  on  the  same  great  communications,  there  are  other 
strongholds,  of  which  we  must  likewise  get  possession. 

"An  army  which  has  made  such  marches,  and  has  fought  such 
battles,  as  that  under  my  command  has,  is  necessarily  much  deterio- 
rated. Independently  of  the  actual  loss  of  numbers  by  death, 
wounds,  and  sickness,  many  men  and  officers  are  out  of  the  ranks  for 
various  causes.  The  equipment  of  the  army,  their  ammunition,  the 
soldiers'  shoes,  &c.,  require  renewal;  the  magazines  for  the  new 
operations  require  to  be  collected  and  formed,  and  many  arrange- 
ments to  be  made,  without  which  the  army  could  not  exist  a  day,  but 
which  are  not  generally  understood  by  those  who  have  not  had  the 
direction  of  such  concerns  in  their  hands.  Then  observe,  that  this 
new  operation  is  only  the  invasion  of  France,  in  which  country  every- 
body is  as  soldier,  where  the  whole  population  is  armed  and  organised, 
under  persons,  not.  as  in  other  countries,  inexperienced  in  arms,  but 
men,  who,  in  the  course  of  the  last  twenty-five  years,  in  which  Fran  fie 


384  APPENDIX. 

has  been  engaged  in  war  with  all  Europe,  must,  the  majority  of  them, 
at  least,  have  served  somewhere. 

'•  I  entertain  no  doubt  that  I  could  to-morrow  enter  France,  and 
establish  the  array  on  the  Adour,  but  I  could  go  no  further  certainly. 
If  peace  should  be  made  by  the  Powers  of  the  North,  I  must  neces- 
sarily withdraw  into  Spain ;  and  the  retreat,  however  short,  would  be 
difficult,  on  account  of  the  hostility  and  the  warlike  disposition  of 
the  inhabitants,  particularly  of  this  part  of  the  country,  and  the 
military  direction  they  would  receive  from  the  gentry,  their  leaders. 
To  this  add,  that  the  difficulty  of  all  that  must  be  done  to  set  the 
army  to  rights,  after  its  late  severe  battles  and  victories,  will  be  much 
increased  by  its  removal  into  France  at  an  early  period ;  and  that 
it  must  stop  short  in  the  autumn,  if  it  now  moves  at  too  early  a 
period. 

"  So  far  for  the  immediate  invasion  of  France,  which,  from  what  I 
have  seen  of  the  state  of  the  negociations  in  the  north  of  Europe.  I 
have  determined  to  consider  only  in  reference  to  the  convenience  of 
my  own  operations. 

"  The  next  point  for  consideration  is  the  proposal  of  the  Due  de 
Berri  to  join  this  army,  taking  the  command  of  20,000  men,  who, 
he  says,  are  ready,  organised,  and  even  armed,  in  order  to  act  with  us. 
My  opinion  is,  that  the  interests  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  and  of  all 
Europe  are  the  same,  viz.,  in  some  manner  or  other,  to  get  the  better 
and  rid  of  Bonaparte. 

'•  Although,  therefore,  the  allies  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and  even 
Great  Britain  and  Spain,  might  not  be  prepared  to  go  the  length  of 
declaring  that  they  would  not  lay  down  their  arms  till  Bonaparte 
should  be  dethroned,  they  would  be  justified  in  taking  this  assistance 
from  the  House  of  Bourbon,  and  their  French  party  who  are  dis- 
satisfied with  the  government  of  Bonaparte.  It  might  be  a  question 
with  the  House  of  Bourbon,  whether  they  would  involve  their  parti- 
sans in  France  upon  anything  short  of  such  a  declaration,  but  none 
with  the  allies  whetlicr  they  would  receive  such  assistance.  Indeed, 
there  would  scarcely  be  a  question  for  the  Princes  of  the  House  of 
Bourbon,  if  they  are  acquainted  with  the  real  nature  and  extent  of 
Bonaparte's  power.  He  rests  internally  upon  the  most  extensive 
and  expensive  system  of  corruption  that  was  ever  established  in 
any  country,  and  externally  upon  his  military  power,  which  is  sup- 
ported almost  exclusively  by  foreign  contributions.  If  he  can  be 
confined  to  the  limits  of  France  by  any  means,  his  system  must 
fall.  He  cannot  bear  the  expense  of  his  internal  government  and  of 
his  army ;  and  the  reduction  of  either  would  be  fatal  to  him.     Any 


APPENDIX.  385 

measures,  therefore,  which  should  go  only  to  confine  him  to  France 
would  forward,  and  ultimately  attain,  the  objects  of  the  House  of 
Bourbon  and  of  their  partisans. 

"  If  the  House  of  Bourbon  and  the  allies,  however,  do  not  concur 
in  this  reasoning,  we  must  then,  before  the  Due  de  Berri  is  allowed 
to  join  the  army,  get  from  the  allies,  in  the  north  of  Europe,  a 
declaration  how  far  they  will  persevere  in  the  contest  with  a  view  to 
dethrone  Bonaparte  ;  and  the  British  Government  must  make  up 
their  minds  on  the  question,  and  come  to  an  understandmg  upon  it 
witli  those  of  the  Peninsula." 


END   OF   VOL.  L 
\OU  L  2  B 


THE    LIFE    OF 


THE 


DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 


I        1  "^  irTTT  T- 

■'    Ml    Ml'    I    "11"  1 f 


LAST    MOMENTS    OF    Tilt    IJUKK. 


THE   LIFE   OF 


IIELD  MAKSHAL 


THE 

.DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


(8T.  mast's  chcbch,  wai.mkk.) 


By  J.  H.  STOCQUELER,  Esq., 

Author  of  «The  British  Officer,"  "The  Handbook  of  British  India,"  "The  Military 

Encyclopaedia,"  "  Travels  In  Persia,  Turltey,  Russia,  Germany,  &c.," 

and  other  works. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES,  WITH  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS 

VOL.  n. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED   BY  JAS.    B.   SMITH  &   CO., 

NO.  146  CHESTNUT  STREET- 

1855. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


It  was  intended  that  tlie  present  volume  should  have  followed 
its  predecessor  at  the  interval  of  one  month.  The  deep  inter- 
est, however,  taken  by  the  British  public  in  all  that  in  any 
manner  relates  to  the  illustrious  subject  of  this  biography,  led 
to  such  an  extensive  pubhcation  of  facts  and  correspondence, 
more  or  less  bearing  upon  the  career  and  character  of  the  Duke 
of  "Wellington,  that  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  await  the  com- 
pletion of  the  array,  ia  order  that  everything  that  could  throw 
light  upon  his  history  might  be  accumulated  and  collected  to 
contribute  to  the  perfection — if  such  a  word  may  be  unpre- 
sumingly  used — of  these  Memoirs. 

In  the  author's  anxiety  to  avoid  the  sin  of  book-making,  he 
has  now  reduced  the  ample  materiel  at  his  command  within  the 
smallest  compass  consistent  with  justice  to  the  reader  and  to 
the  theme.  But  a  mere  narrative,  in  the  most  enlarged  form, 
is  insufficient  to  convey  a  fair  idea  of  the  true  greatness  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  even  with  the  assistance  of  copious  notes. 
A  reserved  man — one  of  few  words  in  conversation — and 
scarcely  accessible  to  any  but  his  most  intimate  friends, — the 
cast  and  comprehensiveness  of  the  Duke's  mind  could  only  be 
measured  by  an  attentive  study  of  his  speeches,  despatches,  and 
other  writings. 

Dr.  Johnson  said  that  a  man  might  be  known  by  his  letters. 
This  is  but  partially  true.  Most  men  furnish  additional  and 
necessary  clues  to  their  characters,  whereas  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, justifying  the  dictum  of  the  great  lexicogTapher,  left 
his  letters  to  speak  for  him  entirely.  Hence  it  has  become  es- 
sential to  transfer  some  of  the  documents  emanating  from  his 
Grace's  pen  to  this  volume  ;  and  that  the  narrative  might  not 
be  needlessly  broken,  these  are  to  be  found  in  the  Appendix, 


VI  PREFACE. 

and  will  account  for  the  unusual  space  devoted  to  tliat  part  of 
the  work. 

Amongst  the  papers  to  which  the  reader's  attention  is  s}>e- 
cially  in\ated,  is  the  Duke's  memorable  letter  to  Sir  John  Bur- 
goyne  on  the  National  Defences ; — a  document  now  so  scarce 
that  not  one  of  the  numerous  booksellers  who  had  been  applied 
to  was  able  to  lay  his  hand  upon  a  copy.  Taken  in  connection 
with  the  Duke's  speech  on  the  Militia  Bill,  it  may  be  regarded 
Q.S  a  legacy  to  all  those  persons  to  whom  the  preservation  of 
our  liberty  and  independence  is  confided.  Happily  the  Duke's 
prediction,  that  he  would  live  to  see  the  day  when  hostile 
armies  should  contend  within  the  United  Kingdom,  has  not 
been  verified ;  but  that  day  may  not  be  remote,  and  its  conse- 
quences disastrous,  if  the  wise  counsel  of  the  illustrious  chief 
is  disregarded. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  letter  to  Sir  John  Burgoyne  are 
the  extracts  from  the  Review  of  Captain  Siborne's  Waterloo 
book  and  Mr.  Alison's  History.  It  is  known  to  us  that  this 
Review  was  partly  written  by  the  Duke  himself ;  and  the  facts 
which  it  relates,  illustrative  of  the  campaign  in  the  Netherlands, 
are  therefore  to  be  entirely  relied  upon. 

Upon  the  other  papers  and  articles  contained  in  the  Ap- 
pendix no  remark  is  necessary :  they  speak  for  themselves ; 
and  we  shall  be  very  much  mistaken  if  they  are  considered  su- 
perfluous by  a  single  reader  who  desires  to  possess  a  complete 
record  of  the  great  and  good  man  and  devoted  patriot,  of  whom 
England  has  unhappily — ^but  yet  in  the  fulness  of  tune — been 
bereft. 


CONTENTS; 


CHAPTER  I. 

Napoleon's  progress  to  Paris — Defection  of  the  French  troops — The  Emperor's 
preparations  for  War — The  Duke's  plan  of  operations  for  the  Invasion  of 
France — Correspondence  of  the  Duke  when  at  Brussels — View  of  Napoleon's 
aggression 1 


CHAPTER  11. 

The  British  Army  in  the  Netherlands — Napoleon  joins  his  Army  at 
Avesnes — Attacks  the  Prussians — Battle  of  Ligny — Battle  of  Quatre 
Bras « 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Retreat  from  Quatre  Bras— The  Battle  of  Waterloo        ....    22 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  night  after  Waterloo— The  gains  and  losses — State  of  Brussels  during 
the  16th,  17th,  and  18th  of  June — Advance  of  the  Allies  into  France — 
Louie  XVIIL  joins  the  British  camp — The  scenes  in  Paris — Napoleon's 
political  throes — The  abdication  of  the  Emperor — Proposals  for  Peace — 
Capitulation  of  Paris — The  Allied  Armies  enter  Paris        .        .        .        .36 


CHAPTER  V. 

Napoleon  flies  to  Rochefort — Is  taken  to  England,  and  deported  to  St. 
Helena — Feeling  in  England  on  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo — 
TJjanks  of  Parliament,  and  Additional  Vote  of  200,000^.— Other  marks 
of  Public  Gratitude— Bli'ieher's  design  on  the  Pont  de  Jena  frustrated — 
Wellington  created  Prince  of  Waterloo,  <fec.  .         .         •         '         •        -64 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PAOS 

The  second  Restoration — Condemnation  of  Political  Offenders — Justification 
of  the  Duke  in  reference  to  Alarshal  Ney — The  spoliation  of  the  Louvre — 
The  Dukes  honourable  proceedings — The  Army  of  Occupation  .        .    68 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Army  of  Occupation — The  Duke's  residence  in  Paris,  from  1815  to  1818 — 
The  Army  breaks  up,  and  the  Duke  returns  to  England     .        .         .        .16 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Duke's,  return — Appointed  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance — Birth  of 
Queen  Victoria — Accession  of  George  IV. — Queen  Caroline — Unpopularity 
of  the  Duke — Trial  of  the  Queen — The  Congress  at  Verona — Death  of 
Lord  Londonderry — The  Duke  goes  to  Verona — Result  of  his  mission        .     84 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Three  years  of  Idleness — Apsley  House — The  pictures — The  Greek  ques- 
tion— Embassy  to  St.  Petersburgh — Death  of  the  Duke  of  York — The 
Duke  of  Wellington  appointed  Commander-in-Chief — Death  of  the  Earl  of 
Liverpool — Mr.  Canning  forms  a  ilinistry — Resignation  of  the  Duke — His 
reasons  for  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  and  the  command  of  the 
Army  93 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Duke,  by  the  amendmeut,  destroys  Mr.  Canning's  Corn  Bill — Death  of 
Mr.  Canning — I'he  Goderich  Ministry — The  Duke  resumes  the  conmiand 
of  the  Army — Break-up  of  the  Goderich  Administration — The  Duke  be- 
comes Prime  Minister 116 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Catholic  Question — The  Duke  and  Dr.  Curtis — The  Duke  urges  Emanci- 
pation upon  the  King — The  Catholic  Emancipation  Bill  brought  forward 
in  the  House  of  Lords — Carried — Tlie  Duke's  Duel  with  the  Earl  of  Win- 
chelsea — Death  of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool — Appointment  of  the  Duke  to  be 
Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Porte 140 


CONTEM'S.  ht^ 

CHAPTEK  XIL 

PAGB 

The  Duke  and  the  Press — Parliamentary  Session  of  1830 — The  National  Dis- 
tress— The  Duke  on  the  Corn  Laws,  Currency,  &c. — Death  of  George 
IV. — Succession  of  William  IV. — Revolution  in  France,  Belgium,  and 
Poland-r-The  Regency  Question  in  England — The  Civil  List — Resignation 
of  Ministers 151 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Reform  question — The  Ministerial  Bill  defeated  in  Committee — Parlia- 
ment dissolves — Re-assembles — New  Bill  introduced — Passes  in  the 
Commons — Is  resisted  by  the  Duke  in  the  House  of  Lords — The  Duke's 
Speeches  ...  159 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Session  of  1833 — The  Duke's  opinions  on  various  questions — His  views 
of  Principle  and  Expediency — The  Duke  elected  Chancellor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  in  1834 — Resignation  of  Lord  Melbourne — Sir  R.  Peel 
forms  a  Ministry — It  is  soon  broken  up — The  Whigs  recalled — Death  of 
William  the  Fourth 173 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Accession  of  Queen  Victoria 192 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Hie  Session  of  1840 — The  Duke  on  the  religion  of  Prince  Albert — The 
Affghanistan  Campaign — The  Navy — Libels  on  the  Proceedings  of  the 
House  of  Commons — The  Marriage  of  the  Queen — The  Whig  Ministry 
resigns,  in  1841 — The  Duke  as  an  orator 203 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Duke  resumes  the  command  of  the  Army — Sessions  of  1843  and  1844 — 
Opinions  on  the  Conquest  of  Seinde  and  the  recall  of  Lord  Ellenborough 
— Equestrian  statues  of  the  Duke  raised  in  the  City  of  London  and  at 
Glasgow— The  Queen  visits  the  Duke  at  Strathfieldsaye— The  Duke's 
letters — Accident  to  the  Duke 217 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

PAQE 

Sir  Robert  Peel  aad  the  Coru  Laws — The  Duke's  resistance — Resignation  of 
the  Peel  Ministry — And  their  resumption  of  office  on  the  failure  of  Lord 
John  Russell  to  form  a  Government — The  Duke  gives  way — The  Corn 
Laws  repealed — Erection  of  the  statue  on  the  Triumphal  Arch  at  Hyde 
Park  Corner — Resignation  of  Sir  Robert  Peel — Lord  John  Russell  forms  a 
Government — The  Duke  on  our  National  Defences 2S0 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Chartists — Monster  Meeting  on  Kenningtoa  Common — London  in  "a 
state  of  siege" — The  Duke's  military  dispositions — The  Chartist  Meeting 
dissolves  peaceably — Presentation  of  the  Chartist  Petition  in  the  House  of 
Commons 240 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  French  Revolution— The  Death  of  Sir  R.  Peel— The  Great  Exhibition- 
Prince  Louis  Napoleon — The  Embodiment  of  the  Militia — Death  of  the. 
Duke  of  Wellington — Tributes — Appointments  consequent  on  his  Death — 
Public  Funeral 253 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Character  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington       .        .        ,        .       .        .        .        .281 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Habits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 295 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Titles,  Hoaours,  aad  Descent  of  the  Duke        .        .        .        .        .  808 

AvpBUVa. 820 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

rAOB 

WALMER  CASTLE  .  .  .  .  .  .  Frontispiece, 

BT.  Mary's  church,  walmer       .         .         .         .        .        vignette, 

NAPOLEON        8 

THE    THEATRE    OF  WAR   IN    1815,  COMPRISING  QUATRE  BRAS,  LIGNY, 

AND  "WATERLOO 9 

THE  EARL  OF  UXBRIDGE,  AFTERWARDS  MARQUIS  OF  ANGLESEY        .  10  . 

MARSHAL  KEY 18 

MONT  ST.  JEAN           ...» 26 

CHATEAU  OF  HOUGOUMONT 28 

CHAPEL  OF  HOUGOUMONT 29 

SQUARE  AT  WATERLOO — CHARGE  OF  THE  FRENCH  CUIRASSIERS            .  32 

THE    EVENING     OF    THE     BATTLE     OF    WATERLOO. NAPOLEON    AND 

STAFF. ADVANCE  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  GUARD          ...  33 

VISCOUNT  CASTLEREAGH S9 

8TRATHFIELDSAYE 63 

PRINCE  TALLEYRAND 69 

APSLEY  HOUSE 84 

LORD  ELDON 86 

LORD  LIVERPOOL 87 

THE  WALL  OF  THE  CHATEAU  OF  HOUGOUMONT  .  .  ,  .88 

THE  RIGHT  HON.  GEORGE  CANffiNO 90 

the  town  of  wellington 92 

Copenhagen's  grave 98 

the  duke  of  york  in  the  coronation  costume  .         .         .101 

column  at  trim 115 

w.  huski8s0n 130 

column  in  phcenix  park,  dublin 139 


si  LEST  or  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

LORD  WIKCHKLSEA H*? 

WALMER  CASTLE 150 

GEORGE  THE  FOURTH 155 

LORD  LYNDHURSX 169 

COSTUME  OF  THE  DUES  AS  CHANCELLOR l78 

EARL  GREY 185 

SIR  ROBERT  PEEL 187 

WILLIAM  THE  FOURTH        ........  190 

LORD  BROUGHAM 198 

STATUE  AT  EDINBURGH 201 

STATUE  IN  FRONT  OF  THE  ROYAL  EXCHANGE 222 

THE  STATUE  AT  GLASGOW 223 

LORD  PALMERSTON        .........  232 

STATUE  AT  HYDE  PARK  CORNER 237 

SANDOWN  CASTLE 252 

LAST  MOMENTS  OF  THE  DUKE .261 

LORD  HARDINGE «          .            .  268 

LYING  IN  STATE         .            .            « 274 

THE  FUNERAL  CAR 275 

THE  CRYPT  OF  ST.  PAUl's 278 

PAMPELUNA 280 

THE  duke's  room  AT  WALMER 296 

OBELISK  AT  WELLINGTON,  SOMERSETSHIRE 302 

STATUE  AT  THE  TOWER 304 

▼BLLINaiON's  ORDERS  AND  DECORATIONS. — PLATES  I.  II.  AND  II)      .  309 


LIFE    OF 


THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


CHAPTER  I 


Napoleon's  progress  to  Paris— Defection  of  the  French  troops— The  Emperor's  preparations  for 
War— The  Duke's  plan  of  operations  for  the  Invasion  of  France — Correspondence  of  the 
Duke  when  at  Brussels — View  of  Napoleon's  aggression. 


T  has  been  stated  that 
Napoleon  resumed  the 
Government  of  France 
on  the  4th  of  April, 
1815.  It  is  necessary  to 
take  a  retrospect  of  the 
steps  by  which  he  as- 
cended to  that  "  danjrer- 
ous  eminence." 

Immediately  after  land- 
ing in  the  Gulf  of  St 
Juan,  Napoleon  at  the 
head  of  his  fragment  of 
an  army,  advanced  to- 
wards Paris.  His  jour- 
ney lay  through  La  Mure,  Vizille,  Grenoble,  Lyons,  Ma<;on,  Montereau. 
The  cries  of  Vive  I'  Empereur  were  at  first  faint  and  scattered — the 
peasantry  did  not  know  whether  to  curse  or  bless  the  chance  that  had 
again  brought  them  visd-vis  the  man  who  had  conquered  and  reigned 
through  the  conscription.  At  Vizille,  the  5th  Regiment  of  the  Line 
were    drawn   up    to    oppose    his   progress.     He   fearlessly  presented 

vol..  II.  1 


2  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1815 

himself  before  them.  The  apparition  of  the  little  chajjeau,  the  drab 
frock,  the  green  coat  of  the  chasseurs  de  la  garde,  and  the  jack  boots, 
was  too  much  for  them.  They  forgot  their  vows  to  the  Bourbons, 
and  after  a  moment  declared  for  the  Emperor. 

"  It  was,"  exclaims  Lamartine,  "  the  junction  of  France,  past  and 
present,  embracing  each  other  at  the  call  of  glory — the  iyivoluritary 
sedition  of  hearts.^''  One  defection  was  an  example  for  others — the 
hearts  of  the  army  were  with  Napoleon  ;  hostility  at  a  distance 
became  loyalty  in  his  presence.  The  4th  Regiment  of  the  Line 
deliberately  prepared  themselves  for  a  traitorous  demonstration  by 
carrying  the  coloured  cockades  in  their  bosoms  and  in  the  drums, 
displaying  them  under  the  auspices  of  Colonel  Labedoyere,  as  soon 
as  the  Emperor  was  in  sight.  The  people  of  Grenoble,  in  defiance 
of  the  garrison,  burst  open  the  gates  and  lowered  the  draw-bridge  to 
admit  Bonaparte.  » 

Napoleon's  marshals  were  not  much  disposed  to  second  his  enter- 
prise. He  flattered  himself  that  it  was  because  they  had  become 
rich  through  his  favour,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  killed  ;  but  the  truth 
was,  that  he  had  acquired  no  hold  upon  their  affections.  On  the 
contrary,  he  had  treated  every  one  of  them  in  his  turn  with  insolence 
and  injustice,  and  they  did  not  forget  it.  He  had  stored  their  minds 
with  recollections  of  affronts  and  offences.  There  was  not  one  who 
had  not  been  either  censured  or  superseded,  and  those  who  had 
not  been  spontaneously  recalled  had  tendered  their  resignations. 
He  gave  them  fine  names — fed  them — occasionally  caressed  them 
— trained  them  to  hunt  down  the  game,  as  if  they  were  so 
many  dogs — rewarded  them  with  a  share  of  the  spoil,  but  made 
little  scruple  of  whipping  or  kicking  them  when  anything  went 
wrong.  They  were  not  displeased  at  his  fall — could  they  be  other- 
wise than  annoyed  at  hi.s  sudden  return  ?  Massena,  who  commanded 
in  the  South,  announced  his  arrival  to  the  King,  and  declared  tfiat  all 
the  necessary  military  measures  had  been  taken  to  arrest  him.  Soult, 
who  had  become  Minister  of  War,  and  was  suiipuscJ  to  be  sincere 
towards  the  Bourbons,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  army,  in  which  he 
spoke  of  Napoleon  as  a  usurper.  "What  does  he  want?"  ran  the 
document — "  Civil  war.  What  does  he  seek  for  ?  Traitors.  Where 
will  he  find  them  ^  *  *  *  •  Bonaparte  despises  us  enough  to 
believe  that  we  can  abandon  a  kgi(i??iate  and  %vcU-beIoved  Sovereign 
to  share  the  fate  of  a  man  who  is  nothing  more  than  an  adventurer  ' 
He  believes  it,  the  madman  '  His  last  act  of  lunacy  shows  him  in 
his  true  colours."  And  thus  he,  the  crafty  old  soldier,  who  was 
known  to  the  army  of  the   Empire  by  the  soubriquet  of  '•  Monsieur 


1815.]  NAPOLEON  ADVANCES  TO  PARIS.  3 

Renard,"  and  who  had  so  often  invoked  fealty  to  the  Eagle,  called 
upon  the  soldiers  to  rally  round  the  banner  of  the  Lilies.  Ney  was 
even  more  enthusiastic  in  his  new-born  loyalty,  and  rushing  to  the 
presence  of  the  King  on  the  eve  of  his  joining  an  army  assembled 
under  the  Count  d'Artois,  the  King's  brother,  to  crush  Napoleon's 
invasion — swore  to  Louis  XVIII.  that  he  would  bring  his  enemy 
to  Paris  conquered  and  in  chains  in  an  iron  cage  ! 

But  all  this  enthusiasm  did  not  assure  the  Bourbons  that  they 
could  rely  upon  the  honour  and  fidelity  of  the  marshals.  Their  sus- 
picions— groundless  as  the  result  in  some  instances  proved — led  them 
to  move  the  King  to  at  least  dismiss  Marshal  Soult  from  his  post. 

At  Lyons,  Napoleon,  it  was  supposed,  would  be  annihilated  ;  for  a 
large  force  had  been  hastily  assembled  there  under  the  Count 
d'Artois,  the  Due  d'Orleans  (afterwards  Louis  Philippe),  and 
Marshal  Macdonald — the  latter  of  whom  was  adored  by  the  soldiers, 
because  he  had  been  true  to  the  Emperor  in  the  last  hours  of  his 
adversity.  Never  was  calculation  on  loyalty  more  unfounded.  At 
the  sight  of  Napoleon's  advanced  guard,  the  whole  force  declared  for 
the  Emperor,  and  the  three  generals  fled  back  to  Paris  in  consterna- 
tion. At  Lons-le-Saunier,  Marshal  Ney,  who,  with  all  his  bravery 
and  skill,  was  a  man  of  small  moral  purpose,  decided,  after  a  racking 
contest,  between  his  sense  of  duty  and  the  allurements  of  military 
glory,  to  abandon  the  cause  of  the  Bourbons.  He  harangued  his 
troops,  vilified  the  Bourbons,  declared  their  cause  lost,  and  dignifying 
Napoleon's  invasion  with  the  appellation  of  the  "  re-ascent  to  the 
throne  of  the  legitimate  dynasty,"  announced  that  he  was  about  to 
lead  the  soldiers  to  the  "  immortal  phalanx,"  which  the  Emperor  was 
conducting  to  Paris.     "  Vive  I'Empereur  !" 

The  soldiers  took  up  the  cry — the  defection  became  universal. 
The  people,  no  longer  assured  of  the  protection  of  the  army,  joined 
in  the  sedition,  and  the  roads  to  Paris  being  thus  opened.  Napoleon 
moved  on  to  Fontainbleau,  and,  after  a  faint  opposition,  reached 
Paris.  The  Bourbons  had  fled.  Louis  XVIII.  to  Ghent,  in 
Flanders. 

What  immediately  passed  at  Vienna  has  been  recorded. 

The  Bourbons  now  made  an  attempt  to  raise  a  civil  war  on  their 
own  account.  The  Due  d'Angouleme  and  the  Duchess,  "  the  only 
man  in  the  family,"  as  Napoleon  was  accustomed  to  call  her, 
endeavoured  to  rally  the  people  in  the  south  —  at  Provence, 
Marseilles,  and  Bordeaux — and  all  unavailingly.  The  Bonapartean 
fever  had  seized  the  people,  and  the  Bourbonism  of  a  few  months 
evaporated  rapidly. 

2c 


4  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815 

Napoleon,  of  course,  made  a  multitude  of  fine  promises  to  the 
nation.  He  began  to  prepare  for  it  a  new  Constitution.  He 
abolished  slavery — and  appealing  to  the  souvenirs  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  Empire,  he  created  a  spontaneous  enthusiasm  for  the  military 
service.  The  army  had  been  reduced  by  the  policy  and  servile 
economy  of  the  Bourbons  to  90,000  men ;  Napoleon  raised  it  by  his 
artful  appeals  to  130,000  in  a  very  few  days;  and  numerous  corps 
were  formed  by  the  young  men  of  France,  who  enrolled  themselves 
as  volunteers  under  the  denomination  of  "  patriotic  associations." 
On  the  1st  of  June,  a  grand  and  imposing  military  spectacle  was  held 
on  the  Champ  de  Mars,  when  the  deputies  of  departments  and  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  attended,  and  the  Emperor,  in  the  presence  of  many 
thousands  of  spectators,  made  a  speech,  the  burthen  of  which  was 
that  he  held  power  for  the  people — that  France  was  the  sole  object 
of  his  thoughts  and  actions — and  that  the  honour,  glory,  and  happi- 
ness of  France  were  the  only  guides  of  his  conduct.  All  this, 
however,  was  unavailing  with  the  Legislature.  They  appointed  for 
their  President  a  man  who  had  rendered  himself  peculiarly  obnoxious 
to  Napoleon  at  the  close  of  his  reign  in  March,  1814.  Napoleon 
craftily  confirmed  the  nomination,  and  trusted  to  the  march  of 
events  to  give  him  back  the  popularity  which  it  was  clear  he 
had  lost. 

In  the  meantime  the  recruiting  for  the  French  army  went  on,  to 
prepare  for  the  struggle  which  Napoleon  saw  was  inevitable.  To 
meet  the  immense  force  the  allies  had  resolved  on  collecting,  he 
managed  to  raise  an  army  of  559,000  men,  such  as  it  was.  Clothing, 
and  arms,  and  equipments  of  all  sorts  were  necessary,  but  when  the 
regiments  destitute  of  these  came  to  be  enumerated,  there  were  not 
absolutely  more  than  217,000  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  fully 
equipped  for  service. 

The  scheme  of  operations  devised  by  the  allies  for  extinguishing 
the  new  power  which  had  thus  suddenly  arisen  was  not  unknown  to 
Napoleon,  and  he  applied  the  resources  of  his  mind  to  its  counter- 
action. Several  plans  suggested  themselves  to  him.  He  at  first 
meditated  awaiting  their  advance  upon  Paris,  where  he  might,  by  the 
time  they  could  possibly  have  reached  the  capital,  be  prepared  to 
receive  and  defeat  them.  But  the  people  dreaded  the  approach  of 
the  allies,  and  the  vast  force  they  were  accumulating  seemed  to 
render  all  prospect  of  a  successful  opposition  to  their  advance 
perfectly  futile.  Under  these  circumstances  Napoleon  conceived 
another  plan  of  operations,  and  this,  after  many  deliberations,  he 
adopted.     Belgium,  he  concluded,  wished  to  be  re-united  to  France. 


1815.]  PLAN  OF  HOSTILE    OPERATIONS.  5 

The  presence  of  the  English  was  an  obstacle  to  the  accomplishment 
of  this  wish.  The  foe  driven  out,  Belgium  would  again  become  a 
French  province,  and  the  English  parliamentary  opposition,  alarmed 
at  the  expense  of  the  war,  would  compel  the  Government  to  make 
peace.  He  therefore  resolved  to  anticipate  attack,  and  endeavour  to 
defeat  the  allies  in  detail,  as  they  reached  the  frontier. 

To  carry  out  this  plan  Napoleon  distributed  his  army  along  the 
frontier,  and  made  peace  with  all  the  Generals  of  the  empire,  for  the 
sake  of  their  services.  He  forgot  their  treachery  in  their  revived 
loyalty,  and  gave  to  Soult  the  post  of  Major-General  of  the  army  ;  to 
Masseua,  the  governorship  of  Metz  ;  to  Ney,  he  assigned  the  command 
of  the  first  corps  in  the  army,  posted  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lille. 
Lobau,  Clausel,  Grouchy,  Kellerman,  Excelmans,  Gerard,  Suchet,  and 
Vaudamme,  were  placed  at  the  head  of  diflFerent  corps,  and  Davoust 
was  continued  at  Paris  as  Minister  of  War. 

The  moment  that  it  was  decided  the  Duke  of  Wellington  should 
take  an  active  part  in  resisting  the  new  aggression  of  Napoleon,  his 
Grace  began  to  direct  his  mind  to  the  measures  essential  to  the  success 
of  the  operations  of  the  allies.  He  saw  that,  with  such  a  force  as  they 
could  bring  into  the  field,  the  contest  would  be  a  short  one,  and 
decidedly  successful.  Nothing,  he  was  satisfied,  could  be  done  with 
a  small  or  inefiicient  force :  "  The  war  would  linger  on  and  would 
end  to  our  disadvantage."  Motives  of  economy,  therefore,  supplied 
an  inducement  to  the  British  Government  to  bring  the  largest 
possible  force  into  action  at  the  earliest  and  the  same  period  of 
time,  and  this  force  could  only  be  assembled  with  the  help  of 
subsidies  which,  as  already  shown,  were  granted. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  quite  satisfied  that  no  chance  of  a 
continuance  of  the  peace  of  Europe  existed  so  long  as  Napoleon  held 
power.  His  destruction  was  necessary  as  a  prelude  to  tranquillity. 
Addressing  Lord  Castlereagh  from  Vienna,  on  the  26th  of  March, 
the  Duke  said  : — 

"  It  is  the  desire  for  war,  particularly  in  the  army,  which  has 
brought  Bonaparte  back,  and  has  formed  for  him  every  party  and 
given  him  every  success ;  and  all  my  observations,  when  at  Paris, 
convinced  me  that  it  was  the  King  alone  who  kept  Europe  at  peace, 
and  that  the  danger  which  most  immediately  threatened  his  Majesty 
was  to  be  attributed  to  his  desire  to  maintain  the  peace,  contrary  to 
the  wishes  not  only  of  the  army,  but  of  the  majority  of  his  subjects, 
of  some  of  his  Ministers,  and  even  of  some  of  his  family. 

"  Your  lordship,"  continued  the  Duke,  "  will  then  judge  what 
chance  there  is  of  maintaining   the   peace  if  Bonaparte   should  be 


6^  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815 

entirely  successful,  considering  his  disposition  for  war,  adverting  to 
the  opinions  he  has  delivered  and  entertains  upon  the  peace,  and  to 
the  necessity  under  which  he  labours  to  cultivate  his  popularity  with 
the  army,  and  to  endeavour,  at  least,  to  flatter  the  vanity  of  the 
nation  by  military  success.  Depend  upon  it,  my  lord,"  concluded 
the  Duke,  '•  that  if  he  succeeds  in  establishing  himself,  we  have  uo 
chance  of  peace,  except  by  resigning  all  our  conquests  to  the  Rhine 
at  least ;  and  our  chance  then  depends  upon  his  moderation." 

A  Memorandum  of  the  course  of  procedure  most  desirable  for  the 
allied  troops  was  drawn  up  by  the  Duke  on  the  12th  of  April,  1815. 
In  this  he  stated  that  the  object  of  the  allies  should  be,  by  their 
rapidity,  to  be  before-hand  with  the  plans  and  measures  of  Bonaparte  ; 
and  to  throw  such  a  force  into  France  as  would  be  capable  of  either 
defeating  the  army  in  the  field,  or  keeping  it  in  check,  and  of 
retreating  upon  supporting  armies  in  case  of  misfortune.  He  recom- 
mended the  employment  of  allied  British,  Dutch,  and  Hanoveriau 
troops,  under  his  own  command ;  Prussian  troops,  under  Count 
Gneisneau  ;  allied  Austrian,  Bavarian,  Wurtemburg,  and  Baden 
troops  (to  be  assembled  on  the  Upper  Rhine)  under  Prince 
Schwartzenburg.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  British,  Hanoverian, 
Dutch,  and  Prussian  troops  should  enter  France  between  the  Sambre 
and  the  Mouse ;  that  he,  the  Duke,  should  endeavour  to  get 
possession  of  Maubeuge  or  Avesnes,  while  General  Gneisneau 
directed  his  march  upon  Rocroy  and  Chimay.  Corresponding  opera- 
tions were  to  be  undertaken  by  Prince  Schwartzenburg,  and  their 
combined  movements  promised  to  give  the  allies  possession  of  a 
number  of  important  fortresses,  and  to  place  200,000  men  in  the 
centre  of  France,  with  a  reserve  of  300,000,  whose  operations  might 
be  directed  upon  Paris  between  the  Meuse  and  the  Oise. 

Four  days  after  drawing  up  this  memorandum,  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington wrote  to  the  Prince  Regent  of  Portugal,  inviting  him  to 
assist  the  great  objects  of  the  European  Confederacy  with  a  body  of 
troops  ;  and  adverting  to  the  impossibility  of  their  operating  on  the 
Spanish  frontier  with  a  Spanish  corps  in  the  then  state  of  the  financial 
resources  of  the  Government  of  Spain,  the  Duke  urged  the  Prince 
Regent  to  employ  the  troops  of  Portugal  with  the  allied  army 
assembling  in  Flanders. 

At  the  beginning  of  April,  1815,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  estab- 
lished his  head-quarters  at  Bruxelles  (Brussels),  and  from  that  time 
until  the  beginning  of  June  he  was  perpetually  engaged  in  assem- 
bling the  army  for  ofi'ensive  operations  in  France,  and  in  discussing 
the  plan  of  operations  with  a  number  of  persons  of  rank  interest  -d  in 


1815.]  WELLINGTON'S  VIEWS   OF   THE  WAR,  1 

the  destruction  of  Napoleon's  power.  He  was  in  free  communication 
with  Marshal  Bldcher,  Prince  Schwartzenburg,  Prince  Metternich. 
Lord  Clancarty,  Le  Comte  de  Blacas,  the  Due  d'Orleans,  the  Due 
de  Feltre,  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  others — and  to  each  he 
invariably  expressed  the  same  opinion — namely,  that  the  misfortunes 
of  the  King  of  France  had  arisen  from  the  defection  of  the  French 
army,  and  that  even  if  the  faults  and  follies  of  his  civil  administration 
had  not  been  committed,  the  same  results  would  have  been  produced. 
Believing  a  combined  aggressive  movement  upon  France,  and  the 
defeat  of  the  French  army  indispensable  to  the  restoration  of  the 
King,  the  Duke  of  "Wellington  anxiously  awaited  an  intimation  from 
Prince  Schwartzenburg  of  his  readiness  to  commence  operations. 
Marshal  Bliicher  was  prepared,  and  "  very  impatient  to  begin  ;"  but 
the  Duke  would  undertake  no  movement  without  the  co-operation  of 
Prince  Schwartzenburg." 

Amongst  the  correspondents  of  the  Duke  at  this  juncture  was  one 
man  of  rank — a  Frenchman — who  was  desirous  of  joining  in  the 
crusade  against  Napoleon,  but  who  seemed  to  have  some  scruples  of 
conscience  on  the  subject  of  warring  with  France.  To  set  his  mind 
at  ease  on  that  point,  the  Duke  entered  into  an  elaborate  exposition 
of  the  real  state  of  the  case  as  regarded  France  and  Napoleon,  whose 
interests  he  held  to  be  antagonistic. 

"The  principle,"  he  wrote  (Brussels,  4th  of  June,  1815.)  "on 
which  you  proceed  is  generally  true  and  sound ;  a  brave  man  cannot 
serve  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  of  his  country ;  but  I  do  not  perceive 
that  such  a  case  now  exists.  France  has  no  enemies  that  I  am  aware 
of,  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  does  not  deserve  to  have  any.  We  see  the 
enemies  of  one  man  and  his  adherents,  who  has  availed  himself  of 
his  influence  over  the  French  army  to  overthrow  the  King's  throne, 
in  order  to  subjugate  France,  and  to  revive  all  the  days  of  misery 
we  fancied  we  had  escaped.  We  are  at  war  with  him  because  we 
feel  he  cannot  be  at  peace.  It  is  unfortunate  for  France  that  she  is 
to  become  the  theatre  of  a  war  which  this  man  renders  necessary,  and 
of  which  he  is  the  cause  and  the  object ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  war  is  directed  against  her.  On  the  contrary,  the  King  of 
France — he  whom  you  desire  to  see  restored  to  the  throne,  and  to 
serve — is  the  ally  of  all  Europe  in  this  conflict,  in  which  also  I 
believe  him  to  be  the  true  representative  of  the  sentiments  and 
wishes  of  his  nation." 

'  "Le  Mar6chal  Bliicher  est  pr6par(^,  et  tres  impatient  de  commencer;  mais  je  lui  ai  fait 
dire  aujourd'iiui  qu'il  me  paraissait,  que  nous  ne  pouvions  rien  faire  jusqu'a  ce  que  nous  fussions 
certain  du  jour  que  vous  commenceriez,  et  en  g6n<5ral  de  vos  idiies  sur  vo8  op6ration3." — 
Letter  to  the  Prince,  2;id  June,  1815. 


8 


LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[iSlo- 


This  passage  comprehends  so  just  a  view  of  the  relations  between 
France  and  the  allies,  as  distinct  from  those  of  the  corrupt  and 
traitorous  French  army  and  its  opponents,  that  it  deserves  to  be 
remembered  and  treasured  in  all  discussions  of  the  question  as  be- 
tween England  and  France.  It  is  clear  that  the  sword  was  not  now 
drawn  against  France,  but /or  France,  and  against  Napoleon. 

The  allies,  it  has  been  shown,  intended  to  act  upon  the  offensive. 
It  will  presently  be  seen  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  beforehand  with 
them,  and,  in  the  attempt  to  carry  out  his  design  of  destroying  them 
in  detail,  forced  a  decisive  contest  upon  the  plains  of  Belgium. 


1^6] 


THE  BRITISH  ARMY  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS. 


CHAPTER  n. 

The  British  Anny  in  the  Netherlands— Napoleon  joins  his   army  at  Avesnes— Attacks  the 
Prussians— Battle  of  Ligny— Battle  of  Quatre  Bras, 


HE  army  assembled  under  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  in  the 
Netherlands  numbered  78,500 
men.  Two-thirds  of  the  force 
consisted  of  British,  Hanove- 
rians, and  Belgians ;  the  remain- 
der were  from  the  Brunswick 
and  Nassau  States.  It  was  pre- 
cisely such  a  force  as  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  would  not  have 
taken  the  field  with  if  he  could 
have  helped  it.  The  British 
troops  were,  for  the  most  part, 
raw  levies.  After  the  Peninsular 
War,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
troops  was  sent  to  Canada  and 
New  Orleans ;  disbandment  also  took  place  upon  a  grand  scale ;  and 
the  "  astonishing  infantry,"  with  which  the  Duke  felt  that  he  could 
have  accomplished  almost  anything,  was  dispersed  over  the  kingdom  ; 
small  gratuities  and  trifling  pensions  marking  the  gratitude  of  the 
country  for  all  the  scars  they  had  earned,  and  the  blood  they  had 
freely  shed.  Still,  in  the  raw  troops  now  assembled  under  the  Field 
Marshal,  there  was  the  same  British  spirit — the  same  sense  of  duty 
— and  a  perfect  reliance  upon  the  great  chief  by  whom  so  many 
victories  had  been  won.  And  the  army  was  well  officered.  Renouncing 
the  enjoyments  of  home,  and  the  tranquillity  of  garrison  existence, 
every  man  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  fields  of  Portugal, 
Spain,  and   France,  sought   employment  at  this   juncture  ;  and   the 


10 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1816 


Duke  soon  found  himself  surrounded  by  the  men  he  loved  best,  and 
on  whom  he  could  place  the  most  perfect  dependence.  Lord  Hill  was 
with  him,  and  commanded  the  right  wing  of  the  army  near  Ath. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  was  at  the  head  of  the  left  wing  at  Braine  le 
Comte  and  Nivelles.  Lord  Combermere  was  not  present;  but  a 
soldier  distinguished  by  his  intrepidity,  and  the  admirable  manner  in 
wliich  he  had  covered  Sir  John  Moore's  retreat  to  Coruna,  headed 


THE  EAEL   OF   OXBRIDGE,    AFTEaWAEDS    MAIiQUIS    OF    ANGLESEY. 

the  cavalry,  and  gave  assurance  that  wherever  he  was,  there  victory 
would  be; — this  was  the  Earl  of  Uxbridge.'     Besides  these  men,  and 


1  "The  Ear!  of  Uxbridgc  was  born  the  17th  of  May,  17C8,  and  received  the  first  rudiment* 
of  his  education  at  Westminster,  ■whence  he  was  removed  to  Christ  Church,  Oxford.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  1793,  the  Earl,  then  Lord  Paget,  disdaining 
ingloriouB  repose,  and  anxious  to  embrace  a  military  life,  raised  tho  SUlh  Regiment  of  Foot 


1815.J  THE  EARL  OF  UXBRIDGK  11 

eeverally  commanding  divisions  and  brigades,  were  Picton,  Clinton, 
Alten,  Colville, — all  become  Lieutenant-Generals,  and  covered  with 

or  Staffordshire  Volunteers,  a  flue  body  of  young  men,  principally  on  the  estates  of  his  noble 
father.  On  600  men  being  raised.  Lord  Paget  was  presented  with  a  Lieutenant-Colonelcy  in 
the  army ;  and  on  400  more  being  added,  his  lordship  was  offered  a  Colonelcy,  which  he 
refused,  on  the  grounds  of  his  not  having  then  been  on  foreign  service.  Three  months  after 
the  letter  of  service.  Lord  Paget,  with  his  regiment,  embarked  for  Guernsey,  and  from  thence, 
in  1794,  joined  his  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  York  in  Flanders;  and  in  that  retreat,  his 
lordsliip  being  junior  field  officer,  was  entrusted  with  the  command  of  Lord  Cathcart's  brigade, 
the  latter  gallant  officer  having  a  separate  corps,  to  which  his  attention  was  necessarily  directed. 
Lord  Paget,  who  had  been  removed  from  the  80th  to  the  command  of  the  7th  Regiment  of 
Light  Dragoons,  accompanied  His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  York  in  the  expedition  to 
Holland  ;  and  in  the  general  attack  made  on  the  2nd  of  October,  1799,  his  lordship  was  attached 
to  the  division  under  the  command  of  the  Russian  general,  De  Hermann,  and  posted  on 
the  sand-hills,  where  he  had  an  opportunity  of  contributing  materially  to  the  brilliant  victory 
that  day  obtained  by  British  troops,  under  circumstances  of  the  most  discouraging  nature. 
Late  in  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  enemy's  cavalry  having  been  defeated  in  an  attempt 
which  they  made  upon  the  British  horse  artillery,  were  charged  by  the  cavalry  under  Lord 
Paget,  and  driven  with  considerable  loss  nearly  to  Egmont-op-Zee.  In  the  retreat  of  that 
army  Lord  Paget,  with  his  cavalry,  protected  the  rear ;  and  sonie  skirmishing  having  taken 
place,  whereby  several  pieces  of  cannon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  bis  lordship,  with 
one  squadron,  made  a  gallant  attack  upon  the  force  of  General  Simon,  amounting  to  above  six 
times  that  of  his  lordship's,  totally  repulsed  them,  and  obtained  back  the  British,  and  with  them 
several  pieces  of  the  enemy's  cannon.  After  the  return  of  the  army  from  Holland,  Lord 
Paget  devoted  himself  with  the  greatest  assiduity  to  the  discharge  of  his  regimental  duties, 
and,  by  his  unremitting  attention,  the  7th  Light  Dragoons  became  one  of  the  first  regiments 
of  cavalry  in  the  British  service.  Lieutenant-General  Lord  Paget,  with  two  brigades  of 
cavalry,  consisting  of  the  7th,  10th,  15th,  and  18th  Regiment  of  Hussars,  followed  the 
division  sent  under  the  command  of  Sir  David  Baird  to  co-operate  with  Sir  John  Moore  in 
Spain.  Lord  Paget  disembarked  his  forces  at  Conifia,  amidst  the  Innumerable  difficulties 
opposed  to  his  lordship  from  the  want  of  forage,  the  apathy  of  the  people  of  Spain,  and  the 
tardy  supplies  they  afforded,  very  different  from  what  either  the  men  or  horses  bad  been 
accustomed  to,  and  proceeded  in  the  route  Sir  David  Baird's  division  was  directed  to  take. 
On  the  10th  of  December,  Lord  Paget  arrived  at  Zamora,  and  after  a  toilsome  march,  was 
enabled  to  bring  into  the  field  a  well-equipped  body  of  cavalry  ;  and  on  the  24lh  of  November, 
his  lordship's  division  effected  a  junction  with  the  army  of  Sir  John  Moore.  At  this  period, 
the  critical  state  of  affairs  had  determined  the  British  commander  to  fall  back  upon  Portugal. 
Circumstances  afterwards  caused  this  movement  to  be  suspended,  and  a  jmiction  was  resolved 
upon  with  the  division  under  Sir  David  Baird,  which  was  happily  effected  on  the  20th  of  December. 
Lieutenant-General  Lord  Paget  was  stationed  with  his  division  of  cavalry  twelve  miles  from 
Sahagun  ;  and  at  the  latter  place  a  body  of  the  enemy's  horse,  amounting  to  700,  had  been  posted, 
which  his  lordship  proposed  by  a  rapid  movement  to  cut  off  from  the  main  body  of  the  French 
army ;  and  accordingly,  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  Major-General  Slade  was 
despatched  by  a  different  route  from  that  his  lordship  proposed  pursuing,  with  the  10th  Light 
Dragoons,  whilst  Lord  Paget,  with  the  15th  Regiment  of  Dragoons,  moved  with  great  celerity 
in  a  contrary  direction,  reached  Sahagun,  and  surprised  a  picket  of  the  enemy ;  unfortunately 
some  men  escaped  and  gave  the  alarm,  which  afforded  the  French  an  opportunity  of  forming 
In  an  advantageous  position  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  strength  of  the  post  was 
particularly  favourable,  from  a  hollow  which  opposed  any  regular  charge  of  the  British 
cavalrj' ;  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  manceuvre  so  as  to  gain  the  advantages  of  ground 
for  his  intended  operations.  Here  the  abilities  of  Lord  Paget  were  exercised  with  effect ;  and 
having  succeeded  in  improving  his  position,  a  charge  was  made  upon  the  enemy,  drawn  up  In 
line.    The  rapidity  with  which  the  British  cavalry  rushed  on  to  the  attack  could  not  be 


12  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

decorations  earned  in  the  Peninsula.  There  ^vere  also  Major- 
Generals  Kempt,  Ponsonby,  Byng,  Pack,  Bradford,  Lambert, 
Maitland,  Ilalkctt.  and  Adam.  The  staflF  was  admirably  composed. 
In  the  Adjutant-General's  department  were  Sir  Edward  Barnes, 
Sir  George  Berkeley,  Colonel  Waters — he  who  had  managed  the 
passage  of  the  Douro — and  many  more.  Sir  W.  De  Lancey  was  the 
Quartermaster-General,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Torrens,  Sir.  R.  D. 
Jackson,  and  Sir  A.  Dickson,  were  among  those  under  him.  Sir 
George  Wood  commanded  the  artillery  ;  and  in  the  Duke's  personal 
staff  were  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset,  the  young  Lord  March,  and  the 
gallant  Marquis  of  Worcester.' 

The  cavalry  comprised  several  regiments  of  heavy  dragoons,  includ- 
ing the  Life  Guards  and  the  Royal  Horse  Guards  (Blue),  and 
fourteen  regiments  of  Light  Dragoons.  Five  of  the  light  corps 
were  composed  of  the  German  Legion.  The  infantry  consisted  of 
thirty-five  battalions  and  two  complete  regiments  ;  one  of  these  was 
the  33rd  Foot,  the  corps  in  which  the  Duke  first  saw  service,  and 
with  which  he  had  been  connected  for  twenty  years. 

withstood  by  the  French,  their  line  was  immediately  Ijrolcen,  and  their  whole  force  dispersed, 
■with  considerable  slaughter;  two  Lieutenant-Colonels,  and  upwards  of  190  men,  made 
prisoners,  were  the  fruits  of  this  bold,  yet  well-planned  operation.  In  the  disastrous  retreat 
of  Sir  John  Moore,  Lord  Paget,  with  his  cavalry,  brought  up  the  rear,  and  the  ardour  of  his 
lordship  frequently  exposed  him  to  imminent  danger.  Skirmishes  daily  took  place,  and  the 
masterly  disposition  of  his  lordship,  and  the  alacrity  he  at  all  times  evinced,  enabled  the 
British  troops  to  reach  Coruiia  with  a  trifling  loss.  At  Majorga,  a  well-directed  attack  was 
executed  on  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy  by  the  10th  Hussars,  under  Colonel  Leigh,  in 
which  the  British  were  successful,  and  100  of  the  French  made  prisoners.  At  Benevento 
Lord  Paget's  division  was  attacked  by  the  chasseurs  of  Bonaparte's  Imperial  Guard ;  the 
pickets  which  were  along  the  Esla  river  having  been  driven  in,  his  lordship  reinforced  them 
with  the  inlying  pickets;  these,  with  a  part  of  the  German  Hussars,  gall;uitly  kept  in  checfc 
six  squadrons  of  the  Imperial  Guards.  Lord  Paget  having  arrived  on  the  spot,  found  them 
engaged  in  a  very  sharp  skirmish ;  he  immediately  sent  for  the  10th  Hussars,  and  gave 
orders  for  an  attack  with  the  pickets  tlie  instant  he  had  formed  the  10th  in  a  second  IJne. 
This  attack  was  conducted  with  so  much  gallantry  that  the  Imperial  Guards  were  overthrown, 
with  the  loss  of  a  General  and  several  other  officers,  and  100  men  made  prisoners,  and  many 
killed,  wounded,  and  drowned.  By  a  continual  series  of  bold  operations,  Lord  Paget  acquired 
for  the  British  cavalry  the  high  character  they  held  during  the  rest  of  that  campaign  ;  and 
the  very  able  manner  in  which  the  retreat  of  Sir  John  Moore  was  protected,  throughout,  by 
the  Hu.ssar  Division,  obtained  the  approbation  of  the  lamented  commander,  and  will  ever 
continue  a  theme  for  admiration  and  example  to  the  rest  of  the  army.  Lord  Paget  succeeded, 
on  the  death  of  his  father,  to  tlie  title  of  Earl  of  Uxbridge." — The  Mititary  Encydopadia. 

1  "His  military  secretary  and  Quartcrma.ster-General  were  tried  men.  His  Aides-de-Camp 
and  Oalopins  were  young  men  of  the  best  families  in  England,  who  thought  it  an  honour  to 
devote  to  their  country  and  its  greatest  commander  all  the  energies  of  their  will  and  intellect, 
Mounting  the  finest  horses  of  England's  famous  breed,  they  made  it  a  point  of  honour,  when- 
ever the  Duke  added  the  word  '  quick'  to  a  message,  to  cover  three  German  miles  in  the 
hour,  or,  for  a  shorter  distance,  one  (German)  milo  in  eighteen  minutes."— j3«s  mcinem  Leben, 
or  "Passages  of  my  Life,"  by  General  Mii  filing. 


1815.]  NAPOLEON   WITH   HIS   ARMY.  13 

Late  in  April,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  received  reports  of 
Napoleon's  intended  movement  upon  the  northern  frontier.  He 
accordingly  issued  orders  for  such  a  concentration  of  the  troops  as 
■would  enable  them  to  effect  a  junction  with  ease  and  rapidity  in  case 
the  Netherlands  should  be  attacked.  He  soon  afterwards  obtained 
accurate  information  of  the  strength  and  disposition  of  the  French 
army,  and  instead  of  attempting  to  carry  out  the  original  plan  of 
an  irruption  into  France  with  the  allies,  he  calmly  awaited  Napoleon's 
attack. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  12th  of  June,  1815,  Napoleon  quitted  the 
Palace  of  the  Tuileries,  and  proceeded  to  Avesnes,  on  the  Belgian 
frontier,  where  he  threw  himself  with  confidence  into  the  midst  of  the 
army,  "  his  real  people — his  true  capital." 

To  concentrate  the  grand  army  on  the  banks  of  the  Sambre,  push 
it  forward  resolutely  to  Charleroi,  attack  the  Prussians  at  the  point 
of  junction  where  their  right  wing  extended  to  the  left  wing  of 
Wellington's  army,  drive  them  back  upon  Luxembourg,  penetrate 
Belgium,  manoeuvre  on  the  rich  plains  of  an  almost  level  country, 
leave  an  imposing  force  in  front  of  Bliicher,  to  prevent  him  from  taking 
the  Emperor  in  flank,  throw  himself  to  the  left,  and  march  upon 
Brussels  and  upon  Wellington,  crush  the  English,  return  afterwards 
as  conqueror  upon  the  two  armies  of  the  Lower  and  Central  Rhine, 
fight  and  conquer  again  the  coalition  of  those  two  first  armies, — such 
was  the  plan  of  Napoleon,  and  the  only  oae  suited  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  hour,  to  the  natural  genius  of  the  Emperor  and  his 
soldiers,  and  finally  to  the  genius  of  impetuosity  and  despair.' 

The  moment  Napoleon  found  himself  amidst  his  troops,  he 
addressed  to  them  one  of  those  written  harangues  with  which  on  all 
former  occasions  he  was  accustomed  to  stimulate  their  pride,  excite 
in  them  a  thirst  for  glory,  and  fill  them  with  hatred  of  the  enemy 
they  were  about  to  encounter.  Believing  in  auguries,  the  troops 
who  had  won  so  many  battles  in  G-ermany,  were  easily  moved  to 
enthusiasm  if  they  were  appealed  to  on  the  anniversary  of  any  great 
fight.  Napoleon  addressed  them  on  the  anniversary  of  Marengo  and 
Friedland.  He  charged  the  "  princes  whom  he  had  suffered  to  remain 
upon  their  thrones  "  with  a  coalition  aimed  at  the  independence  and 
the  most  sacred  rights  of  France,  and  with  the  most  unjust  of  aggres- 
eions  !  He  reminded  th(i  soldiers  that  they  had  beaten  the  Prussians 
at  Jena  and  Montmirail  when  the  odds  were  much  against  the 
French.  He  endeavoured  to  make  them  believe  that  the  Saxons, 
the    Belgians,    and    the     Hanoverians    bewailed    the    necessity    of 

1  Lamartine's  "  History  of  the  Restoration  of  Monarchy  iv  T="r!.jce." 


14  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

"  lending  their  arms  to  the  cause  of  princes  who  are  the  enemies  of 
justice  and  the  rights  of  nations." 

"  Soldiers !  "  he  concluded,  "  we  have  forced  marches  to  make — 
battles  to  wage — perils  to  encounter ;  but,  with  constancy,  the 
victory  will  be  ours.  The  rights,  the  honour,  and  the  happiness  of 
our  country  will  be  recovered.  For  every  Frenchman  who  has  a  heart, 
the  moment  has  now  arrived  either  to  conquer  or  perish." 

Ths  army  now  at  Napoleon's  disposal  for  service  in  the  north 
amounted  to  130,000  men.  The  Prussian  army,  consisting  of  110,000 
men,  stretched  from  Liege,  where  the  left  of  the  army,  under  General 
Billow,  was  posted,  forming  a  junction  with  the  British.  The 
high  road  from  Charleroi  to  Brussels  ran  between  the  two 
armies.  The  advanced  posts  of  the  Prussian  right  wing  were  at 
Charleroi,  and  a  brigade  of  Nassau  troops,  forming  the  left  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington's  army,  was  stationed  at  Frasne,  on  the  same 
road,  Quatre  Bras  and  Fleurus  then  became  the  centre  and  rallying 
points  of  the  entire  mass  of  Anglo-German  troops,  assembled  to 
oppose  an  enemy  advancing  against  Brussels  by  the  road  from 
Charleroi.  It  was  calculated  that  the  British  army  could  reach  the 
appointed  post  in  twenty-two  hours  from  the  firing  of  the  first  gun, 
and  the  Prussians  in  twenty-four  hours.  So  difficult,  however,  is  it 
to  ensure  the  fulfilment  of  the  best  laid  plans,  that  30,000  men  were 
absent  from  the  Prussian  army  at  the  moment  when  they  were  most 
wanted.  Marshal  Bliicher  had  but  80,000  men  in  position  when  the 
French  army  were  close  upon  him. 

Bliicher's  impatience  to  commence  the  contest  arose  from  his 
anxiety  to  fight  by  the  side  of  the  English.  Convinced  of  the  invin- 
cibility of  an  Anglo-Prussian  army,  he  was  desirous  of  overthrowing 
the  French  before  the  Russians — for  whom  he  cherished  a  great 
antipathy,  because  in  former  campaigns  they  had  thwarted  his  plans 
— could  effect  a  junction  with  the  English  and  himself  He  had  not 
long  to  wait  for  the  opportunity.  On  the  15th,  Napoleon,  intending 
to  throw  himself  between  the  allied  armies,  to  separate  them  and  beat 
them  in  detail,  moved  from  Beaumont  at  daybreak,  and  pushing 
through  the  deep  and  miry  roads  leading  to  the  bridges  over  the 
Sambre,  effected  the  passage  of  the  river,  and  took  Charleroi,  in  spite 
of  the  gallant  resistance  of  a  comparatively  small  corps  under  General 
Ziethen. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  received  early  intelligence  on  the  morning 
of  the  1 5th  of  the  attack  on  the  Prussian  outposts.  As  yet,  however, 
it  was  not  certain  what  direction  Napoleon  intended  subsequently  to 
take,  and  it  was  consequently  impossible  for  him  to  give  orders  for 


1815.]  THE  BRITISH  AT  BRUSSELS.  1.5 

the  movement  of  troops  that  should  leave  Brussels  uncovered,  until 
that  should  be  known.  His  Grace  limited  himself  to  the  preliminary 
orders  to  the  army  to  be  prepared  to  move  at  a  moment's  notice.  Not 
many  hours  afterwards  expresses  reached  him  with  intelligence  that 
Napoleon  had  divided  his  army  into  two  parts,  and  while  one  portion 
advanced  towards  Fleurus,  the  other,  under  Marshal  Ney — le  plus 
brave  dcs  braves,  as  he  had  been  flatteringly  called  on  more  than  one 
occasion  after  his  return  to  Paris  from  Russia, — was  marching  against 
the  English  on  the  road  to  Quatre  Bras,'  by  Frasne.  Ney  knew  the 
country :  he  had  served  there  in  his  youth.  With  40,000  men  he 
was.  by  the  Emperor's  orders,  to  entrench  himself  and  hold  the 
position  against  the  English. 

As  the  news  reached  Brussels  of  the  approach  of  the  French,  the 
most  intense  anxiety  began  to  prevail.  The  English  had  made  great 
way  with  the  Belgians  during  the  time  they  had  occupied  the  country. 
Mingling  with  the  inhabitants  in  society,  the  innate  worth  of  the 
British  character  had  come  to  be  understood  and  valued,  and  it  was 
not  the  least  among  the  recommendations  of  our  countrymen,  that 
they  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  among  the  Brussels  shopkeepers. 
Yet  were  there  niany  who  cherished  a  great  regard  for  the  French. 
The  few  months  that  had  elapsed  since  the  cry  of  Orange  Boven  was 
roused  had  not  served  to  completely  dissever  the  ties  established  for 
twenty  years,  and  if  the  town  could  have  been  polled  at  the  critical 
moment  of  which  we  write,  it  is  probable  that  as  many  persons  would 
have  been  found  to  hoist  the  tricolor  de  bonne  volonte,  as  to  wear  the 
orange  cockade  of  the  restored  regime. 

From  the  moment  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  fixed  his  head 
quarters  at  Brussels,  the  town  had  become  the  resort  of  the  aris- 
tocracy of  England  and  Northern  Germany.  Among  the  former  were 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Richmond.  Invitations  to  a  ball  for  the 
evening  of  the  1 5th  had  been  issued  by  the  Duchess,  in  which  a  great 
number  of  the  officers  of  the  British  army,  quartered  in  and  about 
Brussels,  had  been  included.  The  probability  of  the  immediate 
movement  of  the  troops,  and  the  evidently  perturbed  state  of  the 
inhabitants,  suggested  a  postponement  of  the  entertainment.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  entreated  that  no  change  should  be  made  in  the 
arrangement.  He  had  nicely  calculated  the  time  that  it  would  take 
for  Kis  troops  to  reach  Quatre  Bras,  and  he  deemed  it  better  to  carry 

I  Quatre  Bras  is  the  name  given  to  the  junction  of  four  roads,  about  twenty-four  miles  from 
Brussels,  and  twelve  from  Waterloo.  One  road,  to  the  south-east,  leads  to  Charleroi— one,  to  the 
east,  to  Namur— a  third  takes  a  westerly  course  to  Nivelles  and  Ilalle— and  the  fourth  goes 
north-westerly  to  Brussels. 


16  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

them  into  the  field  somewhat  fatigued  by  their  march  than  to  create 
a  panic  by  a  sudden  summons  to  arms.  His  coolness  and  self- 
possession  contributed  to  give  one  more  evening's  enjoyment  to  many 
a  fond  and  fluttering  heart,  but  the  hurry  of  departure  which  followed 
upon  the  ftte  exposed  the  Duke  for  many  years  afterwards  to  the 
imputation  of  having  been  surprised  by  the  French — an  imputation 
which  even  Englishmen  are  disinclined  to  renounce  lest  the  force 
which  some  of  the  grandest  lines  ever  penned  by  Lord  Byron,  derived 
from  their  supposed  truth,  should  be  destroyed.^  The  Muse  of 
History,  dispelling  the  injurious  fiction  in  which  the  sister  muse  de- 
lights, has  at  length  vindicated  the  reputation  of  the  Duke.  It  is 
now  admitted  that  from  first  to  last  he  was  fully  prepared,  and 
leisurely  gave  his  orders.^ 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  entered  the  Duchess's  ball-i-oom  shortly 
after  eleven  o'clock,  and  remained  for  a  few  moments.  At  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  16th  the  ball  broke  up,  but  for  some  hours  pre- 
viously the  drums  had  been  beating  in  the  streets,  and  before  mid- 
night of  the  15th  the  bugles  and  bagpipes  had  sounded  the  "  Camer- 
ons'  gathering,"  and  the  "  War-note  of  Lochiel." 

Now  came  the  excitement  and  the  agony  which  had  hitherto  been 
restrained.  It  was  not  the  agony  of  fear  but  of  sorrow,  lest  the 
partings  then  taking  place  should  be  eternal.  Assured  by  the  calm 
bearing  of  the  Field  Marshal  and  his  officers,  and  the  blithesomeness 
of  the  men,  the  people  of  Brussels,  freshly  remembering  the  exploits 
of  the  Peninsular  army,  did  not  so  much  apprehend  that  the  French 
would  approach  Brussels  as  that  the  efi'ort  to  drive  them  back  across 
the  frontier  would  cost  hundreds  of  the  brave  fellows  they  then 
looked  upon  their  lives  or  limbs.  Tears  were  freely  shed,  lamenta- 
tions and  choking  sighs  mournfully  accompanied  the  warlike  sounds 
which  announced  the  march  of  regiment  after  regiment  from  the 
Place  Royale.  The  Highlanders  (the  42nd  and  92nd)  were  much 
regretted,  for  the  "  douce"  manners  of  the  Scotch  had  endeared  them 
to  the  inhabitants.  But,  in  truth,  each  regiment  carried  away  its 
share  of  hearts. 

The  5th  Division,  commanded  by  Sir  Thomas  Picton,  consisted  of 
the  28th,  32nd,  79th,  95th,  92nd,  44th,  42nd,  and  a  battalion  of  the 
Royals.     The  four  first  regiments  formed  a  brigade  under  Sir  James 

1  "There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  nifjht,"  &c. 

2  "  I  did  not  hear  of  these  events  till  in  the  evening,  and  I  immediately  ordered  the  troops  to 
prepare  to  march  ;  and  afterwards  to  march  to  their  left  as  soon  as  I  had  intelligence  from  other 
quarters  to  prove  that  the  enemy's  movement  upon  Charleroi  was  the  real  attack."— Despatch  of 
the  19th  of  June. 


1815.]  BATTLE   OF   LIGNT.  lY 

Kempt ;  the  four  last  constituted  the  left  brigade,  under  Sir  Denis 
Pack.  They  were  followed  by  the  Duke  of  Brunswick's  corps,  the 
Hanoverian  infantry,  and  the  contingent  of  Nassau,  in  all  15,000 
men.  This  strong  body  of  infantry,  totally  unsupported  by  cavalry 
or  artillery,  marched  at  once  to  Quatre  Bras.  The  Duke  followed 
some  hours  afterwards,  awaiting  in  the  interval  fresh  advices  from 
Blucher. 

While  Marshal  Ney  rapidly — as  rapidly  as  the  muddy  roads  would 
permit— advanced  towards  Quatre  Bras,  Napoleon  pushed  on  to 
Fleurus.  Emerging  from  the  woods  around  the  place  about  noon  of 
the  16th,  he  found  the  Prussians  posted  along  some  undulating  and 
elevated  ground,  called  the  heights  of  Bry,  their  left  resting  on  the 
village  of  SombreflF,  their  right  on  "Wagnele,  the  centre  at  Bry. 
The  rivulet  of  Ligny  ran  along  the  front  of  their  position  for  about 
three  miles,  and  upon  its  banks  were  three  or  four  small  hamlets. 
There  were  70,000  infantry  and  9000  cavalry,  with  252  pieces  of 
artillery — a  force  about  equal  in  strength  to  that  of  the  French.  By 
two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  16th,  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
joined  Marshal  Bliicher  on  the  heights,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining if  the  operations  meditated  by  the  French  upon  the  Prussian 
line  were  their  main  attack,  and  having  satisfied  himself  upon  this 
point  he  proceeded  to  join  his  own  army.  Napoleon  began  the  attack 
upon  the  Prussians,  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  with  a  discharge  of 
artillery  from  the  rising  ground  behind  his  infantry  and  cavalry, 
which  moved  forward  in  the  usual  way.  The  Prussian  artillery 
replied  to  the  fire.  The  valleys  and  hamlets  immediately  became  the 
scene  of  a  fierce  and  bloody  contest,  which  continued  until  nine 
o'clock  at  night  with  varying  success.  Encouraged  by  the  intrepid 
Blucher — who  narrowly  escaped  death  from  his  horse  falling  mortally 
wounded  upon  him  in  a  cavalry  tnelie — the  Prussians  behaved  nobly 
throughout  the  day ;  but  when  the  injuries  the  old  Msrshal  received 
in  his  crushing  fall  compelled  him  to  quit  the  field,  "  the  energy  and 
unity  of  command  were  gone,"  and  a  retreat  was  resolved  upon. 
The  corps  accordingly  fell  back  upon  Wavre,  and  early  the  next  day 
retired  upon  Gembloux,  without  being  assailed  or  pursued  by  the 
French.  Twelve  thousand  men  fell  upon  either  side,  and  the  French 
remained  masters  of  a  field  which  offered  them  no  other  trophies  than 
thirty  dismantled  guns.  But  Ligny  was  a  victory  in  the  widest 
sen.se  of  the  term,  and  Napoleon  did  not  delay  to  present  it  to  the 
people  of  Paris  as  the  precursor  of  other  achievements  which  were  to 
restore  the  prestige  of  his  name. 

Coevally  with  the  operations  of  Napoleon  between  Fleurus  and 

VOL.  IL  2 


18 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   "WELLINGTON. 


[1815 


Ligny,  Ney  was  "  cha«ging  hardiment "  -with  the  Belgian  brigade 
under  the  Prince  of  Weimar.  On  the  evening  of  the  15th,  not  more 
than  1500  Belgians  occupied  the  approaches  to  Quatre  Bras  at 
Frasne,  but  in  the  night  a  considerable  body  had  moved  through  the 
forest  of  Nivelles,  and.  when  day  broke  on  the  16th,  the  French 
marshal  found  himself  engaged  with  8000  men — under  the  Prince  of 
Orange  and  General  Perponcher.  The  Prince  of  Weimar  at  first  lost 
ground  before  the  impetuous  attacks  of  the  French  columns :  rein- 
forced, he  regained  his  position,  and  thus  commanded  the  communica- 
tions leading  from  Nivelles  and  Brussels  with  Marshal  Blucher.  The 
battle  raged  till  noon,  when,  pressed  by  the  superior  numbers  and 


■•WAttSHAL   NEV. 


resistless  energy  of  the  enemy,  the  Prince  of  Orange  also  fell  back 
to   Quatre    Bras,   defending    the    woods    around   with    determined 


1815.]  BATTLE   OF   QUATRE   BRAS.  19 

obstinacy.  A  pause  ensues — the  French  obtain  reinforcements,  and 
resume  the  attack  at  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon,  with  the  full 
confidence  of  clearing  the  way  to  Brussels.  The  Belgians  are  im- 
perilled— they  begin  to  give  way — victory  is  almost  within  the  grasp 
of  the  daring  Ney,  who  has  everything  to  gain  by  success,  when 
Picton's  division,  toil-worn,  but  animated  by  the  sight  of  the  battle- 
field, suddenly  comes  to  the  rescue.  With  the  rapidity  of  lightning, 
the  wood  of  Bossu,  the  roads  to  Ligny  and  St.  Amand,  are  occupied  by 
the  British  and  foreign  infantry,  and  Wellington  coming  up  with  his 
staff,  takes  post  on  a  bank  on  the  right  of  the  latter  road  near  Quatre 
Bras.  An  attempt  is  made  to  push  back  the  French.  For  the 
moment  they  retire,  but,  strengthened  by  bodies  of  cavalry  and 
numerous  pieces  of  artillery,  they  renew  the  combat.  Forming 
squares,  the  British  infantry  bravely  repel  the  repeated  assaults  of 
cuirassiers  and  dragoons.  The  Brunswick  cavalry  now  come  up, 
headed  by  their  gallant  Duke  in  the  costume  of  his  Black  Hussars,' 
and  for  an  instant  check  the  fiery  assaults  of  the  French  cavalry. 
At  this  time  (three  o'clock),  the  Duke  of  Wellington  appeared  in 
that  part  of  the  field  of  battle  which  was  close  to  the  village  of  Quatre 
Bras.  Halting  with  his  aides-de-camp  in  front  of  the  92nd  High- 
landers, exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  of  round  shot  and  grape,  he  took  out 
his  watch,  and  appeared  to  calculate  the  minutes  when  the  British 
cavalry  might  be  expected.  His  eye — clear — cold — intelligent — 
looked  from  one  part  of  the  field  to  another.  He  was  evidently 
anxious,  but  not  alarmed.  He  knew  the  British  infantry.  The  shot 
ploughing  up  the  earth  around  him  and  even  wounding  men  at  his 
side,  the  Duke  sought  shelter.  Again  the  cuirassiers  thundered  on 
and  surrounded  the  squares — and  again  and  again  they  were  forced 
to  retire.  The  infantry  became  impatient,  and  would  have  charged 
the  cavalry,  as  the  5th  and  77th  had  done  at  El  Bodon,  but  Welling- 
ton would  not  hear  of  it.  He  bid  them  stand,  and,  from  their  living 
redoubts,  hurl  stout  horsemen  from  their  saddles.  They  obeyed,  and 
earned  a  tribute  of  praise  from  him  who  never  used  the  language  of 
admiration  but  when  the  valour  displayed  was  of  the  most  brilliant 
character.  Kempt's  brigade  suffered  severely — the  Royals,  the  42nd, 
and  44th  were  sent  to  their  support.  For  three  hours  the  troops  in 
the  centre  were  warmly  engaged.  The  enemy  kept  up  a  heavy  fire, 
».nd  twice  attempted  to  carry  the  British  position.     On  their  second 

1  It  was  a  corps  which  peculiarly  bore  the  aspect  of  messengers  of  death.  The  dress  was  al- 
together of  black,  and  the  death's  head  and  cross-bones  decorated  the  cap.  This  dress  had  been 
assumed  after  the  battle  of  Jena,  where  the  Duke's  father  was  killed.  The  Hussars  vowed  nevej 
to  leave  off  their  mourning  until  his  death  had  keen  avenged. 

2d 


20  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

attempt,  the  Brunswick  cavalry  reserved  their  charge  amidst  a 
terrible  fire  of  grape,  and  their  intrepid  chief,  rushing  into  the  thickest 
of  the  fight,  met  the  fate  of  his  gallant  sire.  The  infantry  now  re- 
ceived permission  to  charge,  and,  deploying  into  line,  frequently 
dashed  at  the  French  columns,  committing  the  greatest  havoc  in  their 
onslaught,  and  then  re-forming  square.  The  79th  signalised  them- 
selves on  this  occasion  by  the  most  heroic  bravery.  The  92nd  and 
42nd,  the  32nd,  33rd,  and  44th  performed  prodigies — the  '■  Slashers" 
(28th)  resisted  every  cavalry  charge — the  Royal  Scots  also  charged 
under  the  personal  direction  of  Sir  Thomas  Picton.  Colonel  Douglas 
of  the  79th  was  four  times  wounded.  Colonel  Macra,  and  many  other 
officers  of  the  immortal  42ud,  fell.  At  seven  in  the  evening,  the 
French  poured  like  a  torrent  upon  the  British,  covered  by  a  blinding 
fire  of  artillery.  "  Ninety-second  !  you  must  charge  those  fellows  !" 
energetically  exclaimed  the  Duke.  The  order  was  obeyed.  Colonel 
Cameron  and  three  other  officers  were  struck  down  mortally  wounded. 
The  Highlanders,  infuriated,  pressed  the  enemy,  and  his  vast  columns 
fled  before  the  daring  band. 

Evening  was  closing  in.  The  battle  raged  in  the  centre  and  on  the 
right.  Never  was  an  action  so  severely  disputed  with  such  unequal 
means.  Infantry  against  the  three  arms  of  the  first  service  in  the 
world  !  But  the  steady  endurance  of  the  noble  Fifth  Division  was  to 
reap  its  reward.  The  Guards,  long  and  anxiously  expected,  appeared 
upon  the  field,  led  by  General  Peregrine  Maitland.  Imitating  the 
conduct  of  the  line,  they  flew  into  the  wood,  of  which  the  French  had 
obtained  possession,  and  clearing  it  of  the  tirailleurs^  emerged  upon 
the  plain,  encountering  and  overthrowing  the  French  cavalry,  who 
now  came  upon  them.  For  three  hours  did  the  enemy  endeavour  to 
regain  possession  of  the  post.  Every  repeated  eflFort  was  repulsed 
with  renewed  vigour,  a  corps  of  Black  Bruuswickers  supporting  the 
Guards  with  the  atmost  spirit. 

Night  fell.  The  French  were  in  confusion  and  despair.  Ney,  be- 
coming desperate,  sent  for  a  corps  he  had  left  in  reserve ;  Napoleon 
had  withdrawn  it  to  aid  himself  in  contending  with  the  Prussians. 
The  Marshal,  intensely  mortified,  called  up  another  reserve,  to  cover 
his  broken  and  dispirited  battalions,  and  then  retired,  discomfited,  to 
Frasne.  Quatre  Bras  was  won  by  the  British,  the  Hanoverians,  and 
Bruuswickers,  after  ten  hours'  incessant  fighting. 

The  carnage  at  Quatre  Bras  was  terrible.  The  English  lost  2251 
men  and  officers  killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  Adding  the  loss 
among  the  Belgians  and  IIanoverian.s,  the  casualties  of  the  day  did 
not   amount   to   fewer   than   5000.     The   Highlanders   were   nearly 


1815.] 


BATTLE  OF   QUATRE  BRAS. 


decimated.  At  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  piper  of  the  92nd  took  post 
in  a  garden  in  front  of  the  village,  and  "  setting  his  drone  in  order, 
endeavoured  to  collect  the  scattered  members  of  the  regiment.  "  Long 
and  loud  blew  Cameron  ;  but  although  the  hills  and  valleys  echoed 
the  hoarse  murmurs  of  his  favourite  instrument,  his  ultimate  efforts 
could  not  produce  above  one-half  of  those  whom  his  music  had  cheered 
on  their  march  to  the  field  of  battle." 


22 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON. 


[1815. 


CHAPTER  HI. 


The  Retreat  from  Quatre  Bras— The  Battle  of  Waterloo. 


HE  morning  of  the  1 6th  of  June," 
•writes  the  eloquent  writer  of 
"  The  Fall  of  Napoleon," '  "had 
seen  310,000  men,  all  in  the 
pride  of  hope  and  strength,  ad- 
vancing from  diflferent  points 
..  towards  the  plains  of  Fleurus. 
Peace  still  rested  on  the  fruit- 
ful fields  and  noble  woods  that 
skirt  the  fertile  banks  of  the 
Sambre  and  the  Djle.  Leaves, 
grass,  and  corn,  refreshed  and 
sparkling  with  the  million  dew- 
drops  of  early  summer,  pre- 
sented from  the  heights  of  Bry  a  sight  of  beauty  and  repose,  to  which 
the  scenes  of  the  following  morning  offered  a  melancholy,  but  too 
piquant  contrast.  The  sun  of  the  17th  of  June  rose  on  trampled 
harvests,  scorched  forests,  and  on  the  smoky  ruins  of  cottages  and 
hamlets  ;  it  rose  on  heaps  of  broken  arms,  dismounted  guns,  over- 
turned carriages, — on  lines  of  cheerless  bivouacs^ — on  dead  and  dying 
steeds, — on  trains  of  wounded, — and  on  the  naked,  mangled,  and  un- 
buried  corses  of  ten  thousand  valiant  men,  who  had  fallen  in  the  fierce 
and  fruitless  strife  at  Ligny  and  Quatre  Bras. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  passed  the  night  upon  the  field.     Some 
of  the  92nd  made  a  fire  for  him  ;  for  the  fatigues  and  anxiety  of  the 


J  LieutenanWI!oloncl  Mitchell,  author  also  of  "The  Life  of  Wallenstein,"  "Thoughts  on 
Tactics,"  &.C.  An  able  and  ingenious  writer  ;  addicted,  however,  to  a  theory  that  the  bayonet  ia 
aa  inefficient  weapon  when  opposed  to  the  broadsword. 


1815.]  RETREAT  FROM  QUATRE  BRAd.  23 

previous  day  had  worn  and  wearied  the  warrior  ;  and  he  had  yet 
great  work  before  him.  Every  hour  brought  him  reinforcements. 
The  cavalry  and  artillery  quickly  came  up,  and,  at  a  very  early  hour 
of  the  17th,  he  was  preparing  to  assume  the  offensive  against  Marshal 
Ney  at  Frasne. 

But  soon  the  evil  tidings  came  that  Blxicher  had  fallen  back  upon 
Wavre.  The  Duke  had  almost  foreseen  that  the  Marshal's  position 
would  be  untenable  against  such  a  force  as  Napoleon  could  bring 
against  him ;  and  he  had  therefore  promised  to  assist  him  with  his 
own  army,  "  if  he  were  not  attacked  at  Quatre  Bras." 

The  result  of  the  battle  of  Ligny  rendered  it  necessary  that  the 
projected  attack  upon  Ney,  at  Frasne,  should  be  abandoned  ;  and  the 
order  was  given  for  a  retreat  upon  the  field  of  Waterloo.  There 
were  three  roads,  or  chaussees,  leading  to  different  parts  of  the  posi- 
tion the  Duke  had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  up.  Prince  Frederick 
of  Orange  proceeded  to  Halle,  with  18,000  men  ;  Lord  Hill  moved  to 
Braine  la  Leude ;  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  Mount  St.  Jean.  This 
distribution  was  necessary,  as  Napoleon,  who  had  moved  to  Rosonne, 
towards  Genappes,  could  have  disposed  of  those  roads  to  Brussels. 

The  retreat  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  from  Quatre  Bras  to 
Waterloo  has  always  been  considered,  by  competent  military  judges, 
a  perfect  model  of  operations  of  that  nature,  executed,  as  it  was,  in 
the  face  of  a  powerful  enemy.  He  had  three  objects  to  attain  ;  to 
mask  the  retirement  of  the  main  body ;  to  secure  the  passage  of  the 
defile  in  his  rear ;  and  to  ensure  the  orderly  and  regular  assembly 
of  the  several  corps  on  the  ground  respectively  allotted  to  them.  The 
manner  in  which  this  was  accomplished  "  evinced  a  degree  of  skill 
which  has  never  been  surpassed."  * 

The  retreat  of  the  infantry  divisions  was  covered  by  the  British 
cavalry  under  the  Earl  of  Uxbridge,  the  several  brigades  being  com- 
manded by  Generals  Hussey,  Vivian,  Vandeleur,  and  Lord  Edward 
Somerset.  The  regiments  employed  on  this  occasion  were  the  1st 
and  2nd  Life  Guards  and  the  Eoyal  Horse  Guards  (Blue) ;  the  1st  or 
King's  Dragoon  Guards,  the  1st  or  Royal  Dragoons,  the  Scots' 
Greys,  or  2nd  North  British  Dragoons  ;  the  6th  Enniskillen  Dragoons, 
the  1st,  7th,  10th,  15th,  and  18th  Hussars,  and  three  or  four  regi- 
ments of  German  cavalry.  These  were  supported  by  a  battery  of 
horse-artillery. 

No  sooner  had  Marshal  Ney  discovered  that  the  British  were  in 
full  retreat,  protected  only  by  their  cavalry,  than  he  launched  a  mass 
of  heavy  dragoons  and  artillery  upon  the  covering  force.     By  the 

1  Captain  Siborne's  "  History  of  the  War  in  France  and  Belgium." 


24  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1815 

advice  of  Lord  Uxbridge,  who  deemed  it  impossible  to  offer  any 
serious  resistance  to  the  superior  force  of  the  French,  Lord 
Wellington  had  assented  to  the  retreat  of  the  cavalry.  But  the 
pressure  of  the  Cuirassiers  rendered  it  indispensable  that  Lord 
Uxbridge  should  show  them  a  bold  front.  A  great  deal  of  skirmish- 
ing, and  several  charges  and  counter-charges  distinguished  the 
pursuit.  On  reaching  the  village  of  Genappes — harassed  by  the 
vigorous  and  repeated  attacks  of  the  French — Lord  Uxbridge  resolved 
on  making  a  stand ;  for  the  narrowness  of  the  road,  flanked  on  one 
side  by  houses,  would  necessarily  diminish  the  front  of  the  enemy. 
He  therefore  posted  the  7th  Hussars  at  the  upper  end  of  the  village ; 
and  when  the  French  Lancers  entered,  and  got  jammed  together  in 
the  limited  space  open  to  their  advance,  the  Hussars  gallantly  charged 
them.  The  Lancers  halted,  formed  a  chevaux  de  frise  with  their  lances, 
and  repelled  the  assault.  The  Hussars  retreating,  the  French,  elated 
at  their  success,  furiously  galloped  after  them,  only  to  be  overthrown 
in  their  turn  by  the  Life  Guards.  The  counter-charge  of  the  latter 
has  been  described  as  "  truly  spendid :  its  rapid  rush  down  into  the 
enemy's  mass  was  as  terrific  in  appearance  as  it  was  destructive  in 
its  effect ;  for  although  the  French  met  the  attack  with  firmness, 
they  were  utterly  unable  to  hold  their  ground  a  single  moment." 
The  road  was  instantaneously  covered  with  men  and  horses  scattered 
in  all  directions.  "  This  brilliant  and  eminently  successful  charge," 
adds  Sibornc,  "  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  enemy,  who  now 
conducted  his  pursuit  with  extreme  caution."  No  serious  affair 
succeeded  this ;  the  fine  manoeuvering  of  the  brigade  under  Sir 
William  Ponsonby,  and  the  activity  of  the  skirmishers,  supported  by 
the  active  fire  of  the  artillery  and  rocket  brigade,  kept  the  enemy  at 
a  distance  until  the  fall  of  night,  when  the  British  army  had  taken  up 
its  position  in  front  of  the  village  of  Waterloo. 

The  16th  and  17th  of  June  had  been  excessively  hot.  The  march 
upon  the  first  of  these  days  from  Brussels — a  distance  of  twenty 
miles — followed  by  one  of  the  severest  actions  on  record,  had  sorely 
tried  the  strength  and  patience  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  retreat  upon 
the  following  day  had  augmented  the  tax  upon  their  powers.  Towards 
the  evening  of  the  17th,  however,  a  violent  thunderstorm  mitigated 
the  sultriness,  but,  flooding  the  earth,  converted  the  roads  into  mire. 
Gratefully,  then,  the  troops  hailed  the  hour  which  found  them  en 
bivouac  in  the  corn-fields  around  Mont  St.  Jean  and  near  Waterloo  ; 
albeit  they  were  not  destined  to  enjoy  uninterrupted  and  refreshing 
repose  ;  for  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  during  the  night,  and  frequent 
thunder-claps  startled  them  from  their  slumber. 


1815.]  THE   EVE  OF  "WATERLOO."  2ft 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  written  to  Marshal  Bliicher,  upon 
the  commencement  of  the  retreat,  to  intimate  that  he  intended  to 
receive  battle  from  the  French  at  Mont  St.  Jean,  if  he  could  depend 
upon  receiving  the  assistance  of  two  Prussian  corps  ;  and  Bliicher, 
with  characteristic  warmth  and  earnestness,  replied  that  he  would 
come  not  simply  with  two  corps,  but  with  his  whole  army.  Thus 
assured,  the  Duke  felt  confident  of  his  ability  to  defend  the 
approaches  to  Brussels  against  the  entire  French  force,  and  probably 
cherished  a  conviction  that  he  would  ultimately  drive  Napoleon  back 
upon  the  frontier  of  France. 

There  was  little  to  cheer  and  animate  the  British  army  as  day 
broke  on  the  morning  of  the  memorable  18th  of  June.  The  rain  had 
fallen  heavily  during  the  night,  and  the  field  ofiering  but  scanty  cover, 
it  was  with  difficulty  the  men  could  keep  their  bivouac  fires  a-light. 
"  Like  sacrifices,"  they 

"  Sat  patiently  and  only  ruminated 
The  morning's  danger ;  and  their  gesture  sad 
Investing  lank,  lean  cheeks,  and  war-worn  coats, 
Presented  them  unto  the  gazing  morn 
So  many  horrid  ghosts." 

A  singular  parallel  was  presented  between  the  scene  of  1815  and 
that  which  was  enacted  on  the  plains  of  Agincourt  four  hundred  years 
previously.  The  English  were  on  a  foreign  soil — held  in  contempt 
by  the  leader  of  the  enemy — the  weather  very  bad — and  the  British 
chief  enjoyed  the  same  degree  of  confidence  as  the  troops  of  the  Fifth 
Harry  reposed  in  their  dauntless  king. 

Gloom  did  not  long  pervade  the  British  ranks.  The  trumpet,  the 
drum,  and  the  bugle  sounded  an  early  reveillee,  and  soon  the  whole 
camp  was  in  motion,  soldiers  cleaning  their  arms,  troopers  their  swords 
and  horses,  aides-de-camp  galloping  from  division  to  division,  and 
the  great  Duke  himself  arranging  his  plans,  and  indicating  the  posi- 
tions to  be  assumed  by  the  different  brigades. 

The  field  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  that  mortal  (or  immortal) 
strife  extended  about  two  miles  from  left  to  right.  The  centre  of 
the  position  was  three  quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  village 
of  Waterloo,  and  three  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  farm- 
house of  Mont  St.  Jean,  both  of  which  are  intersected  by  the  high 
road  from  Charleroi  to  Brussels.  The  British  army  occupied  the 
crest  of  a  range  of  undulations,  the  eminences  being  separated  by 
gentle  slopes  sufficiently  deep  to  conceal  a  large  portion  of  the  force 
and  the  whole  of  the  reserve,  from  the  view  of  the  enemy,  who  took 


26 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON. 


[1815. 


post  upon  heights  of  similar  altitude,  between   1000  and   1500  yards 
from  the  British  front. 

To  the  right  of  the  Duke's  position,  in  a  valley  of  no  great 
depth,  was  an  old  country-house  and  orchard,  called  Gouraont,  or 
Hougoumont  (sometimes  written  Hougemont),  and  upon  the  high 
road,  to  the  north-east  of  Hougoumont,  stood  a  farm-house  and 
gardens,  called  La  Haye  Sainte.  These  two  places  were  immediately 
occupied  by  troops,  who  lost  no  time  in  rendering  them  available  as 
posts  of  defence,  by  raising  barricades,  making  loop-holes  in  the 
walls,  taking  post  behind  the  hedges,  &c. ;  for  although  they  were 


MONT   ST.   JEAN. 


neither  of  them  sufficiently  formidable  to  offer  a  very  stubborn  resist- 
ance to  artillery,  they  were  decidedly  valuable  as  cover  for  infantry, 
and,  indeed,  constituted  the  key  to  the  British  position.  Hougou- 
mont was  occupied  by  a  battalion  of  Brunswick  troops,  and  the  light 
companies  of  the  Guards,  under  Colonel  Macdonncll  of  Glengarry 
La  Haye  Sainte  was  held  by  the  light  battalion  of  the  King's  German 
Legion.     Behind  the  position,  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  road  to 


1815.]  l^E  MORNING   OF  "WATERLOO."  27 

Brussels,  was  the  forest  of  Soignes/  which  was  also  traversed  by  minor 
roads  from  Braine  la  Leude,  Ter  la  Haye,  and  other  hamlets.  Beiug 
quite  free  from  underwood,  and  everywhere  passable  for  men  and 
horses,  this  forest  not  only  offered  a  good  second  position  along  the 
verge  of  the  wood,  if  the  wing  should  have  been  obliged  to  fall  back  from 
the  first  position,  but  presented,  in  case  of  reverse,  the  best  possible 
security  for  a  retreat.  To  the  left  of  the  British  line,  at  a  distance 
of  twelve  miles,  concealed  by  woods  and  rising  ground,  lies  Wavre, 
and  from  this  place  the  Prussians  marched,  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  18th,  to  unite  themselves  with  Wellington. 

It  is  related  that  as  soon  as  the  dawn  of  day  enabled  Napoleon  to 
distinguish  the  English  army,  he  gave  utterance  to  feelings  of 
exultation,  that  they  were  within  his  grasp.  Believing  that  they 
occupied  their  position,  either  because  the  roads  and  their  exhausted 
state  prevented  their  continuing  the  retreat  to  Brussels,  or  were 
unaware  of  the  proximity  of  the  French  ;  he  savagely  exclaimed,  "  Ah^ 
je  les  tie}is,  ces  Aiiglais  .'"  It  is  quite  certain  that  he  believed  it  to 
be  in  his  power  to  crush  them  at  any  moment,  for  upon  no  other 
ground  can  the  manner  in  which  he  wasted  his  time  between  day-light 
and  noon  be  explained.  He  knew  that  the  Prussians  were  hurrying 
to  join  the  British,  and  that  if  this  junction  were  effected,  the  task 
before  him  would  become  more  difficult.  Perhaps — and  this  con- 
jecture has  been  hazarded  by  his  apologists — he  waited  until  the 
earth,  saturated  with  the  rains  of  the  previous  night,  should  have 
resumed  some  portion  of  its  consistency,  and  enable  his  artillery  and 
cavalry  to  act  with  greater  effect.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  devoted  some 
time  to  marshalling  his  troops  in 

"  Battle's  magoiflcently  stern  array," 

and  then  rode  along  the  line,  attended  by  a  brilliant  staff,  in  order  to 
whet  the  appetite  of  his  men  for  the  contest.  The  French  soldier 
needed  the  stimulus  of  display,  and  did  not  fight  the  worse  for  the 
fanfaronnade  of  pompous  harangues,  inspiring  music,  and  the  sight  of 
"  le  petit  caporalP 

At  about  twelve  o'clock,  the  signal  for  the  fight  was  given.  The 
Emperor  directed  his  attack  upon  the  British  position  at  Hougoumont, 
and  as  his  six  battalions  of  infantry,  under  the  command  of  Prince 
Jerome,  advanced  towards  the  chateau,  the  Guards  and  Bruns- 
wickers  met  them  with  a  volley  of  musketry,  which  was   seconded 

1  Scarcel'  a  vestige  of  this  forest  now  remains.    It  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Forest  of 
Ardennes,  alluded  to  in  Shakspeare. 


28 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


1815.] 


and  sustained  by  the  fire  of  a  British  battery  on  its  right.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  battle  became  general,  for  the  discharge  of  musketry  and 
artillery  augmented  like  thickening  peals  of  thunder,  and  soon  extend- 
ed to  the  furthest  extremity  of  the  lines. 

Within  the  limits  of  this  biography  it  were  impossible  to  attempt 
to  render  justice  to  the  details  of  a  conflict  which,  without  needless 
expansion,  has  formed  the  material  of  ample  volumes.  Siborne  and 
Alison,  and  Mitchell,  Gleig,  and  Scott,  and  a  hundred  writers  beside, 
have  rendered  the  "  current  of  the  deadly  fight"  familiar  to  English- 
men as  household  words.     Innumerable  valorous  deeds,  and  tactical 


CHATEAU   or    HOUaOUMONT. 


operations  of  a  high  and  ingenious  class,  distinguished  the  British. 
The  battle  was  at  first  purely  defensive  on  the  part  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  The  French  attacked  vigorously  and  in  great  force. 
At  Hougoumont  and  La  Haye  Sainte  the  conflict  was  terrible  Several 
times  did  the  enemy  obtain  possession  of  the  orchard  and  gardens 
of  Hougoumont,   but   they   never   penetrated   the  enclosure.      The 


/815.J 


ATTACK  ON  HOUGOUMONT. 


29 


Coldstream  Guards  immortalised  themselves  by  the  unconquerable 
resolution  with  which  they  held  the  court-yard  under  their  brave 
leaders,  Colonel  Macdonnel,  Sir  John  Byng,  and  Lord  Saltoun,  even 
when  the  farm-house  was  in  flames  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy's 
howitzers.  From  time  to  time  the  Duke  dispatched  aides-de-camp  to 
urge  the  defence  of  the  position,  and  upon  each  occasion  received 
words  of  encouragement  from  the  intrepid  leaders.  '•  Your  Grace 
need  not  fear  for  Hougoumont,"  exclaimed  Lord  March,  after 
courageously  delivering  his  message  under  a  hot  fire,  "  for  Saltoun  is 
there  !" 

The  attack  upon  Hougoumont  was  followed  by  the  assault  of  the 
French  line  upon  the  British  centre  and  left.     Eighteen  thousand 


CHAPEL    OF    HOUGOU.MONT. 


soldiers  advanced  in  majestic  order,  under  the  personal  direction  of 
Napoleon,  who  had  galloped  towards  a  public-house,  called  La  Belle 
Alliance^  whence  to  order,  and  to  view  the  effect  of  the  attack. 
Shouting  "  Vive  VEmpereur  !"  and  "  en  avant — en  avant .'"  the 
cohorts  of  the  Emperor  energetically  pushed  forward.     The  Belgian 


80  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON.  [181 S 

troops — young  and  inexperienced — gave  way  in  confusion,  after  a 
brief  defence  of  La  Haye  Sainte.  The  Rifles  also  gave  ground,  boldly 
turning  at  every  opportunity  to  deliver  their  effective  fire  upon  the 
front  of  the  daring  foe.  From  La  Haye  Sainte,  the  columns  of  the 
enemy  ascended  the  exterior  slope  of  the  allied  position,  covered  by 
the  fire  of  the  French  artillery,  posted  on  the  ridges  above  them. 
But  here  they  were  destined  to  experience  a  check,  for  Picton,  with 
the  remnant  of  the  brigades  which  had  fought  so  valiantly  at  Quatre 
Bras,  seized  the  favourable  opportunity  of  a  halt  and  deployment  by 
the  French  to  pour  into  them  a  destructive  volley,  and  then  to  charge 
vrith  the  spirit  and  gallantry  common  only  to  British  troops.  The 
struggle  which  ensued  was  frightful,  and  though  the  British  infantry 
triumphed  in  the  collision,  their  glory  and  delight  were  dimmed  by 
the  death  of  the  brave  Picton,  who  was  struck  by  a  musket-ball  in 
the  right  temple.' 

About  the  same  time  that  the  infantry  brigade  repelled  the  masses 
of  French  foot,  the  Union  Brigade  of  cavalry,  consisting  of  the 
Enniskillen  Dragoons,  the  Royal  Dragoons,  and  Scots  Greys,  made 
terrible  havoc  among  the  French  Cuirassiers.  The  Earl  of  Uxbridge 
renewed  in  this  contest  the  proofs  of  judgment  and  intrepidity  which 
had  made  his  command  of  the  rear-guard,  on  the  way  from  Quatre 
Bras,  so  efficient.  The  Highland  regiments,  thinned  by  the  previous 
fight,  again  displayed  the  national  valour,  and  the  shouts  of  "  Scotland 
for  ever  !"  which  rang  across  the  field,  announced  that,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Scots  Greys,  they  were  driving  the  French  cavalry  like  chaff 
before  the  wind.  In  this  desperate  encounter,  a  Serjeant  of  the 
Greys  captured  the  eagle  of  the  French  "  Invincibles,"  as  the  45"°* 
Regiment  was  called.  The  Union  Brigade  charged  recklessly  into 
the  French  lines,  until  fresh  bodies  of  the  enemy's  cavalry — chiefly 

1  The  death  of  Sir  Thomas  Picton  was  a  subject  of  deep  regret  to  the  British  army,  and  to 
Uie  nation  at  large.  lie  was  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Ever  foremost  in  the  fray,  the 
division  which  ho  commanded  in  the  Peninsula  was  called  emphatically  the  "Fighting 
division."  So  devoted  was  he  to  his  proiession — so  regardless  of  all  personal  considerations, 
in  his  eager  anxiety  to  do  his  duty  in  the  Held— that  although  severely  wounded  in  the  hip  at 
Quatre  Bras,  he  concealed  the  circumstance  from  all  about  him,  lest  he  should  have  been 
ordered  from  the  Held.  It  has  often  been  said  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  jealous  of 
Picton.  This  was  an  absurd  imputation.  Their  relative  positions  put  jealousy,  or  even 
rivalry  and  emulation,  out  of  the  question.  It  is  possible  that  the  Duk6  did  not  like  Picton, 
and  found  it  difficult  to  ensure  ready  obedience  from  the  stern  old  soldier.  Napier  has  shown 
that  in  his  interconrse  with  General  Craufurd,  Picton  was  most  unaccommodating.  He  was 
enterprising  and  intrepid,  but  harsh  and  rigid  in  command,  and  not  remarkable  for  skill  in 
handling  troops  under  flre.  "In  fact,"  adds  the  historian  of  the  war  in  the  Peninsula,  "to 
compare  him  (or  Craufurd)  with  Wellington,  was  to  display  ignorance  of  the  men,  and  of  the 
art  they  profe.ssed."— They  could  never  comprehend  the  profound  military  and  political  core 
biuattous  of  tbo  subject  of  this  biography. 


1815.]  FRENCH   CAVALRY   ATTACKS.  31 

Lancers — held  in  reserve,  came  fiercely  upon  them,  and  forced  them 
to  retreat.  In  this  retrogressive  movement  the  brave  Sir  William 
Ponsonby,  who  commanded  the  brigade,  fell  beneath  the  deadly 
thrusts  of  the  Lancers.  The  whole  of  this  cavalry  charge,  which, 
frustrating  the  attack  of  the  enemy,  took  3000  prisoners,  two  eagles, 
and  put  liors  de  combat  30  to  40  pieces  of  cannon,  has  been  justly  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  grandest  scenes  which  distinguished  the  mighty 
drama  of  the  day. 

Simultaneously  with  these  deeds  of  high  emprise,  the  French 
Cuirassiers  had  advanced  to  attack  the  British  centre.  Showers  of 
round  and  grape-shot  saluted  them  as  they  slowly  trotted  across  the 
plain,  but  they  moved  bravely  on  to  the  slope  of  the  position,  where 
the  Life  Guards  and  Blues,  under  Lord  Edward  Somerset,  thundered 
down  the  eminence,  and,  affer  a  sharp  combat,  forced  them  to  quit 
the  field. 

This  kind  of  attack  was  frequently  repeated.  The  enemy  seemed 
to  grow  like  Hydra's  heads,  for,  ever  as  they  were  repulsed,  they 
returned  in  augmented  numbers  to  sweep  the  English  from  the  field. 
Four  hours  were  passed  in  this  way.  Hundreds,  nay  thousands,  of 
brave  men  fell  under  the  galling  fire  of  a  terrible  and  well-pointed 
artillery,  the  concentrated  discharges  of  musketry,  and  the  diligent 
sharp-shooting  of  the  riflemen  and  tirailleurs.  But  the  British  were 
rooted  to  their  position.  They  yielded  no  foot  of  ground.  By  4  p.m., 
after  a  brief  interval  of  slaughter,  an  immense  force  of  French 
cavalry  of  all  branches  was  prepared  to  renew  the  attack;  and 
it  was  evident  from  their  formation  and  direction  that  the  anni- 
hilation of  the  British  infantry  was  their  object.  The  infantry 
were  in  line,  with  artillery  at  the  intervals.  An  awful  cannonade 
opposed  the  daring  and  impetuous  advance  of  the  proud  chivalry 
of  France — but  still  they  moved  down  into  the  plain  at  a  steady 
pace.  As  they  pushed  at  a  gallop  up  the  slopes,  the  infantry  formed 
squares,  ^  and  the  artillerymen,  abandoning  their  guns  for  the  moment, 
took  refuge  within  these  impregnable  living  redoubts.  No  persuasion 
could  force  the  horses  of  the  Cuirassiers  against  the  hedge  of  bayonets 
bristling  from  the  squares.  They  thundered  on  for  a  brief  space — 
opened  out  and  edged  away  from  every  volley  which  the  third  ranks 
in  the  squares  fired  upon  them.     "  In  this  manner  they  flew  from  one 

1  The  square  consists  of  four  lines  of  men  on  either  of  four  sides,  the  two  exterior  files 
kneeling  with  the  butt  of  the  musket  pressed  against  the  knee,  and  the  bayonet  advanced. 
The  men  in  the  third  and  fourth  lines  Are  over  the  formidable  chevaux-de-frise  thus  pro- 
duced. All  European  nations  have  adopted  the  square.  It  enables  infantry  to  defend  Itself  in 
every  direction. 


32  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLD' GTON.  [1815. 

square  to  another,  receiving  the  fire  of  different  squares  as  they 
passed.  They  flew  more  frequently  at  a  trot,  however,  than  at  a 
gallop,  from  one  side  of  the  square  to  another,  receiving  the  fire  from 
every  face  of  the  square.  Some  halted,  shouted,  and  flourished  their 
sabres  ;  individuals  and  small  parties  here  and  there  rode  close  up  to 
the  ranks.  It  is  said  that,  on  some  points,  they  actually  cut  at  the 
bayonets  with  their  swords,  and  fired  their  pistols  at  the  officers.  But 
nowhere  was  there  one  gallant  effort  made  to  break  a  square  by  the 
strength  and  influence  of  the  steeds  on  which  these  ignorant  and  inca- 
pable horsemen  were  mounted.'' ' 

As  the  cavalry,  baffled  in  their  attacks,  retired,  the  infantry  opened 
out  and  saluted  their  departure  with  volleys  which  rattled  against  the 
metal  shells  in  which  the  Cuirassiers  were  encased,  often  prostrating 
man  and  horse  or  emptying  many  a  saddle.  But  still  the  cavalry 
came  on  again  and  again — to  be  driven  back  in  the  same  way,  harassed 
as  they  retired  by  the  British  Hussars. 

And  so  the  day  wore  on — and,  as  it  waned,  the  anxiety  of  the  com- 
manders of  the  respective  armies  increased.  Repeatedly  did  Napo- 
leon turn  to  Marshal  Soult  and  ask  why  the  English  did  not  give 
way,  "  evidently  beaten  as  they  were,"  and  as  often  as  he  put  the  ques- 
tion so  often  did  Soult,  taught  by  bitter  experience,  assure  him  that 
they  never  gave  way,  but  preferred  being  cut  to  pieces.  More  than 
once  on  the  other  side  did  the  generals  commanding  brigades  send  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  announce  that  the  ranks  were  rapidly 
thinning — the  men  exhausted — the  prospect  of  ultimate  defeat  in- 
creasing. "  Will  the  men  stand  ?"  asked  the  immovable  chief.  "  Unti,' 
they  die,  your  Grace,"  was  the  instant  reply.  "  Then  I  will  die  with 
them."  was  the  rejoinder.  "  Lead  us  to  the  charge  !"  cried  the  im 
patient  soldiery  wearied  with  the  defensive  inaction  of  twelve  long 
hours.  "  Not  yet — not  yet — my  men,"  was  the  invariable  answer. 
Anxiously,  feverishly,  impatiently,  Napoleon  looked  over  the  volumes 
of  smoke  which  lazily  rested  upon  the  right  of  his  army :  he  had 
ordered  Marshal  Grouchy  to  join  him  with  a  strong  corps,  and  he 
momentarily  expected  him — such  an  accession  would  fix  the  fortune 
of  the  day — at  least  so  thought  the  sanguine  Emperor.  With  no  less 
anxiety — but  with  better  concealed  emotion — the  Duke  cast  his 
telescope  in  the  same  direction,  for  he  knew  that  Bliicher  was  hasten- 
ing from  Wavre.  The  roads  must  have  been  a  perfect  quagmire,  or 
the  energetic  marshal,  whose  motto  was  "  Forward !"  could  not  have 
consumed  an  entire  day  in  marching  twelve  miles.  "  Would  to 
God  that  night  or  Bliicher  were  come  !"  was  the  expression  which 

1  Mitchell's  "  Fall  of  NafioleoD  " 


ii'''!i|T^' ;•!■:•  Vl™i'>'!'!'       '  -^ 


1815.]  THE  FINAL   CHARGE   AT   WATERLOO.  33 

escaped  the  lips  of  the  over-wrought  but  invincible  British  chief.  He 
knew  that  night  would  close  the  battle,  or  Bliicher's  presence  convert 
it  into  a  victory. 

At  length,  while  infantry  and  cavalry  debated  the  issue — while 
Generals  Adam  and  Halkett  and  Maitland,  with  diminished  forces, 
maintained  the  reputation  of  the  British  Guards  and  Line  against  the 
onslaught  of  well-appointed  veterans  of  all  arms ;  while  artillery 
roared  over  the  plains  and  heights,  and  reverberated  in  the  ancient 
forest,  intelligence  reaches  both  sides  that  the  Prussians  approach 
under  General  Bulow.  Napoleon  detaches  7000  men  under  Count 
Lobau  to  hold  them  in  check — and  his  quick  perception  of  an  imme- 
diate necessity  dictates  a  tremendous  attack  upon  the  whole  of  the 
British  line,  that  his  troops  may  be  free,  afterwards,  to  assail  the 
Prussians.  This  attack  is  entrusted  to  the  Imperial  Guard,  the  com- 
panions of  all  his  old  campaigns,  the  reapers  of  victory  where  the 
British  were  not.  The  Emperor  forms  them  into  two  columns, 
10,000  strong,  and  sending  hundreds  of  tirailleurs  in  advance  to 
cover  their  approach,  he  personally  encourages  them  to  strike  the 
first  blow.  Hastily  the  Duke  arranges  the  remnants  of  the  British 
army — the  gallant  fragment  which  had  survived  the  murderous  com- 
bats of  the  prolonged  day.  On,  on,  come  the  French — their  artillery 
still  tearing  up  the  ridges  where  the  shattered  British  hold  their 
ground.  Napoleon  has  advanced  to  the  farm  of  La  Belle  Alliance  to 
be,  as  he  expects,  the  gratified  spectator  of  the  destruction  of  his  foes. 
Meanwhile,  the  Allied  artillery  unceasingly  sends  an  iron  hailstorm 
into  the  ranks  of  the  French,  while  the  British  Guards  lie  down  be- 
hind a  ridge  to  avoid  the  shot  and  shell  from  the  opposite  heights. 
The  Imperial  cohorts  gallantly  move  onwards — they  are  within  fifty 
yards  of  the  Duke's  position — the  danger  is  imminent.  A  hundred 
heavy  shot  for  an  instant  tell  upon  their  first  rank — they  reel — they 
waver — "  Up,  Guards,  and  at  them  !"'  is  shouted  by  the  Duke,  by  gen- 
erals, by  aides-de-camp  along  the  line.  The  Guards  arise — the  appa- 
rition staggers  the  enemy — "  Charge  !" — and  the  household  troops, 
who  had  shown  their  mettle  at  Hongomont,  pour  upon  the  imperial 
troops  with  determined  force.  The  first  column  of  the  French  is  de- 
feated— the  second  advances  to  the  rescue.  Sir  John  Colborne  at 
once  throws  the  gallant  52nd  upon  their  flank — the  Rifles  take  up  the 
attack — the  Guards  still  press  forward.  The  Duke  sees  the  critical 
moment  has  arrived — the  Prussians  are  at  Planchenoit.  "  Let  the 
whole  line  advance !"  exclaims  the  excited  chief.  The  welcome 
order  is  obeyed  with  alacrity.  The  gallant  Anglesey  proceeds  to 
head  the  Life  Guards — a  cannon-shot  takes  off  his  leg — Vivian  and 

VOL.  II.  3 


34  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815 

Vandeleur  and  Somerset  lead  their  brigades,  now  reduced  to  skeleton 
squadrons,  and  amidst  a  waving  of  hats,  shouts,  and  the  encouraging 
roll  of  drums,  the  unconquerable  British  army  rushes  down  the 
slopes.  In  vain  the  daring  Ney,  who  had  headed  the  Imperial 
Guard,  urges  it  to  rally  and  resist — in  vain  Napoleon  launches  his 
broken  cavalry,  till  then  held  in  reserve,  upon  the  allies.  Dutch, 
Belgian,  Hanoverian,  and  Nassau  troops  cheerfully  join  in  the  charge, 
though  some  of  the  former  had  shown  the  white  feather  at  earlier 
periods  of  the  day,  and,  terrified  by  their  impetuosity,  the  French  fall 
into  dire  confusion.  All  is  lost.  Napoleon  is  quick  to  see  that  the 
disaster  is  irretrievable.  Panic  has  seized  the  flower  of  his  troops, 
and  exhortations  to  renew  the  attack  are  futile.  They  abandon  their 
arms — they  fling  away  their  knapsacks.  The  Prussians  thunder  upon 
the  Emperor's  right — already  he  is  overwhelmed.  Sauve  qui  pent! 
is  shouted  by  a  hundred  voices,  and  the  sun  which  at  length  shoots 
out  some  parting  rays  lights  30,000  fugitive  Frenchmen  upon  an 
inglorious  retreat.  At  the  heels  of  his  animated  soldiers,  Welling- 
ton, who,  throughout  the  day  has  ever  been  amongst  them  when 
danger  was  imminent  and  his  presence  important,  follows  with  the 
fragment  of  his  staff.  Fitzroy  Somerset  has  been  wounded — his 
right  arm  is  gone — Alexander  Gordon  has  received  a  mortal  hurt — 
the  Prince  of  Orange  is  hars  dc  comhat.  Soon  the  position  of  the 
French  is  cleared — Wellington  reaches  La  Belle  Alliance,  the 
chosen  locality  of  Napoleon's  anticipated  triumph,  and  there  he 
meets  the  admirable  Bldcher.  The  old  Marshal  embraces  him 
fervidly.  But  there  is  no  time  to  lose.  A  few  words  from  the 
Duke  to  the  effect  that  his  troops  are  worn  out  and  incapable  of 
continuing  the  pursuit,  suffice  for  Bliicher.  He  casts  his  Prussian 
cavalry  upon  the  backs  of  the  recreant  French,  and  for  miles  they 
follow  the  broken  legions  of  the  once  proud  Emperor,  cutting  them 
to  pieces  in  their  helplessness,  and  avenging  in  their  merciless 
slaughter  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  Berlin,  and  Frederick  William's 
excellent  Queen. 

Slowly,  and  with  mingled  emotions  of  sorrow  and  gratification, 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  retraces  his  steps  across  the  field  to  take  up 
his  quarters  at  the  little  village  of  Waterloo.  The  groans  of  the 
wounded,  the  sight  of  the  thousands  of  dead  over  whom  his  horse 
ever  and  anon  stumbles,  smite  his  heart.  He — the  sternest  of  the 
stem,  where  the  claims  of  "duty"  invoke  the  suppression  of  all 
natural  impulses, — gives  way  to  grief  at  the  moment  when  men  of 
Napoleon's  mould",  in  whom  exultation  smothers  all  the  better  feelings 
of  Nature,  would  have  been  intoxicated  with  delight.     Dismounting 


1816.]  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  BATTLE.  35 

from  "  Copenhagen," '  who  had  borne  him  for  seventeen  hours — and 
narrowly  escaping  a  fractured  skull  from  the  heels  of  his  charger,  who 
kicked  out  his  sense  of  the  relief  he  now  experienced — the  Duke  of 
Wellington — le  vainqueur  des  vainqeurs — enters  the  little  inn  to  seek 
refreshment  and  repose. 

1  "  Copenhagen  derived  his  name  from  the  city  in  which  he  was  foaled,  his  dam  having  been 
taken  out  there  in  the  expedition  of  1807,  by  Held-Marshal  Grosvenor.  The  horse  was  not 
only  thorough-bred,  but  he  was  also  very  fashionably  bred,  being  on  his  father's  side  a 
grandson  of  the  celebrated  Eclipse,  and  on  his  mother's  of  a  well-known  horse  of  his  day — 
John  Bull.  In  the  hands  of  General  Grosvenor  Copenhagen  did  not  remain  long,  for  he  was 
sold  by  him  to  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  then  Adjutant-General  to  the  Peninsular  army, 
who  sent  him  with  other  horses  to  Lisbon,  in  1813.  While  there  he  was  selected  and  bought 
with  another  horse,  by  Colonel  Charles  Wood,  at  the  price  of  four  hundred  guineas,  for  his 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  with  whom  he  soon  became,  as  he  continued,  an  especial 
favourite.  On  the  memorable  day  of  Waterloo,  though  the  great  captain  had  been  on  his 
back  for  eighteen  hours,  yet  Copenhagen  gave  little  signs  of  his  being  beaten,  for  on  the 
Duke's  patting  him  on  the  quarters  as  he  dismounted  after  the  battle,  the  game  Utile  horse 
struck  out  as  playfully  as  if  he  had  only  had  an  hour's  ride  in  the  Park.  For  endurance  of 
fatigue,  indeed,  he  was  more  than  usually  remarkable ;  and  for  the  duty  he  had  to  fulfil  as 
proportionately  valuable.  However  hard  the  day,  Copenhagen  never  refused  his  corn,  though 
he  eat  it  after  a  very  »musual  manner  with  horses,  lying  down.  Copenhagen,  whose  coloui 
was  a  full  rich  chesnut,  was  a  small  horse,  standing  scarcely  more  than  15  hands  high ; 
he  possessed,  however,  great  muscular  power.  His  general  appearance  denoted  his  Arabian 
blood,  which  his  enduring  qualities  served  further  to  identify.  Though  not  much  suited,  from 
bis  size,  for  crossing  the  country,  the  Duke  did  occasionally  ride  him  to  hounds."— Sportino- 
Magazine. 

BelPs  Life  in  London  gives  a  different  account  of  the  pedigree  of  the  horse.  That  journal 
—the  highest  authority  in  such  matters— says :  "The  horse  was  bred  in  the  year  1808  by 
the  late  Field-Marshal  Grosvenor ;  his  sire  was  the  famous  little  racer  Meteor,  son  of  Eclipse. 
Meteor  hardly  exceeded  14|  hands;  he  was,  however,  very  strong  and  handsome,  with  a 
remarkably  good  constitution  and  legs,  which  enabled  him  to  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of 
training  for  seven  years.  Meteor  was  just  a  little  short  of  the  first  class  or  form  of  race- 
horses, running  well  at  all  weights  and  distances.  His  illustrious  progeny,  Copenhagen, 
appears  to  have  inherited  the  stoutness  of  his  sire  in  no  slight  degree,  although  very  unsuc- 
cessful as  a  race-horse  upon  the  tiu-f.  His  dam  was  a  mare  whose  name  was  given  in  the 
'  Stud-book'  as  Lady  Catherine,  by  John  Bull,  a  very  large,  strong  horse,  the  winner  of  the 
Derby  Stakes  in  1792;  who,  as  well  as  Meteor,  was  in  the  stud  of  Lord  Grosvenor,  the 
grandfather  of  the  present  Marquis  of  Westminster.  By  those  who  are  versed  in  the 
mysteries  of  the  '  Equine  Peerage,'  Lady  Catherine  was  always  considered  to  be  entitled  to 
the  'bend  sinister.'  In  fact,  she  was  not  quite  thoroughbred.  The  newspapers  have 
informed  us  that  the  Duke's  charger  was  named  in  consequence  of  his  having  been  foaled  in 
Copenhagen,  which  we  must  beg  leave  to  doubt ;  for,  even  supposing  Field-Marshal  Grosvenor 
to  have  visited  the  Danish  capital  in  1808,  either  in  a  military  or  a  civil  capacity,  which  does 
not  anywhere  appear  to  be  the  case,  it  is  hardly  possible  that  he  would  have  taken  a  brood- 
mare as  a  part  of  his  travelling  establishment.  At  that  time  it  was  a  very  common  circumstance 
to  name  race-horses  after  some  illustrious  event  happening  during  the  war.  Thus  we  have  tho 
names  of  Albuera,  Waterloo,  Smolensko,  St.  Vincent,  and  many  others.  For  a  similar  reason 
Copenhagen  most  probably  received  that  title.  At  the  time  Copenhagen  was  foaled.  Meteor 
was  twenty-five  years  old.  Copenhagen  was  taller  than  his  sire,  being  very  nearly  if  not 
quite,  15  hands,  but  neither  so  strong  nor  so  handsome." 

2£ 


36 


LIFE  OF   THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1815. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


The  night  after  Waterloo— The  gains  and  losses— State  of  Brussels  during  the  16th,  17th  and 
18th  of  June — Advance  of  the  Allies  into  France — Louis  XVIII.  joins  the  British  camp — 
The  scenes  in  Paris— Napoleon's  political  throes— The  abdication  of  the  Emperor — 
Proposals  for  Peace — Capitulation  of  Paris — ^The  Allied  Armies  enter  Paris. 

HERE  was  brief  rest 
for  Wellington  on  the 
night  after  the  battle 
of  Waterloo.  Nature 
claimed  some  relief, 
and  had  gifted  him 
with  the  singular 
power  of  command 
ing  sleep,  and  deriving  from  hasty 
snatches  of  slumber  that  vigora 
tion  which  ordinary  men  only  ob 
tain  after  long  hours  of  repose 
After  a  frugal  meal,  he  threw  him- 
self upon  his  cloak,  laid  over  some 
bundles  of  hay,  for  Sir  Alexander 
Gordon,  one  of  his  attached  aides- 
de-camp,  severely  wounded,  had 
been  placed  upon  the  Duke's  bed.  His  sleep  was  sound — the  sleep  of 
the  good  man  and  the  brave,  whose  unconquerable  resolution  to  fulfil 
his  duty,  had  found  its  highest  reward  in  the  liberation  of  mankind 
from  the  renewal  of  a  dreadful  tyranny. 

At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of  June,  the  Duke 
was  aroused  to  hear  that  the  spirit  of  Gordon  had  fled.  The  gay  and 
gallant  now  lay  a  corpse  in  the  adjoining  apartment.'     Reports  had 


■.;f'^v 


1  The  Duke  was  much  attached  to  Sir  Alexander.    In  the  afternoon  of  the  19th  he  wrote 
lo  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  Gordon's  brother,  and  spoke  of  the  "  extreme  grief  his  death  had 


1815.]  THE  NIGHT  AFTER  WATERLOO,  3*7 

in  the  meanwhile  reached  the  little  inn  from  the  general  officers  at  the 
head  of  divisions  and  brigades,  and  the  Duke  in  the  stillness  of  the 
night  had  opportunity  to  count  his  profits  and  his  losses.  Heavily  as 
the  latter  weighed  upon  his  spirit — "  they  have  quite  broken  me 
down,"  he  said  to  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  the  brother  of  Lord  Fitzroy 
Somerset — the  gain  was  beyond  all  price.  He  felt  it — proudly  as  a 
soldier,  humbly  as  a  Christian — and  if  at  the  commencement  of  the 
struggle  he  spoke  in  the  animated  tones  of  the  Fifth  Harry,  like  him, 
he  now  exclaimed  in  the  fulness  of  his  gratitude, — 

"  O  God,  Thy  arm  was  here ; 
And  not  to  us,  but  to  Thy  arm  alone, 
Ascribe  we  all." 

The  reports  which  came  to  the  Duke  of  the  casualties  of  the  day — 
determinable  by  the  musters  of  the  regiments — announced  a  much 
heavier  loss  than  he  had  contemplated,  although  he  had  seen  the 
field  covered  with  the  dead  and  the  dying,  and  was  a  witness  to  the 
continual  removal  of  hundreds  of  wounded  men  to  the  rear.  In  the 
morning  of  the  18th  June  he  had  gone  into  the  field  with  an  army  of 
67,661  men,  and  156  guns.'  Of  that  number  14,724  were  ascertained 
to  be  killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  But  official  duty  demanded  the 
suppression  of  emotions,  and  by  the  dim  light  of  a  candle,  the  con- 
queror of  Napoleon  penned  the  memorable  despatch  which  was  to 
announce  to  anxious  England  the  final  triumph  of  her  arms  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  In  this  despatch,  which  simply  records  the 
operations  described  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
revels  in  the  expression  of  approbation  of  all  who  had  aided  him  to 
bring  the  struggle  to  a  successful  issue.  Twenty-two  British  general 
officers,  and  nine  foreign  general  officers,  received  the  tribute  of  his 
honest  praise.  Many  of  them  had  been  wounded.  Besides  those 
already  mentioned,  there  were  among  the  seriously  hurt,  Lieut.-Gen. 
Cooke,  Lieut.-Gen.  Baron  Alten,  Major-Gen.  Barnes,  General  Baron 
Vincent,  and  General  Pozzo  di  Borgo.     Of  inferior  officers,  nearly 

caused  him.  "  He  had  served  me  most  zealously  and  usefully  for  many  years,  and  on  many  try. 
ing  occasions ;  but  he  had  never  rendered  himself  more  useful,  and  had  never  distinguished  him 
Belf  more,  than  in  our  late  actions.-  *  •  *  i  cannot  express  to  you  the  regret  and  sorrow  with 
which  I  look  around  me  and  contemplate  the  loss  which  I  have  sustained,  particularly  in  your 
brother.  The  glory  resulting  from  such  actions,  so  dearly  bought,  is  no  consolation  to  me,  and  I 
cannot  suggest  it  as  any  to  you  and  his  friends  ;  but  I  hope  that  it  may  be  expected  that  this  last 
one  has  been  so  decisive,  as  that  no  doubt  remains  that  our  exertions  and  oiu-  individual  losses 
will  be  rewarded  by  the  early  attainment  of  our  just  object." 

1  See  Appendix  I^  for  a  detail  of  the  strength,  and  the  table  of  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing. 


38  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1816. 

500  were  wounded,  and  116  killed.  But  the  loss  of  tlie  enemy  was 
very  much  greater  ;  it  has  been  roughly  estimated  at  40,000,  besides 
about  7000  prisoners,  including  Count  Lobau  and  General  Cambronne. 
It  was,  in  truth,  a  terrible  fight.  The  Duke's  private  correspondence 
sufficiently  described  his  sentiments.  To  Lord  Beresford  he  wrote, 
"  Never  did  I  see  such  a  pounding-match.  Both  were  what  the 
boxers  call  '  gluttons.'  Napoleon  did  not  manoeuvre  at  all.  He  just 
moved  forward  in  the  old  style  in  columns,  and  was  driven  off  in  the 
old  style."  And  to  Dumourier  he  observed,  "  Jamais  je  n'ai  vu  une 
telle  bataille  que  celle  d'avant  hier,  ni  n'ai  remporte  une  telle  victoire 
— et  j'espere  que  c'est  fini  de  Bonaparte."  To  Prince  Schwarzenberg 
he  wrote,  "  Our  battle  of  the  18th  was  a  battle  of  giants^  and  our  suc- 
cess complete.  Pray  God  that  I  may  be  so  far  favoured  as  never  to 
have  another,  for  I  am  much  afflicted  at  the  loss  of  old  friends  and 
comrades." 

Early  on  the  I9th,  Wellington  proceeded  to  Brussels  for  a  few  hours, 
and  then  returned  to  Nivelles,  to  issue  his  orders  for  the  march  of  the 
allied  army  into  France. 

The  scenes  which  had  been  enacting  in  Brussels  while  the  battle 
was  raging  at  Quatre  Bras,  on  the  16th,  and  at  Waterloo  on  the  1 8th, 
have  furnished  themes  for  five  hundred  pens.  The  general  character 
of  the  story  is  the  same,  simply  varying  in  the  details.  Perhaps  the 
following  is  among  the  most  comprehensive  and  graphic  extant : — 

"  The  agony  of  the  British,  resident  in  Brussels,  during  the  whole 
of  this  eventful  day,  sets  all  language  at  defiance.  No  one  thought 
of  rest  or  food,  but  every  one  who  could  get  a  telescope  flew  to  the 
ramparts,  to  strain  his  eyes,  in  vain  attempts  to  discover  what  was 
passing. 

"  At  length  some  soldiers  in  French  uniforms  were  seen  in  the 
distance,  and,  as  the  news  flew  from  mouth  to  mouth,  it  was  soon 
magnified  into  a  rumour  that  the  French  were  coming.  Horror 
seized  the  English  and  their  adherents  ;  and  the  hitherto  concealed 
partisans  of  the  French  began  openly  to  avow  themselves  ;  tri-colour- 
ed  ribbons  grew  suddenly  into  great  request,  and  cries  of  '  Vive 
VEmpcreur ."  resounded  through  the  air.  These  exclamations,  how- 
ever, were  changed  to  '  Vive  le  Lord  Vellingtoyi  V  when  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  approaching  French  came  as  captives,  not  con- 
querors. 

"  The  wounded  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  want  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  experienced  surgeons  able  to  amputate  their  shattered 
limbs  ;'  and  there  was  also  a  deficiency  of  surgical  instruments  and 

1  "The  Duke  of  WeUingtou  had  returned  to  Brussels  to  dine  with  those  or  his  Staff  who  wene 


1815.J  BRUSSELS   ON   THE   16th   AND   17th  JUNE  39 

of  lint.  The  Flemings,  however,  roused  by  the  urgency  of  the  case, 
shook  off  their  natural  apathy,  and  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost 
to  supply  everything  that  was  necessary.  They  tore  up  their  linen  to 
make  lint  and  bandages  ;  they  assisted  the  surgeons  in  the  difficult 
operations,  and  they  gave  up  even  the  beds  they  slept  upon  to  accom- 
modate the  strangers.  The  women,  in  particular,  showed  the  warmest 
enthusiasm  to  succour  the  wounded.  They  nursed  them  with  the  ten- 
derest  care,  and  watched  them  night  and  day.  In  short,  their  kind- 
ness, attention,  and  solicitude  reflect  immortal  honour  on  the  sex.  The 
very  children  were  seen  leading  the  wounded  Highlanders  into  the 
houses  of  their  parents,  exclaiming,  '  Voici  notre  braves  Ecossais  !' 
Even  the  national  vice  of  covetousness  was  forgotten  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment ;  rich  and  poor  fared  alike  ;  and  in  most  cases 
every  offer  of  remuneration  was  declined. 

"  The  whole  of  Friday  night  ( 1 6th  June)  was  passed  in  the 
greatest  anxiety  ;  the  wounded  arrived  every  hour,  and  the  accounts 
they  brought  of  the  carnage  which  was  taking  place  was  absolutely 
terrific.  Saturday  morning  (17th  June)  was  still  worse  ;  an  immense 
number  of  supernumeraries  and  runaways  from  the  army  came  rush- 
ing in  at  the  Porte  de  Namur,  and  these  fugitives  increased  the 
public  panic  to  the  utmost.  '  Sauve  qui  pent  P  now  became  the  uni- 
versal feeling  ;  all  ties  of  friendship  or  kindred  were  forgotten,  and 
an  earnest  desire  to  quit  Brussels  seemed  to  absorb  every  faculty. 
To  effect  this  object  the  greatest  sacrifices  were  made.  Every  beast 
of  burthen,  and  every  species  of  vehicle,  were  put  into  requisition  to 
convey  persons  and  property  to  Antwerp.     Even  the  dog  and  fish- 

able  to  join  him  on  the  19th  (it  was  now  the  20th)  of  June.  Some  one  who  saw  him  said  that 
he  appeared  to  feel  much  grief  for  the  dead,  mingled  with  his  joy  for  the  victory,  and  that  he 
acknowledged  the  Providential  interference  by  which  he  himself  had  been  preserved  in  the 
hour  of  battle.  We  heard,  also,  that  while  at  dinner,  a  French  General,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner,  insisted  upon  seeing  the  Duke  of  Welluigton,  that  he  might  communicate  something  of 
importance.  He  was,  therefore,  escorted  by  a  guard  into  the  presence  of  his  Grace,  when,  being 
questioned  by  Colonel  Fremantle,  I  believe,  as  to  the  object  of  his  mission,  the  boasting  French- 
man said  he  could  speak  to  none  but  the  Commander-in-Chief!  The  Duke  being  pointed  out, 
monsieur  thus  began : — 

" '  Sir,— I  appear  before  you  as  a  General  of  France,  who  claims,  on  behalf  of  himself  and  his 
fellow-prisoners,  the  attendance  of  the  British  surgeons,  besides  all  the  medical  attendance  which 
!t  is  your  duty  to  bestow  upon  us.' 

" '  Sir,'  replied  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  almost  without  looking  the  insolent  General  in  the  face, 
I  have  but  too  many  of  my  own  brave  fellows  who  are  without  surgical  or  medical  attendance ; 
you  may  therefore  retire.' 

"  His  Generalship  did  so,  not  a  little  abashed  by  this  just  rebuke,  and  those  for  whom  he  pe- 
titioned soon  learnt  that  British  clemency  toward  the  vanquished  was  better  produced  by  the  nat- 
ural feelings  of  the  conquerors  than  through  the  intervention  of  those  leaders  who  had  so  long 
been  the  abettors  of  ferocity  in  other  countries." — JVew  Monthly  Magazine. 


40  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1816 

carts  did  not  escape  ;  enormous  sums  were  given  for  the  humblest 
modes  of  conveyance  ;  and  when  all  failed,  numbers  set  off  on  foot. 

•'  The  road  soon  became  choked  up  :  cars,  waggons,  and  carriages  of 
every  description  were  joined  together  in  an  immovable  mass  ;  and 
property  to  an  immense  amount  was  abandoned  by  its  owners,  who 
were  too  much  terrified  even  to  think  of  the  loss  they  were  sustain- 
ing. A  scene  of  frightful  riot  and  devastation  ensued.  Trunks, 
boxes,  and  portmanteaus  were  broken  open  and  pillaged  without 
mercy  ;  and  every  one  who  pleased  helped  himself  to  what  he  liked 
with  impunity.  The  disorder  was  increased  by  a  rumour  that  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  retreating  towards  Brussels  in  a  sort  of  run- 
ning fight,  closely  pursued  by  the  enemy.  The  terror  of  the  fugi 
lives  now  almost  amounted  to  frenzy,  and  they  flew  like  maniacs 
escaping  from  a  mad-house.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  imagine  a  more 
distressing  scene.  A  great  deal  of  rain  had  fallen  during  the  night, 
and  the  unhappy  fugitives  were  obliged  literally  to  wade  through 
mud. 

"  During  the  panic  of  Friday  and  Saturday,  the  sacrifice  of  property 
made  by  the  British  residents  was  enormous.  A  chest  of  di-awers 
sold  for  five  francs,  a  bed  for  ten,  and  a  horse  for  fifty.  In  one  in- 
stance, which  fell  immediately  under  my  own  observation,  some  house- 
hold furniture  was  sold  for  one  thousand  francs  (about  40/.)  for  which 
the  owner  had  given  seven  thousand  francs  (2801.)  only  three  weeks 
before.  This  was  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance  ;  indeed,  in  most 
cases  the  loss  was  much  greater,  and  in  many,  houses  full  of  furniture 
were  entirely  deserted,  and  abandoned  to  pillage. 

"  Sunday  morning  (1 8th)  was  ushered  in  by  one  of  the  most  dread- 
ful tempests  I  ever  remember.  The  crashing  of  thunder  was  followed 
by  the  roar  of  cannon,  which  was  now  distinctly  heard  from  the  ram- 
parts ;  and  it  is  not  possible  to  describe  the  fearful  effect  of  this  ap- 
parent mockery  of  heaven.  I  never  before  felt  so  forcibly  the  feeble- 
ness of  man.  The  rain  was  tremendous  ;  the  sky  looked  like  that  in 
Poussin's  picture  of  the  Deluge  ;  and  a  heavy  black  cloud  spread  like 
the  wings  of  a  monstrous  vulture  over  Brussels. 

"  The  wounded  continued  to  arrive  the  whole  of  Saturday  night 
and  Sunday  morning,  in  a  condition  which  defies  description.  They 
appeared  to  have  been  dragged  for  miles  through  oceans  of  mud  ; 
their  clothes  were  torn,  their  caps  and  feathers  cut  to  pieces,  and 
their  shoes  and  boots  trodden  off.  The  accounts  they  brought  were 
vague  and  disheartening, — in  fact,  we  could  only  ascertain  that  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  had,  late  on  Saturday,  taken  up  his  position  at 
Waterloo,  and  that  there  he  meant  to  wait  the  attack  of  the  French. 


1815.]  BRUSSELS   ON   THE   18th   OF  JUNE.  41 

"  That  this  attack  had  commenced  we  needed  not  to  be  informed, 
as  the  roar  of  the  cannon  became  every  instant  more  distinct,  till  we 
even  fancied  that  it  shook  the  town.  The  wounded  represented  the 
field  of  battle  as  a  perfect  quagmire,  and  their  appearance  testified 
the  truth  of  their  assertions. 

"  About  two  o'clock  a  fresh  alarm  was  excited  by  the  horses  which 
had  been  put  in  requisition  to  draw  the  baggage  waggons  being 
suddenly  galloped  through  tke  town.  We  fancied  this  a  proof  of 
defeat ;  but  the  fact  was  simply  this  :  the  peasants,  from  whom  the 
horses  had  been  taken,  finding  the  drivers  of  the  waggons  absent  from 
their  posts,  seized  the  opportunity  to  cut  the  traces,  and  gallop  ofi" 
with  their  cattle. 

"  Sunday  night  was  employed  in  enthusiastic  rejoicing.  The 
tri-coloured  cockades  had  all  disappeared,  and  the  British  colours 
were  hoisted  from  every  window.  The  great  bell  of  St.  Gudule 
tolled,  to  announce  the  event  to  the  surrounding  neighbourhood  ; 
and  some  of  the  English,  who  had  only  hidden  themselves,  ventured 
to  re-appear. 

"  The  only  alloy  to  the  universal  rapture  which  prevailed  was  the 
number  of  the  wounded  ;  the  houses  were  insufficient  to  contain  half ; 
and  the  churches  and  public  buildings  were  littered  down  with  straw 
for  their  reception. 

"  The  body  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  who  fell  at  Quatre  Bras, 
was  brought  in  on  Saturday,  and  taken  to  the  quarters  he  had  occu- 
pied near  the  Chateau  de  Lacken.  I  was  powerfully  affected  when 
I  saw  the  corpse  of  one  whom  I  had  so  lately  marked  as  blooming 
with  youth  and  health  ;  but  my  eyes  soon  became  accustomed  to 
horrors." 

On  his  return  to  Nivelles,  the  Duke  put  the  allied  armies  in  motion 
for  the  French  territory.  In  a  General  Order,  issued  preparatory  to 
the  movement,  he  impressed  upon  their  recollection  that  "  their 
respective  sovereigns  were  the  allies  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of 
France,  and  that  France  ought,  therefore,  to  be  treated  as  a  friendly 
country."  He  reiterated  his  former  injunctions,  that  nothing  should 
be  taken,  either  by  officers  or  soldiers,  for  which  payment  was  not 
made,  and  he  expressly  forbade  the  extortion  of  contributions.  In 
acknowledging  the  bravery  of  the  troops  in  the  action,  the  Duke  was 
somewhat  chary  of  his  words  ;  but,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  he  was 
not  indifferent  to  the  suitable  recognition  of  their  services  by  the 
sovereign  and  the  country.  The  paragraph  of  the  General  Order 
ran  thus : — 

"  The   Field-Marshal   takes  this    opportunity  of  returnmg  to  the 


42  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

army  his  thanks  for  their  conduct  in  the  glorious  action,  fought  on 
the  18th  instant,  and  he  will  not  fail  to  report  his  sense  of  their  con- 
duct, in  the  terms  which  it  deserves,  to  their  several  sovereigns." 

To  the  French  people  the  Duke  addressed  a  proclamation,  some- 
what similar  iu  language  to  that  which  he  issued  on  the  descent  of  the 
allied  army  from  the  Pyrcnean  heights  to  the  southern  plains  of 
France. 

"  I  announce  to  the  French  people  that  I  enter  their  country  at 
the  head  of  an  army  already  victorious — not  as  an  enemy  (excepting 
of  the  usurper — the  declared  enemy  of  the  human  race,  with  whom 
there  is  neither  peace  nor  truce)  but  in  order  to  aid  them  in  throwing 
off  the  iron  yoke  by  which  they  are  oppressed.  I  have  consequently 
issued  the  following  orders  to  my  army,  and  I  beg  that  I  may  be 
made  acquainted  with  every  instance  in  which  they  are  infringed,"  &c.' 

Leaving  the  subject  of  this  memoir  for  a  brief  space,  let  us  follow 
Marshal  Bliicher  in  his  hot  pursuit  of  the  flying  French. 

"  Nothing  could  exceed  the  devastation  spread  by  the  French  and 
their  Prussian  pursuers  through  the  country.  It  seemed  as  though 
the  arm  of  a  destroying  angel  had  swept  over  the  land,  and  withered 
as  it  went.  The  trees  were  stripped  of  their  branches,  the  hedges 
broken  down,  and  the  crops  trampled  into  the  ground  ;  in  short, 
wherever  the  fugitives  passed,  like  the  blasting  simoom  of  the  desert, 
'  they  left  their  track  behind.' 

"  Sauve  qui  peut  was  the  order  of  the  day  with  the  French.  The 
fields  and  roads  were  strewed  with  their  cannon,  baggage,  and  stores  ; 
they  even  threw  away  their  arms,  that  they  might  fly  the  faster. 
They  rushed  into  Charleroi  about  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
the  19th,  with  such  violence  that  a  number  of  the  country  people,  who 
were  coming  to  market,  were  trampled  to  death,  and  the  provisions 
they  brought  either  carried  ofi"  or  destroyed.  The  fugitives  did  not 
stay  to  inquire  what  mischief  they  had  done,  but  hurried  on,  the 
Prussians  following  close  behind,  and  putting  so  many  to  the  sword, 
that  the  road  to  Philipville  was  soon  choked  up  with  the  wounded  and 
the  dead. 

"  Bonaparte  was  saluted  with  yells  and  execrations  in  every  place, 
and  the  people  who  had  so  lately  hailed  him  with  rapture,  now 
shouted, '  There  goes  the  butcher  of  France  !'  as  he  passed  along.  Sic 
transit  glcn'ia  !  Never  was  a  flight  more  ignominious  :  he  only  paused 
at  Laon  to  order  that  the  National  Guard  should  be  mustered  to  slojj 
all  runaways,  except  himself,  and  then  hurried  on  to  Paris." 

1  See  Proclamation  dated  "  Malplaquct,  22nd  June,  1815,"  in  Gurwood's  selection  of  Despatches 
(No.  957). 


1815.]  SEQUEL  TO   THE  BATTLE.  43 

But  although  the  army  which  fought  at  Waterloo  had  dissolved 
itself,  and  the  retreat  was  not  even  covered  by  the  semblance  of  a 
rear-guard,  the  places  occupied  by  the  French  on  the  Belgian  frontier 
still  held  out,  and  Marshal  Grouchy,  who,  after  contending  with 
General  Thielmann  and  the  Prussians  at  Wavre,  had  fallen  back 
on  Laon,  when  the  news  of  Napoleon's  overthrow  reached  him, 
was  yet  in  the  field  with  32.000  men  and  100  guns.  It  was  in- 
dispensable that  the  fortresses  should  be  captured,  and  Grouchy 
crushed. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  crossed  the  French  frontier  on  the  21st 
of  June,  and  immediately  blockaded  Valenciennes,  Lequesnoy,  and 
Cambray.  The  Prussians,  meanwhile,  blockaded  Maubeuge,  Landrecy, 
Avesnes,  and  Rocroy.  A  few  days  afterwards  Cambray  was  stormed 
by  a  corps  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Charles  Colville,'  Peronne 
was  taken  on  the  26th  of  June,  and  Marshal  Bliicher,  coming  up 
with  the  rear-guard  of  Grouchy  at  Villars  Cotteret,  on  the  28th,  de- 
feated it  with  the  loss  of  1000  men  and  sis  guns. 

At  Cateau,  Louis  XVIII.,  having  quitted  Ghent,  joined  the  allied 
army,  and  was  received  by  the  people  with  the  utmost  demonstrations 
of  joy.  Upon  the  surrender  of  Cambray  he  proceeded  thither  with 
his  Court  and  troops,  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  gave  up  the  fort 
to  his  Majesty.  Upon  the  capture  of  Peronne,  the  Duke  left  some 
of  the  troops  of  the  Netherlands,  who  had  behaved  very  well  in  storm- 
ing the  horn-work  which  covered  the  suburb  of  the  town,  in  garrison 
at  Peronne,  and  then  moved  onward  with  Marshal  Bliicher.  The 
necessity  which  the  Duke  was  under  of  halting  at  Le  Cateau,  to  allow 
pontoons  an^  stores  to  come  up  for  the  capture  of  the  fortress,  placed 
Marshal  Bldcher  one  march  in  advance  of  him,  but  it  did  not  lead  to 
any  separation  of  the  armies.  General  Muffling,  of  the  Prussian 
army,  suggested  to  the  Duke  that  he  would  do  well  to  keep  better 
pace  with  his  ally.  "  Do  not  press  me  in  this,"  replied  his  Grace, 
"  for  I  tell  you  it  won't  do.  If  you  knew  the  English  army,  its  com- 
position and  habits,  better,  you  would  agree  with  me.  I  cannot 
separate  from  my  tents  and  subsistence.  My  people  must  be  kept  in 
camp  and  well  taken  care  of,  if  order  and  discipline  are  to  be  main- 
tained. It  is  better  to  arrive  a  couple  of  days  later  at  Paris  than 
that  discipline  should  grow  slack." 

1  This  excellent  soldier,  who  had  served  with  much  distinction  throughout  the  Peninsular  War, 
and  previously  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  received,  five  years  after  the  Peace,  the  appointment 
of  Ck)mmander-in-Chief  of  the  Bombay  Army.  That  Array  had  become  much  disorganised  in  the 
Mahratta  campaign.  Drill  and  discipline  were  at  a  low  ebb,  and  Sir  Charles  Colville  effectually 
■restored  them.    He  afterwards  became  Governor  of  MauriLius. 


44  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  riRis. 

The  diorama  of  our  history  shifts  to  Paris. 

Paris,  the  chosen  locality  of  excitement,  had  been,  since  the  depar- 
ture of  Napoleon  on  the  1 2th,  the  theatre  of  an  anxiety  not  less 
intense  than  that  which  pervaded  Brussels  on  the  three  days 
described  above.  Intrigue  had  been  at  work  to  provide  for  either 
the  triumph  or  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon  ;  but  upon  the  18th, 
public  feeling  reached  a  crisis  of  alarm.  "  People  interrogated  each 
other  on  meeting  in  the  streets,  and  news  from  the  north  was 
anxiously  hoped  for."  At  length  it  came,  and  was  of  a  nature  to 
gladden  the  Parisians.  Napoleon — telling  his  own  story  in  the 
"  Moniteur" — had  announced  the  "  great "  victory  at  Ligny.  The 
people  of  Paris  congratulated  each  other — "  they  experienced  the 
noble  pride  of  a  military  nation  which  learns  that  its  name  has  been 
exalted  in  history,  and  in  the  face  of  other  nations  by  one  more 
victory."  On  the  19th  and  20th,  vague  and  incomplete  reports 
alloyed  the  prevalent  delight.  The  Prussians  had  been  defeated — 
good — 'twas  an  old  story — Jena  and  Montmirail  revived — but  what 
of  the  English,  had  they  been  beaten  ?  There  was  to  be  a  fight  on 
the  18th,  and  by  the  21st  of  June  Paris  would  illuminate — or  go  into 
mourning.  The  suspense  was  horrible.  Paris,  with  all  her  vanity, 
could  not  feel  sure  that  Napoleon  would  humble  Wellington.  The 
souvenirs  of  Toulouse  and  Orthes,  of  Nive  and  Nivelle,  were  yet  too 
green. 

As  day  broke  on  the  21st,  "  a  sough  and  a  surmise"  went  through 
the  proud  capital  of  France.  "  Tout  est  perdu  .'•"  was  muttered  along 
the  banks  of  the  Seine,  in  the  parks  of  Versailles  and  St.  Cloud — on 
the  Boulevards — and,  worse  than  all,  as  the  day  grew  older,  the 
disastrous  news  circulated  on  the  Bourse.  Shrouded  by  the  darkness 
of  the  night,  Napoleon  had  slunk  into  the  palace  of  the  Elysee,  and 
there  concealed  his  defeat  and  his  despair  ;  but  the  intelligence  of  his 
arrival  spread  rapidly,  and  people  crowded  around  the  gates  to  observe 
the  entrance  and  exit  of  ministers  and  to  deduce  the  truth  from 
the  expression  of  their  faces.  Soon  the  direful  fact  of  the  complete 
rout  of  the  French  army  forced  itself  upon  the  whole  of  the  populace, 
and  murmurs  "  not  loud  but  deep "  circulated  over  the  town. 
Napoleon  found  comfort  and  consolation  only  in  the  presence  of 
Caulaincourt.  He  was  exhausted  in  body — dreadfully  agitated  in 
mind.  The  long  nights,  the  anxieties  of  two  battles,  the  fatigue  of 
riding,  of  standing  in  the  midst  of  his  army  for  many  consecutive 
hours,  all  told  against  him.  He  sought  a  bath  and  repose.  Awaking, 
he  summoned  his  ministers,  and,  after  recounting  the  disaster  of 
Waterloo,   exclaimed    "  The   enemy   is   in   France,  and  to  save  the 


1815.]  ABDICATION  OF  NAPOLEON.  45 

country,  I  must  have  ample  power — a  temporary  dictatorship  !" 
But  no  one  responded  to  the  hint.  The  proposition  in  the  Chamber 
of  Representatives  was  anticipated  by  Lafayette,  the  old  soldier  of 
the  Republic,  who  moved  the  permanence  of  the  Chamber,  and  the 
treason  of  any  one  who  should  attempt  to  dissolve  it.  The  motion 
was  voted  nemine  dissentiente.  Napoleon  summoned  his  brother 
Lucien  to  his  aid, — Lucien,  whose  eloquence  and  firmness,  had  carved 
the  way  for  Napoleon  to  despotic  power  during  the  Revolution  of  the 
last  century.  Vain  expedient !  The  Frenchmen  of  1792  were  not  the 
Frenchmen  of  1815.  Lucien's  oratory,  directed  as  it  was,  to  the 
preservation  of  Napoleon's  power  at  the  expense  of  France,  received 
no  sympathetic  response — on  the  contrary,  the  Chamber  demanded 
the  sacrifice  of  Napoleon  to  the  welfare  of  the  country.  Napoleon 
stubbornly  resisted  a  measure,  alike,  as  he  maintained  in  interviews 
with  friends  and  ministers,  destructive  of  the  interests  of  the  nation 
and  himself  But  wrought  upon  by  the  growing  hostility  of  the 
people,  and  the  news  of  the  advance  of  the  allies,  he  abdicated  in 
favour  of  his  son.  This,  however,  did  not  content  the  Assembly,  for 
it  involved  a  regency.  Nevertheless,  proposals  were  at  once  despatched 
to  the  advanced  posts  of  the  allies,  under  Prince  Frederick  of  the 
Netherlands,  near  Valenciennes,  and  to  those  of  the  1st  Prussian 
€07^^  cVarmie  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities  on  the  grounds  of  the 
abdication ;  the  delegates  stating,  at  the  same  time,  that  a  provisional 
government  had  been  formed  and  had  sent  Ministers  to  the  Allied 
Powers  to  treat  for  peace. 

The  proposition  for  an  armistice  was  peremptorily  rejected.  Both 
the  Duke  and  Blvicher  regarded  it  as  a  trick,  and  not  calculated  to 
satisfy  the  just  pretensions  of  the  allies.  The  Duke  referred  to  the 
treaty  of  the  25th  of  March,  which  bound  the  allies  to  force  Napo- 
leon to  desist  from  his  projects,  and  to  place  him  in  a  situation,  in 
which  he  could  no  longer  have  it  in  his  power  to  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  world. 

"  I  could  not  consider  his  abdication  of  usurped  power  in  favour  of 
his  son,  and  his  handing  over  the  government  provisionally  to  five 
persons,  named  by  himself,  to  be  that  description  of  security  which 
the  allies  had  in  view,  and  which  should  induce  them  to  lay  down  their 
arms." — Letter  to  Earl  Bathurst,  Joucourt^  Jtme  25,  1815. 

As  for  Bliicher,  he  had  but  one  leading  object  in  view,  in  marching 
upon  Paris, — the  capture  of  Napoleon.  The  delivery  of  the 
Emperor  was  the  invariable  condition  stipulated  by  him  in  every 
conference  with  the  French  commissioners  sent  to  treat  for  peace  or  ar- 
mistice.    He  directed  General  Muffling  to  state  to  the  Duke  that  "  as 


46  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1816. 

the  Congress  of  Vienna  had  declared  Napoleon  under  outlawry 
( Voge/frei),  it  was  his  (Bliicher's)  intention  to  shoot  him  whenever 
he  got  him."  Miiffling  was  at  the  same  time  desired  to  learn  the 
Duke's  views  on  the  subject,  for  the  Prussian  Field-Marshal  wished, 
if  possible,  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Duke.  Miiffling,  in  his  account 
of  the  interview,  illustrates  the  fine  chivalry  of  the  British  chief. 
"  The  Duke  stared  at  me  with  all  his  eyes,  and  in  the  first  place  dis- 
puted this  interpretation  of  the  Vienna  declaration.  However  that 
might  be  as  concerned  his  own  position,  and  that  of  the  Field-Mar- 
shal, with  respect  to  Napoleon,  it  seemed  to  him  that,  after  the  battle 
they  had  won,  they  were  much  too  conspicuous  persons  to  be  able  to 
justify  such  a  transaction  in  the  eyes  of  entire  Europe.  '  I  therefore 
wish,'  continued  the  Duke,  '  that  my  friend  and  colleague  may  adopt 
my  views  ;  such  an  act  would  hand  down  our  names  to  history  with  a 
stain,  and  posterity  would  say  of  us,  that  we  had  not  deserved  to  be 
the  conquerors  of  Napoleon  ;  the  rather  because  the  act  would  have 
been  superfluous  and  without  an  object  or  advantage.'  "  Bliicher 
ultimately  yielded  to  the  Duke's  wishes,  but  under  a  very  mistaken 
and  unjust  (though  thoroughly  Prussian)  impression.* 

1  The  following  official  letters  from  General  Von  Gneisenau  to  General  Miiffling  exhibit 

Bliicher's  sentiments  on  the  subject: — 

"  CoMPEiGNK,  Jane  27th. 

"The  French  General,  De  Tremolin,  is  at  Noyons,  with  the  intention  of  proceeding  to  the 
Duke's  head-quarters,  and  treating  for  the  delivery  of  Bonaparte.  Bonaparte  has  been 
declared  under  ban  by  the  Allied  Powers.  The  Duke  may  possibly— /or  Parliamentary 
considerations — hesitate  to  fulfil  the  declaration  of  the  Powers.  Your  Excellency  'will, 
therefore,  direct  the  negociations  to  the  effect  that  Bonaparte  may  be  delivered  over  to  us,  in 
order  to  his  execution. 

"Tills  is  what  eternal  justice  demands,  what  the  declaration  of  March  13th  defines, 
and  thus  will  the  blood  of  our  soldiers  killed  or  mutilated  on  the  16th  and  18th  of  June 
be  avenged.  Von  Gneisenau." 

The  third  letter  is  as  follows:— 

"Senlis,  June  29(A. 

"I  am  directed  by  the  Field-Marshal  to  request  your  Excellency  to  communicate  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  that  the  Field-Marshal  had  intended  to  execute  Bonaparte  on  the  spot 
where  the  Due  d'Enghien  was  shot ;  that,  out  of  deference,  however,  to  the  Duke's  wishes,  he 
will  abstain  from  that  measure,  but  that  the  Duke  must  take  on  himself  the  responsibility  for 
its  non-enforcement.  Gneisenau. 

"  P.S.  If  the  Duke  declare  himself  against  the  execution,  he  thinks  and  acts  in  the  matter 
as  a  Briton.  England  is  under  weiglitier  obligations  to  no  mortal  man  than  to  this  very 
malefactor ;  for  by  the  occurrences  of  which  ho  has  been  the  author,  her  wealth,  prosperity 
and  power  have  attained  their  present  elevation.  They  are  masters  of  the  seas,  and  have  no 
longer  to  fear  a  rival  in  their  sovereignty  of  it,  or  in  the  commerce  of  the  world.  It  is 
otherwise  with  Prussia.  We  have  been  impoverished  by  Bonaparte.  Our  nobility  will  never 
be  able  to  right  itself  again.  And  ought  we  not  to  consider  ourselves  instruments  of  that 
Providence  which  has  given  us  such  a  victory,  for  the  ends  of  eternal  justice?  Does  not  the 
death  of  tha  Due  d'EnKhlen  call  for  mch  a  vengeance?    Rhnii  we  not  draw  upon  us  the 


1815.1  CAPITULATION  OF  PARIS.  47 

The  French  commissioners  i^turned  to  Paris  mortified  and  humbled, 
and  the  allies  prosecuted  their  triumphal  march  upon  the  capital. 
On  the  29th  June  the  British  passed  the  Oise,  and  established  them- 
selves in  the  wood  of  Bondy,  close  to  Paris,  while  Bliicher  advanced 
to  the  Seine.  The  French  provisional  government  had  collected  at 
Paris  all  the  troops  remaining  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  between 
40,000  and  50,000  men,  besides  the  National  Guards,  and  a  new  levy, 
called  les  Tirailleurs  de  la  Garde^  and  the  Federes^  under  the  command 
of  Soult,  Massena,  and  Davoust ;  Carnot  assisting  to  place  Paris  in  a 
state  of  defence.  On  the  30th  of  June,  five  fresh  commissioners 
waited  on  the  Duke  of  Wellington  at  Etrees.  and  the  subject  of  an 
armistice  was  again  pressed  upon  him.  His  Grace,  however,  contin- 
ued inflexible.  No  suspension  of  hostilities  could  be  listened  t® 
while  Napoleon  remained  at  Paris,  or  so  near  to  it  as  Malmaison, 
influencing  the  soldiery  by  his  proclamations,  and  virtually  exercising 
a  species  of  indirect  control.     The  commissioners  again  retired. 

On  the  2nd  July,  Bliicher  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  enemy  on 
the  heights  of  St.  Cloud  and  Meudon  ;  but  the  troops  under  General 
Zeithen  surmounted  every  obstacle,  and  obtained  possession  of  the 
latter  heights  and  the  village  of  Issy.  On  the  morning  of  the  3rd, 
the  French  attacked  them  again,  but  were  repulsed  with  considerable 
loss,  and  finding  that  Paris  was  then  open  on  its  vulnerable  side ;  and 
that  a  communication  had  been  established  between  Bliicher  and 
Wellington  ;  and  that  a  British  corps  was  also  advancing  upon  the 
Seine  towards  the  Pont  de  Neuilly,  the  enemy  sent  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  proposed  a  capitulation  of  Paris.  The  firing  ceased  ;  officers  on 
both  sides  met  at  St.  Cloud ;  and  Napoleon  having  hastily  quitted 
Paris  for  Rochefort,  the  following  Convention  was  signed  in  the 
very  chamber  in  which  Napoleon  had  planned  most  of  his  military 
operations : 

"MILITARY  CONVENTION. 

"This  day,  the  3rd  of  July,  1815,  the  commissioners  named  by 
the  Commanders-in-Chief  of  the  respective  armies :  that  is  to  say,  the 
Baron  Bignon,  holding  the  Portfolio  of  Foreign  Affairs  ;  the  Count 
Guilleminot,  chief  of  the  General  Stafi"  of  the  French  army;  the 
Count  de  Bondy,  Prefect  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine;  being 
furnished  with  the  full  powers  of  his  Excellency  the  Marshal  Prince 

reproaches  of  the  people  of  Prussia,  Russia,  Spain,  and  Portagal,  if  we  leave  unperformed  the 
duty  which  devolves  upon  ua?  Be  it  so.  If  others  will  exercise  theatrical  magnanimity,  I 
shall  not  set  myself  against  it.    We  act,  in  this,  from  esteem  for  the  Duke." 


*8  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

of  Eckmiihl,  Commander-ia-Chief  of  the  French  army,  on  one  side  ; 
and  Major-General  Baron  Muffling,  furnished  with  the  full  powers  of 
his  Highness  the  Field-Marshal  Prince  Bliicher,  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  Prussian  army;  and  Colonel  Hervey,  furnished  with  the  full 
powers  of  his  Excellency  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  English  army, — on  the  other  side  ;  have  agreed  to  the 
following  Articles  : — 

"Article  1st. — There  shall  be  a  suspension  of  arms  between  the 
allied  armies  commanded  by  his  Highness  the  Prince  Bliicher  and 
his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  the  French  army  under  the 
walls  of  Paris. 

"  Art.  2nd. — The  French  army  shall  put  itself  in  march  to-morrow 
to  take  up  a  position  behind  the  Loire.  Paris  shall  be  completely 
evacuated  in  three  days  ;  and  the  movement  behind  the  Loire  shall 
be  effected  within  eight  days. 

"  Art.  3rd. — The  French  army  shall  take  with  it  all  its  materiel :  field- 
artillery,  military  chests,  horses,  and  property  of  regiments  without 
exception.  All  persons  belonging  to  the  depots  shall  also  be  removed, 
as  well  as  those  belonging  to  the  different  branches  of  administration 
which  belong  to  the  army. 

"  Art.  4th. — The  sick  and  wounded,  and  the  medical  officers  whom 
it  may  be  necessary  to  leave  with  them  are  placed  under  the  special 
protection  of  the  Commanders-in-Chief  of  the  English  and  Prussian 
armies. 

"  Art.  5th. — The  military,  and  those  holding  employments,  to  whom 
the  foregoing  article  relates,  shall  be  at  liberty,  immediately  after 
their  recovery,  to  re-join  the  corps  to  which  they  belong. 

'•  Art.  6th. — The  wives  and  children  of  all  individuals  belonging  to 
the  French  army  shall  be  at  liberty  to  remain  in  Paris.  The  wives  shall 
be  allowed  to  quit  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  rejoining  the  army,  and 
to  carry  with  them  their  property  and  that  of  their  husbands. 

Art.  7th. — The  officers  of  the  line  employed  with  the  Federcs,  or 
with  the  tirailleurs  of  the  National  Guard,  may  either  join  the  army, 
or  return  to  their  homes,  or  the  places  of  their  birth. 

"  Art.  8th. — To-morrow,  the  4th  of  July,  at  mid-day,  St.  Denis, 
St.  Ouen,  Clichy,  and  Neuilly  shall  be  given  up.  The  day  after 
to-morrow,  the  5th,  at  the  same  hour,  Montmartre  shall  be  given  up. 
The  third  day,  the  6th,  all  the  barriers  shall  be  given  up. 

"  Art.  9th. — The  duty  of  the  city  of  Paris  shall  continue  to  be  done 
by  the  National  Guard,  and  by  the  corps  of  the  municipal  Gens- 
d'armerie. 

"Art.  10th. — The  CommandGrs-in-Chiefofthe  English  and  Prussian 


1815.]  MILITARY  CONVENTION.  49 

armies  engage  to  respect,  and  to  make  those  under  their  command 
respect,  the  actual  authorities,  so  long  as  they  shall  exist. 

"Art.  11th. — Public  property,  with  the  exception  of  that  which 
relates  to  war — whether  it  belongs  to  the  government,  or  depends 
upon  the  municipal  authorities — shall  be  respected,  and  the  Allied 
Powers  will  not  interfere  in  any  manner  with  its  administration  and 
management. 

"Art.  12th. — Private  persons  and  property  shall  be  equally  re- 
spected. The  inhabitants,  and,  in  general,  all  individuals  who  shall 
be  in  the  capital,  shall  continue  to  enjoy  their  rights  and  liberties, 
without  being  disturbed,  or  called  to  account,  either  as  to  the  situa- 
tions which  they  hold,  or  may  have  held,  or  as  to  their  conduct  or 
political  opinions. 

"Art.  13th. — The  foreign  troops  shall  not  interpose  any  obstacles 
to  the  provisioning  of  the  capital,  and  will  protect,  on  the  contrary, 
the  arrival  and  the  free  circulation  of  the  articles  which  are  destined 
for  it. 

"Art.  14th. — The  present  Convention  shall  be  observed,  and  shall 
serve  to  regulate  the  mutual  relations  until  the  conclusion  of  peace. 
In  case  of  rupture,  it  must  be  denounced  in  the  usual  forms,  at  least 
ten  days  beforehand. 

"  Art.  15th. — If  any  difficulties  arise  in  the  execution  of  any  one  of 
the  Articles  of  the  present  Convention,  the  interpretation  of  it  shall 
be  made  in  favour  of  the  French  army,  and  of  the  city  of  Paris. 

"Art.  16th. — The  present  Convention  is  declared  common  to  all 
the  allied  armies,  provided  it  be  ratified  by  the  powers  on  which  these 
armies  are  dependent. 

"  Art.  1 7th. — The  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  to-morrow, 
the  4th  of  July,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  the  bridge  of 
Neuilly. 

"Art.  18th. — Commissioners  shall  be  named  by  the  respective 
parties,  in  order  to  watch  over  the  execution  of  the  present  Con- 
vention. 

"  Done  and  signed  at  St.  Cloud,  in  triplicate,  by  the  Commissioners 
above  named,  the  day  and  year  before  mentioned. 

"  The  Baron  Bignon. 
"  The  Count  Guilleminot. 
"  The  Count  de  Bondy. 
"  The  Baron  de  Muffling. 
« F.  B.  Hervey,  Colonel. 

VOL.  II.  4 


50  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

"  Approved  and  ratified,  the  present  suspension  of  arms,  at  Paris, 
the  3rd  of  July,  1815. 

"  The  Marshal  Prince  of  Eckmuhl. 

'=  Afterwards  approved  by  Prince  Bliicber  and  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington; and  the  ratification  exchanged  on  the  4th  of  July.'" 

The  terms  of  the  Convention  were  literally  fulfilled.  On  the  4th, 
the  French  army,  commanded  by  Marshal  Davoust,  quitted  Paris, 
and  proceeded  on  its  march  to  the  Loire  ;  and  the  Anglo-allied  troops 
occupied  St.  Denis,  St.  Ouen,  Clichy,  and  Neuilly.  On  the  5th,  the 
latter  took  possession  of  Montmartre.  On  the  6th,  they  occupied  the 
barriers  of  Paris,  upon  the  right  of  the  Seine ;  and  the  Prussians 
those  upon  the  left  bank.  On  the  7th,  the  two  allied  armies  entered 
Paris;  the  Chamber  of  Peers,  having  received  from  the  Provisional 
Government  a  notification  of  the  course  of  events,  terminated  its 
sittings.  The  Chamber  of  Deputies  protested,  24th  July,  but  in  vain. 
Their  president  (Languinais)  quitted  his  chair,  and  on  the  following 
day  the  doors  were  closed,  and  the  approaches  guarded  by  foreign 
troops. 

Immediately,  as  if  by  magic,  the  whole  population  of  the  city 
became  enthusiastically  loyal ;  all  caricatures  of  the  Bourbons  dis- 
appeared, and  the  streets  echoed  with  songs  in  praise  of  Louis  XVIIL 
The  first  troops  marched  through  the  Barriere  de  I'Etoile,  and  across 
the  Place  Louis  Quinze ;  but  others  soon  after  advanced  by  diflFerent 
gates,  from  whence  they  proceeded  to  all  parts  of  the  city.  Every- 
where they  were  received  with  rapture,  the  Parisians  crowding  round 
the  English  in  particular,  as  they  passed,  and  exclaiming  repeatedly, 
'  Quels  braves  hommes !  Quels  beaux  cJtevMix  !  Quels  jolis  gargo7is  I 
QuHls  so?it  gentils !"  &c.,  while  the  Messieurs  Ca/zco^  of  the  Palais 
Royal,  and  the  Rue  Vivienne,  descanted  learnedly  on  the  bright  steel 
and  well-tanned  leather  of  the  British  saddlery,  and  the  glossy  coats 
of  their  horses.  The  Prussians  were  not  received  so  favourably  j 
however,  upon  the  whole,  the  pageant,  for  as  such  alone  it  seemed  to 
be  regarded,  passed  off  with  the  greatest  eclat.  The  whole  city  was 
in  a  bustle,  the  people  were  dressed  as  for  a  holiday,  their  vanity 
moving  them  to  cut  a  respectable  figure  before  their  enemies;  and 
though  the  multitude  was  immense,  the  confusion  was  not  so  great 
as  might  have  been  expected.  "  The  quays  and  Boulevards  were 
enlivened  by  ballad-singers,  tumblers,  charlatans,  fire-eaters,  conjurors, 
&c.,  &c.,  all  trying  their  best  to  please  the  wealthy  strangers,  whilst 
the  soldiers,  both  English  and  Prussians,  were  highly  amused,  and 


1816.]  THE  ALLIES  IN  PARIS.  51 

laughed  heartily  at  their  tricks,  their  hilarity  being  increased  by  the 
cheap  chopines  de  vin  and  verres  de  liqueur  with  which  they  were 
abundantly  supplied.  English,  Prussians,  and  French  were  soon 
mingled  together,  all  apparently  enjoying  themselves ;  and  no  one 
who  looked  on  their  merry  faces,  and  heard  their  bursts  of  laughter, 
could  possibly  have  fancied  they  were  the  inhabitants  of  a  conquered 
city  and  their  conquerors. 

"  The  major  part  of  the  French  had,  indeed,  quite  forgotton  their 
troubles  ;  they  enjoyed  a  grand  spectacle,  and  that  was  quite  enough 
to  make  amends  for  anything.  There  were  a  few  persons  certainly 
amongst  the  crowd  who,  looking  unutterable  things,  betrayed  that  all 
was  not  right  within ;  and  these  fellows,  who  were  probably  old 
soldiers  of  Napoleon,  though  disguised  en  Juibit  bourgeois,  seemed 
ready  to  foment  any  disturbance  which  might  chance  to  arise.  Old 
Bliicher,  however,  had  taken  the  precaution  of  planting  cannon,  like 
open-mouthed  bull-dogs,  upon  all  the  bridges,  and  the  malcontents 
were  kept  in  good  order  by  the  certainty  of  having  the  principal 
buildings  in  the  city  knocked  about  their  ears  if  they  dared  to  mis- 
behave themselves. 

"  As  soon  as  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  allies  were  settled  in 
their  quarters,  they  were  surrounded  by  crowds  of  marchands  and 
Jews,  who  came  to  purchase  (a  bo7i  compte)  any  supernumerary  arti- 
cles which  the  warriors  have  picked  up  in  their  campaigns ;  rings, 
watches,  snuff-boxes,  and  camp-equipages  were  bought  for  about  a 
fiftieth  part  of  their  intrinsic  worth,  and  many  of  the  marchands  had 
reason  to  bless  the  arrival  of  their  conquerors.  Commissionaires 
and  valets-de-place  were  also  in  great  requisition,  and  the  most  ridicu- 
lous mistakes  were  made  every  instant  in  bad  English  or  worse 
French.  The  soldiers  who  had  received  billets,  got  to  the  wrong 
streets  or  houses,  and  blows  were  frequently  given  to  obtain  admis- 
sion to  domiciles  which  they  had  no  right  to  enter.  The  baggage,  in 
particular,  very  seldom  went  in  the  same  direction  with  its  owner,  as 
the  rueful  appearance  of  many  of  the  officers  sufficiently  evinced. 

"  The  first  bustle  of  taking  up  quarters  being  over,  the  strangers 
began  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  all  the  restaurants,  ti-aiteurs,  cafes, 
cabarets,  and  wine-houses,  soon  overflowed  with  customers.  The  con- 
sumption of  provisions  was  enormous,  and  it  was  soon  very  difficult  to 
get  either  a  glass  of  brandy  or  a  crust  of  bread  at  any  price.  In  the 
evening  there  was  a  brilliant  illumination.  The  Palais  Royal  looked 
like  a  fairy  palace ;  the  elegant  little  shops  sparkling  like  gems,  were 
crowded  with  purchasers,  who  were  served  by  the  prettiest  filles  de 
boutique  that  could  be  found  in  Paris.     The  soldiers  were  too  gallant 

2p 


62  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

to  marchander,  and  the  bright  eyes  of  the  fair  Paridenncs  grew  still 
brighter  from  the  reflection  of  the  English  gold.  The  Salles  de  Mars 
and  de  Florc^  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  were  crowded  with  dancers ; 
and  whilst  the  soldiers  were  thus  amusing  themselves,  the  officers 
were  thronging  Frescati  and  the  gaming-houses  in  the  Palai3 
Royal.  All  the  chairs  on  the  Boulevards  and  in  the  public-gardens 
were  occupied  by  military  ;  whilst  the  innumerable  lights  around 
flashed  on  the  laced  uniforms  and  bright  accoutrements  of  the  allies, 
as  they  appeared  and  disappeared  among  the  trees.  The  Prussians 
were  mostly  in  the  estaminets  smoking  most  devoutly ;  the  theatres 
were  thronged  to  suffocation,  and  the  air  resounded  with  every  pos- 
sible description  of  music ;  drums  and  trumpets,  however,  preponder- 
ating prodigiously.  No  one  thought  of  rest ;  the  city  was  in  move- 
ment the  whole  night ;  and  before  three  o'clock  the  country  people, 
who  had  heard  the  news,  came  crowding  in,  loaded  with  provisions  ;  all 
were  greedily  bought  up,  and  there  were  many  broken  heads  and 
scratched  faces  in  the  eagerness  of  buying  and  selling.  About  five, 
the  heavy  baggage  began  to  arrive,  and  as  it  was  placed  on  the  quays 
and  Boulevards,  the  soldiers,  in  their  various  uniforms,  crowded  round 
it ;  each  claiming  a  share,  with  such  energy  of  gesticulation  from  the 
difficulty  of  making  themselves  understood,  as  would  have  formed  rich 
materials  for  the  pencil  of  a  Hogarth. 

"  Considering  the  good  humour  and  good  understanding  which 
appeared  to  subsist  between  the  French  and  their  conquerors,  it  is 
melancholy  to  relate  that  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  the  Morgue  was 
found  nearly  filled  with  the  dead  bodies  of  Prussians,  who  seemed  to 
have  been  thrown  into  the  river  during  the  night,  probably  whilst  in  a 
state  of  intoxication. 

"  This  disgraceful  treachery,  however,  was  scarcely  noticed  in  the 
bustle  of  the  preparations  made  for  the  reception  of  the  French 
King.  His  Majesty  arrived  with  a  splendid  cortege  soon  after  noon, 
and  was  received  with  shouts  and  acclamations  of  delight;  flowers 
were  strewed  in  his  path,  and  the  power  of  music  strained  almost  to 
exhaustion,  in  order  to  bid  him  welcome.  About  half-past  two  he 
alighted  at  the  Tuileries.  At  that  moment  a  scene  of  excessive  con- 
fusion took  place ;  a  number  of  English  and  Prussian  officers,  who 
had  attended  the  King,  gave  their  horses  to  commissioyiaircs  to  hold, 
and  these  fellows  rode  off,  and  were  seen  no  more.  There  was  no 
redress,  as  no  effective  government  was  yet  established  ;  and  the 
National  Guard,  to  whom  alone  the  peace  of  the  city  was  confided, 
generally  sided  with  their  countrymen.  The  King  of  Prussia  made 
his  entry  at  seven  in  the  evening,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  at  half-past 


18T5.] 


THE   ALLIES   IN   PARIS. 


63 


eight,  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria  about  nine.  Loud  plaudits 
cheered  the  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias  ;  but  the  monarchs  of  Prussia 
and  Austria  were  received  very  coldly,  and  considering  everything, 
perhaps  no  mighty  kingdom  ever  changed  its  masters  with  more 
indifference."* 


1  "  United  Service  Journal." 


54 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[181S 


CHAPTER  V. 


Napoleon  flies  to  Rochefort— la  taken  to  England,  and  deported  to  St.  Helena— Feeling  in 
England  on  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo— Thanks  of  Parliament,  and  Additional 
Vote  of  i200,000/.— Other  marks  of  Public  Gratitude— BlUcher's  design  on  the  Pont  de 
Jena  frustrated— Wellington  created  Prince  of  Waterloo,  &c. 

every  vestige  of  authority,  and 
hope  for  its  restoration  in  any 
form,  Napoleon  fled,  as  has 
been  stated,  to  Rochefort, 
with  the  intention  of  pro- 
ceeding to  America.  Ap- 
plication was  made  on  his 
behalf  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  for  passports. 
The  Duke  very  properly 
refused  them.  He  had  no 
authority  to  grant  safe- 
conduct  to  a  man  who, 
wherever  he  was,  would  be  certain  to  stir  up  strife,  and  probably 
re-kindle  a  European  war.  The  flight  of  Napoleon  was  a  con- 
tingency not  foreseen  by  the  British  government,  and  arrangements 
had  not  therefore  been  made  to  provide  for  it.  But  as  soon  as 
the  Duke  communicated  to  the  Ministry  that  the  ex-Emperor  was 
a  fugitive  to  the  shores  of  France,  Lord  Bathurst  ordered  thirty 
ships  of  war  to  environ  those  coasts,  and  arrest  his  departure. 
Selfish  to  the  last.  Napoleon  had  latterly  passed  his  time  in  getting 
together  the  most  valuable  cfi"ects  from  the  different  palaces  near 
Paris  ;  and  as  these  were  all  borne  away  by  him  on  the  occasion 
of  his  quitting  Malmaison  on  the  29th  of  June,  he  was  well  prepared 
to  establish  himself  comfortably  wherever  fortune  might  carry  him. 
"  Fame  and  memory  would  have  been  sufficient  for  a  great  man  who 


1816.]  NAPOLEON  SENT  TO   ST.   HELENA.  55 

had  so  long  swayed  the  destiny  of  empires ;  but  Napoleon  felt  that 
he  could  not  dwell  upon  his,  and  therefore  required  toys  and 
trinkets  !  "  *  The  projects,  however,  which  he  had  formed  for  a  free 
and  independent  existence  were  baffled  by  his  active  enemies.  The 
Provisional  Government  had  given  orders  to  the  captains  of  the 
frigates  destined  to  convey  Napoleon  to  the  United  States  not  to 
execute  their  commission  if  it  endangered  the  safety  of  the  vessels — 
and  in  the  same  breath  they  prohibited  his  being  re-landed  in  France. 
The  British  commanders,  on  the  other  hand,  were  directed  by  their 
own  government  to  obtain  possession  of  his  person,  and  carry  him  to 
England.  Several  projects  of  escape  were  suggested  to  Napoleon, 
but  he  had  the  sagacity  to  perceive  that  it  was  impossible  to  elude 
the  vigilance  of  the  English  cruisers.  Dreading  lest  the  resumption 
of  power  by  Louis  XVIII.  should  be  followed  by  an  order  for  his 
arrest,  he  at  leijgiil  came  to  the  resolution  of  putting  himself  volun- 
tarily on  board  an  English  frigate,  trusting  to  the  chapter  of  acci- 
dents for  a  generous  reception  in  England.  He  accordingly 
embarked  in  the  Bellerophon^  claiming,  to  use  his  own  words,  the 
"protection  of  the  Prince  Regent  and  the  British  laws."  He  was 
received,  not  as  a  guest — not  under  any  pledge  of  protection — but 
simply  because  he  wished  to  go  to  England ;  and  Captain  Maitland, 
of  the  Bellerophon,  had  the  orders,  in  common  with  others,  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  above.  Reaching  England  on  the  24th  of 
July,  1815,  Napoleon  despatched  a  letter  to  the  Prince  Regent,  in 
which  he  complacently  called  himself  a  victiin  to  the  factions  thai 
divided  France,  and  to  the  hostility  of  the  greatest  powers  of 
Europe ;  and,  "  like  Themistocles,"  he  cast  himself,  metaphorically,  on 
the  hearth  of  the  British  people.  The  appeal  was  treated  as  it 
deserved.  The  multitude  who  crowded  around  the  Belkrophon  at 
Plymouth  stared  at  him  as  at  a  caged  monster ;  and  the  British 
government  taught,  by  dear  experience,  the  folly  of  trusting  him  in 
any  way,  sent  Napoleon  a  captive  to  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  there  to 
expiate,  during  six  years  of  painful  exile,  the  enormous  political 
crimes  which  had  stained  his  career,  and  which,  rending  asunder  the 
bonds  of  society  and  desolating  Europe,  had  plunged  half  the 
civilised  world  into  mourning. 

The  events  following  upon  the  second  restoration  of  Louis  XVIIL, 
and  the  occupation  of  Paris  by  the  allied  troops,  now  claim  attention 
as  far  as  they  bear  any  relation  to  the  subject  of  this  biography.  But 
before  describing  them,  let  us  take  a  glance  at  what  had  been  passing 
in  England  since  the  middle  of  June,  1815. 

1  MitcheU's  "FaU  of  Napoleon." 


56  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1816. 

Six  years  of  a  succession  of  victories  had  cast  a  halo  around  the 
name  of  Wellington.  The  people,  like  the  soldiery,  had  learnt  to 
believe  him  invincible.  No  undue  estimate  had  been  formed  of 
Napoleon's  genius  for  war — nor  were  the  resources  suddenly  placed 
at  his  disposal  at  all  underrated.  But  the  nation  could  not  bring 
itself  to  look  upon  the  contest,  which  it  saw  approaching  in  the 
Netherlands,  with  anything  like  apprehension.  If  the  truth  were 
told,  the  sentiment  was  rather  the  other  way.  Wellington  had 
beaten  all  of  Napoleon's  marshals  who  had  been  opposed  to  him,  and 
Great  Britain  had  taught  herself  to  think  that  her  hero  was  more 
than  a  match  for  the  master  of  the  marshals.  She  now  desired  to 
witness  the  confirmation  of  this  belief,  and  every  post  was  looked 
for  with  lively  anxiety  as  it  brought  the  unavoidable  conflict  nearer  to 
its  issue.  A  great  tournament  was  "coming  off" — Europe  the  lists 
— universal  peace  or  tyranny,  the  stake — Wellington  and  Napoleon 
the  combatants.  There  was,  of  course,  much  anxiety  in  families, 
whose  male  members  had  hastened  to  the  field,  and  the  financial 
reformer,  with  a  fixed  idea,  groaned  over  the  prospect  of  fresh 
taxation.  Those  English  people,  also,  who  had  made  the  Continent 
their  residence  after  the  peace  of  1814,  mourned  the  derangement  of 
their  plans,  and  the  cessation  of  a  style  of  life  to  which  they  had 
begun  to  accustom  themselves.  But  with  the  exception  of  these  classes 
there  was  an  enthusiasm  afloat  throughout  the  land,  and  the  young 
blood  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  circulated  with  increased 
velocity  as  the  hope  of  ultimate  triumph  ripened  into  moral  conviction. 

The  Stock  Exchange  had  been  in  a  state  of  considerable  excitement 
from  the  hour  of  Napoleon's  landing  at  Frejus  in  the  previous  March. 
The  funds — the  unerring  barometer  of  the  fluctuations  of  prosperity 
and  adversity,  in  all  well-regulated  commercial  countries — now  rose 
or  fell  with  every  report  according  to  its  sinister  or  cheering 
character.  After  the  Restoration  in  1814,  a  great  deal  of  money  had 
been  vested  in  the  French  funds  by  English  people,  and  on  the 
chances  of  peace  or  war  depended  the  integrity  of  their  property. 
Much  anxiety,  therefore,  prevailed.  As  the  news  arrived  of  Napoleon's 
advance  into  the  Netherlands,  the  mercury  of  the  commercial  barometer 
fell,  and  a  perfect  stagnation  of  business  succeeded  to  the  most  active 
Bpeculation.  But  the  news  of  the  fight  at  Quatre  Bras  revived  the 
hopes  of  the  jobbers,  and  when  the  horns  of  the  itinerant  venders 
of  "  Extraordinary  Gazettes"  proclaimed  a  great  victory  at  Waterloo, 
with  all  the  exaggeration  cupidity  could  supply,  the  funds  rose  very 
considerably.' 

1  The  3  per  cent.  Consols  fell  from  65}  to  58|  when  Napoleon  returned,  in  March,  but  every 
kind  of  Stock  rose  at  the  end  of  Jane. 


1815.]  PARLIAMENTARY   GRANT.  57 

Well  has  the  eloquent  Alison  written  : 

"  No  one  who  was  then  of  an  age  to  understand  what  was  going  on 
can  ever  forget  the  entrancing  joy  which  thrilled  through  the  British 
heart  at  the  news  of  "Waterloo." 

The  wailings  which  covered  the  land  when  the  long  lists  of  killed 
and  wounded  were  displayed,  were  drowned  in  the  tumultuous  joy 
which  animated  eighteen  millions  of  human  beings  between  the 
Land's  End  and  John  o'  Groat's.  Parliament  was  happily  sitting  at 
the  time.  Within  three  days  of  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  the 
victory,  the  Prince  Kegent,  the  steadfast  friend  and  generous 
supporter  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  justly  interpreting  the  feelings 
of  the  country  at  this  juncture,  sent  down  a  message  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  recommending  it  to  concur  in  such  measures  as  might  be 
necessary  to  afford  a  further  proof  of  the  sense  entertained  by  Par- 
liament of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  transcendent  services  and  of 
the  gratitude  and  munificence  of  the  British  nation. 

Parliament,  never  backward  at  such  a  call,  unanimously  concurred 
in  a  vote  for  adding  the  sum  of  200,000/.  to  the  former  grants,  by 
which  its  sense  of  his  extraordinary  merits  had  been  demonstrated. 

When  this  message  was  read  in  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Earl  of 
Liverpool  said  he  had  one  or  two  facts  to  relate.  He  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  grant  already  voted  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  It 
v/as  stipulated  that  out  of  the  sum  given,  100,000/.  were  to  be  applied 
towards  procuring  a  mansion  fit  to  commemorate  the  nation's  grati- 
tude for  the  distinguished  services  of  his  Grace  ;  but  it  was  soon 
found  to  be  absolutely  impossible  with  such  a  sum  to  erect  a  house  in 
any  degree  adequate  to  the  intended  object.  Every  man,  as  soon  as 
he  heard  the  account  of  the  recent  victory — a  victory  which  he  had  no 
hesitation  in  saying  was  unequalled  in  the  history  of  this  country — 
anxiously  inquired  whether  no  other  proof  of  the  nation's  gratitude 
could  be  bestowed  besides  the  thanks  of  Parliament  ?  Could  the 
House,  under  such  circumstances,  hesitate  to  furnish  to  the  Duke  the 
means  of  supporting  his  exalted  rank  ? 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  Mr.  Whitbread  said  he  cordially  agreed 
in  the  grant.  He  conceived  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  done 
more  than  had  been  achieved  by  any  other  human  being  than  himself. 
If  we  had  read  of  such  achievements  in  history,  as  having  been  per- 
formed ten  centuries  ago,  we  should  almost  discredit  the  story.  He 
had  understood  that,  during  the  battle,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had 
repeatedly  thrown  himself  into  the  centre  of  a  square  that  was 
attacked,  thus  placing  the  most  entire  confidence  in  the  valour  of  the 
soldiers  that  composed  it.     They  also  felt  the  same  confidence  in 


68  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1816 

him,  and  the  inestimable  value  of  that  commander  whose  life  was  en- 
trusted to  their  defence.  Although  honour  was  the  best  reward  for 
such  distinguished  services,  yet,  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  already 
reached  the  climax  of  human  honour,  the  House  had  no  way  to  show 
its  gratitude  but  by  a  grant  of  money.  The  conduct  of  the  British 
army  in  all  its  parts  had  never  been  surpassed  by  any  other  troops. 
As  to  the  opinions,  however,  which  he  entertained  about  the  justice 
of  the  war,  they  rested  upon  principles  which  could  not  be  altered  by 
the  accidental  circumstances  of  victory  or  defeat. 

The  thanks  of  both  Houses  were  afterwards  voted  to  the  Duke  of 
"Wellington,  and  to  many  officers  of  distinction  in  his  army,  and  to 
Marshal  Prince  Bliicher,  and  the  allied  troops  under  the  Duke's 
command. 

On  this  occasion,  Earl  Bathurst,  on  moving  the  thanks  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  said,  '•  he  was  aware  that  their  lordships  must  be 
eager  to  discharge  the  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Duke,  who  had  now 
so  gloriously  relieved  them  from  the  anxiety  which  all  must  have  felt 
for  some  time  past.  The  campaign  was  begun  by  Bonaparte  himself 
He  had  not,  for  this  time  at  least,  to  accuse  the  seasons,  nor  the  de- 
fection of  those  from  whom  he  expected,  support.  He  could  not  say 
that  he  was  obliged  to  commence  the  battle  by  those  to  whose  mea- 
sures he  was  compelled  to  yield,  contrary  to  his  own  better  judgment. 
It  was  completely  his  own  act  and  choice.  Under  these  circumstances 
he  had  failed.  His  attacks  were  repulsed  ;  the  order  was  reversed — 
he  was  attacked  in  his  turn.  His  boasted  genius  shrunk  under  the 
ascendancy  of  a  mightier  genius,  and  the  result  was,  the  complete 
overthrow  of  the  French  army.  An  achievement  of  such  magnitude 
could  not  be  performed  without  great  loss.  It  had  been  wisely  or- 
dained by  Providence  that  we  should  taste  neither  of  joy  nor  of  grief 
unmixed  ;  and  the  pain  at  which  this  victory  was  gained  must  teach  us 
to  check  our  exultation." 

In  the  House  of  Commons  Lord  Castlereagh  prefaced  his  motion 
for  a  vote  of  thanks  by  observing  "  that  it  would  be  confessed  that 
whatever  the  former  fame  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  might  have 
been,  yet,  in  all  the  various  occurrences  of  his  life — in  all  those  great 
achievements  which  he  had  performed,  and  which  had  called  for  the 
thanks  of  the  House,  he  had  never  before  attained  to  a  height  of 
glory  like  the  present.  And,  in  all  the  great  events  which  he  had 
been  engaged  in,  and  those  scenes  that  he  had  witnessed,  '  had 
never  before  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  illustrious  commander  to  ronder 
so  greak  a  service  to  his  country,  so  extensive  a  benefit  to  the  world. 
There  waa  in  the  present  victory  an  acknowledged  pre-eminence  over 


.1815.] 


VOTE  OF  THANKS. 


59 


all  those  that  had  preceded  it ;  but  when  we  looked  at  ita  influence 
and  combination,  in  which  are  bound  up  all  the  interests  of  the 
civilised  world,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  conceive  an  idea  adequate 


VISCOUNT    CASTLERKAGH. 


to  its  magnitude  and  importance.  The  position  of  the  allied  army 
previously  to  the  late  one  was  a  very  peculiar  one :  and  without 
meaning  to  impute  blame,  or  to  suppose  any  neglect  of  security,  he 
must  say  that  the  circumstance  of  the  armies  not  being  actually 
engaged  in  hostilities  necessarily  led  to  a  distribution  of  force,  for 
the  more  convenient  obtainment  of  sustenance  for  so  large  an  army. 
The  whole  line  of  troops  destined  to  act  upon  France  not  being 
equally  advanced,  it  was  clearly  not  the  interest  of  the  Allies  to 
become  the  assailants ;  the  army,  therefore,  which  was  to  act  upon 
the  offensive  making  its  point  of  union  the  point  it  chose  for  an 
attack,  must  have  a  great  advantage  over  an  army  situated  as  the 
allied  army  was  ;  and  yet  it  was  impossible  to  alter  that  position  ;  for 
if  Marshal  Blucher  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  concentrated 
their  forces,  they  must  have  left  open  a  long  line  of  country  at  the 


60  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1816. 

mercy  of  the  enemy^  wbo  might  have  made  use  of  such  a  lapse  for 
the  most  important  ends  ;  and,  therefore,  not  imputing  any  neglect 
of  preparation  to  the  commanders,  it  must  be  evident  that  the  attack- 
ing army  vrould  have  the  advantage.  With  such  a  force  on  the 
frontiers  of  France,  it  was  with  Bonaparte  a  great  object  to  attack 
it  in  some  powerful  point,  before  the  combined  powers  were  all  per- 
fectly ready  for  operations ;  and  accordingly  he  had  acted  with  all  the 
decision  of  character  and  energy  of  mind  that  he  was  known  to  pos 
sess  ;  and  as  soon  as  he  could  leave  Paris  he  joined  his  army,  and, 
directing  it  to  the  north,  commenced  his  operations.  In  considering 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  forces  engaged,  he  must  observe,  that  of 
the  ten  corps  d'armee  which  France  possessed,  the  five  which  were 
complete  were  united  under  Bonaparte,  together  with  his  guard  and 
other  cavalry.  These  troops  had  certainly  maintained  their  ancient 
character ;  and,  one  feature  of  the  victory  was,  that  it  had  been  gained 
over  the  best  troops  of  France,  and  that,  too,  at  a  moment  when  they 
displayed  all  their  ardour,  and  when  their  conduct  even  surpassed  all 
that  they  had  before  performed." 

A  motion  being  afterwards  made  by  Lord  Castlereagh  for  an  ad- 
dress to  the  Prince  Regent,  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  give  direc- 
tions for  a  national  monument  in  honour  of  the  victory  at  Waterloo, 
and  in  commemoration  of  those  who  gloriously  fell  in  achieving  it,  the 
same  was  unanimously  agreed  to. 

The  Duke  of  York,  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  Army, 
always  prompt  to  the  expression  of  merited  commendation,  wrote  to 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  on  the  21st  of  June,  in  reply  to  the  despatch 
of  the  19  th,  describing  the  battle  of  Waterloo  : — 


"HoRSE-GuARDP,  2Ut  June,  1815. 

"  My  Lord  Duke, 

"  I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  Grace's  de- 
spatch of  the  19th  instant,  conveying  a  report  of  the  military  opera- 
tions up  to  that  date. 

'•  Marked  and  distinguished  as  these  operations  have  been  by  the 
glorious  and  important  victory  gained  over  the  French  army  on  the 
l8th  instant,  I  have  infinite  pleasure  in  communicating  to  your 
Grace  the  high  feeling  of  satisfaction  and  approbation  with  which 
the  Prince  Regent  has  viewed  the  conduct  of  the  troops  upon  this 
memorable  occasion.  No  language  can  do  justice  to  the  sense  his 
Royal  Highness  entertains  of  that  distinguished  merit,  which  has 
even  surpassed  all  former  instances  of  their  characteristic  firmness 
and  discipline ;  allow  me  to  desire  that  your  Grace  will  also  accept 


1815.]  THANKS   OF   THE   PRINCE   REGENT.  61 

yourself,  and  convey,  in  my  name,  to  the  oflScers,  non-commissioned 
oflScers,  and  troops,  under  your  command,  the  thanks  of  his  Royal 
Highness  for  the  great  and  important  services  which  they  have  ren- 
dered their  grateful  country. 

"  From  my  partiality  and  well-known  opinion  of  the  Prussian  nation 
and  their  troops,  your  Grace  will  readily  believe  that  I  also  concur  in 
that  expression  of  admiration  and  thanks  which  have  emanated  from 
the  Prince  Regent  for  the  important  services  rendered  to  the  common 
cause  by  Prince  Bliicher  and  the  brave  army  under  his  command. 
The  triumph  of  success  cannot  lessen  the  regret  which  must  be  felt 
by  all  for  the  loss  of  the  many  valuable  lives  which  has  unavoidably 
attended  the  accomplishment  of  this  great  achievement ;  and  I  par- 
ticularly deplore  the  fall  of  Lieutenant-General  Sir  T.  Picton  and 
Major-General  Sir  W.  Ponsonby. 

"  FuEDEracK,  Commander-in-Chief.'''' 


And  Lord  Bathurst,  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Colonies,  wrote 
three  days  afterwards  : — 

"War  Department,  London,  24£A  June,  1815. 

"  My  Lord, 

"  Your  Grace  will  be  pleased  to  convey  to  General  H.  E..  H. 
the  Prince  of  Orange  the  satisfaction  the  Prince  Regent  has  experi- 
enced in  observing  that  in  the  actions  of  the  16th  and  18th,  his  Royal 
Highness  has  given  an  early  promise  of  those  military  talents  for 
which  his  ancestors  have  been  so  renowned  ;  and  that  by  freely  shed- 
ding his  blood  in  the  defence  of  the  Netherlands,  he  has  cemented  an 
union  of  the  people  with  the  House  of  Orange,  which,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  will  thereby  become  indissoluble.  The  Prince  Regent  is  pretty 
sensible  of  the  meritorious  services  performed  by  the  Earl  of  Uxbridge, 
who  had  the  command  of  the  cavalry  on  the  18th,  and  commands  me 
to  desire  you  will  communicate  to  his  lordship  his  Royal  Highness's 
most  gracious  acceptance  of  them. 

"  The  judicious  conduct  and  determined  courage  displayed  by  Gen- 
eral Lord  Hill  and  by  the  other  general  officers  in  command  of 
his  Majesty's  forces  upon  this  glorious  occasion,  have  obtained  the 
high  approbation  of  the  Prince  Regent.  Your  Grace  will  be  pleased 
to  communicate  to  the  general  officers  his  gracious  approval  of  their 
exertions  ;  and  your  Grace  will  also  be  pleased  to  make  known  to  the 
army  at  large  the  high  approbation  with  which  the  Prince  Regent 
has  viewed  the  excellent  conduct  and  invincible  valour  manifested  by 


62  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON,  [1816 

all  ranks  and  descriptions  of  the  troops  serving  under  your  Grrace's 
command. 

"  His  Royal  Highness  commands  me  on  no  account  to  omit  express- 
ing his  deep  regret  on  receiving  so  long  a  list  of  officers  and  men  who 
have  fallen  or  been  severely  wounded  in  the  actions  of  the  IGth  and 
18th  instant ;  and  the  Prince  Regent  particularly  laments  the  loss  of 
such  highly  distinguished  officers,  as  Lieutenant-General  Sir  T.  Picton 
and  Major-General  Sir  W.  Ponsonby. 

"  It  cannot  be  expected  that  such  desperate  conflicts  should  be 
encountered,  and  so  transcendent  a  victory  be  attained,  without  con- 
siderable loss.  -The  chance  of  war  must  at  times  expose  armies  under 
the  ablest  commanders  to  great  casualties,  without  any  adequate 
advantage  to  be  derived  in  return.  But  whoever  contemplates 
the  immediate  efi"ects  and  the  probable  results  of  the  battles  fought 
upon  the  16th  and  18th  instant,  cannot  but  think  that,  although  on 
the  lists  of  killed  and  wounded  several  of  his  Majesty's  most  approved 
officers  are  unfortunately  inscribed,  many  endeared  to  your  Grace,  and 
whose  names  have  become  familiar  to  the  country  by  their  distin- 
guished services  in  the  Peninsula  ;  the  loss,  however  severe,  and  how- 
ever to  be  lamented,  bears  but  a  small  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of 
the  victory  which  has  been  achieved,  and  which  has  exalted  the  mili- 
tary glory  of  the  country — has  protected  from  invasion  and  spoil  the 
territory  of  his  Majesty's  ally,  the  King  of  the  Netherlands — and  has 
opened  the  fairest  prospect  of  placing  on  a  lasting  foundation  the  peace 

and  liberties  of  Europe. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c., 

"  Bathurst." 

Besides  the  foregoing  tribute  to  the  Duke's  worth  and  ability,  the 
Duke  of  York  wrote  to  him  a  letter,  dated  23rd  of  June,  desiring  him 
to  recommend  certain  officers  for  the  third  class  of  the  Order  of  the 
Bath.'  The  Duke  acknowledged  the  compliment,  and  named  the  de- 
serving. His  Grace  at  the  same  time  suggested  some  modifications 
of  the  Order,  and  asked  for  some  consideration  for  the  captains  of  the 
army. 

"  I  confess  that  I  do  not  concur  in  the  limitation  of  the  Order  to 
Field  Officers.  Many  captains  in  the  army  conduct  themselves  in 
a  very  meritorious  manner,  and  deserve  it,  and  I  never  could  see  the 
reason  for  excluding  them  from  the  Order  or  the  medal." 

1  Down  to  January,  1815,  all  offlccrs  honoured  with  the  miliUiry  Order  of  the  Bath  were  called 
Knights  Companions,  or  Knights  of  the  Bath.  Li  that  month  and  year  a  statute  was  passed,  dJ. 
viding  the  Order  into  three  classes,  C.B.,  K.C.B.,  and  G.C.B. 


1815.]  REWARDS  OF  "WATERLOO."  63 

The  Duke  was,  in  a  general  way,  very  averse  to  the  indiscriminate 
issue  of  medals,  but  upon  the  present  occasion  he  departed  both  from 
his  principle  and  his  reserve,  and  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  York  : 

"  I  would  likewise  beg  leave  to  suggest  to  your  Royal  Highness  the 
expediency  of  giving  to  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  en- 
gaged in  the  battle  of  Waterloo  a  medal.  I  am  convinced  it  would 
have  the  best  eflfect  on  the  array  ;  and,  if  that  battle  should  settle  our 
concerns,  they  will  well  deserve  it." 

How  that  suggestion  was  acknowledged,  every  Englishman  knows. 
To  this  hour — December,  1852 — five  hundred  officers,  and  several 
thousand  men  proudly  bear  the  Waterloo  medal  upon  their  breast. 

But  the  gratitude  of  the  nation  did  not  stop  short  with  the  issue 
of  the  medal.  Five  hundred  thousand  pounds  were  raised  by  vol- 
untary subscription,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  had  been  wounded 
in  the  fight,  and  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  fallen.  An 
enthusiastic  desire  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  "  Wellington"  and  the 
crowning  scene  of  his  triumphant  career,  pervaded  every  class  of 
his  countrymen.  In  Ireland,  a  noble  testimonial  was  erected  in  the 
Phoenix  Park,  and  in  the  British  capital  a  magnificent  bridge  span- 
ning the  Thames  was  baptized  Waterloo,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Prince  Regent  and  Duke  of  York.  With  the  money  voted  by  Par- 
liament the  mansion  and  estates  of  Strathfieldsaye  were  purchased, 
to  be  held  by  Wellington  and  his  heirs,  on  condition  of  his  presenting 
a  tri-coloured  flag  to  the  sovereign  at  Windsor  Castle  on  the  18th 
of  June  in  every  year.  A  more  desirable  property  could  not  be 
procured  at  the  time,  or  it  is  certain  that  a  preference  would  have 
been  given  to  an  estate  of  a  more  productive  character,  and  in  a 
more  picturesque  locality.*     The  Duke  was  heard  to  say  in  after- 

I  strathfieldsaye  is  situated  about  six  and  a  lialf  miles  north-west  of  the  VVinchfleld  station, 
and  about  the  same  distance  north-east  of  the  station  at  Basingstoke  ;  it  is  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  east  of  Silehester.  The  parish  of  Strathfieldsaye  is  partly  in  the  County  of  Berkshire. 
The  park  is  not  of  very  great  extent,  the  average  breadth  being  about  a  mile,  and  the  length 
about  a  mile  and  a  half;  but  it  is  rendered  pleasant,  especially  on  the  eastern  side,  by  a 
diversity  of  hill  and  dale,  and  some  fine  trees  ;  and  it  is  also  enlivened  by  the  waters  of  the 
river  Lodden,  which,  widening  through  the  grounds,  are  expanded  Into  various  sheets  of 
water,  near  which  the  mansion  is  situated.  The  term  "Strath,"  or  "Strat,"  as  it  is  usually 
pronounced,  seems  to  have  been  an  old  term  signifying  a  "stretch"  of  level  ground  with 
elevations  running  along  the  sides.  In  this  sense  it  is  frequently  used  in  Scotland,  and  some 
instances  of  its  employment  with  this  meaning  may  be  found  in  Wales.  The  addition  of 
"  Saye"  seems  to  have  been  derived  from  a  family  of  that  name,  who  originally  possessed 
the  domain,  and  from  which  it  passed  in  marriage  to  that  of  the  Dabridgecourts.  who  held  it 
from  the  time  of  Richard  II.  to  the  year  1636.  About  that  time  it  was  purchased  by  Sir  W. 
Pitt,  an  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  to  whom  it  descended,  and  who,  as  well  as  his 
squally  celebrated  son,  often  resided  there.    The  avenue  of  beech  trees  at  Strathfieldsaye  is  very 


64  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

times,  that  it  required  the  greatest  frugality  to  prevent  an  annual  loss 
upon  the  estate. 

During  the  period  of  the  peace  of  Amiens,  Canova,  the  renowned 
statuary,  sculptured  a  colossal  figure  of  Napoleon.  This,  at  the  peace 
in  1814,  was  presented  by  the  King  of  France  to  the  Prince  Regent 
of  England.  The  Prince  now  caused  it  to  be  transferred  to  Apsley 
House,  the  Duke's  dwelling,  in  Piccadilly,  in  the  very  case  in  which 
it  was  originally  conveyed  from  Rome  to  Paris  ;  that  case  never  hav- 
ing been  opened  between  the  time  of  its  first  arrival  in  the  French 
capital  and  the  capture  of  that  city  by  the  allies.*  In  addition  to 
this  compliment,  the  countrywomen  of  the  Duke  subscribed  a  sum 
for  the  erection  of  a  bronze  figure  of  Achilles,  which  was  placed  in 
Hyde  Park,  contiguous  to  Apsley  House. 

Nor  were  the  honours  and  rewards  showered  upon  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  emanations  of  English  gratitude  and  admiration  alone. 
The  King  of  the  Netherlands  conferred  upon  him  the  title  of  Prince 
of  Waterloo  ;  and  the  King  of  France  created  him  a  Marshal  of 
France,  a  Knight  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  Duke  de  Brunoy." 

Reverting  to  the  proceedings  of  the  allies  upon  their  occupation  of 
Paris,  we  come  upon  a  period  of  our  history  when  the  judgment,  the 

beautiful.  There  is  an  anecdote  current,  that  Mr.  C.  J.  Loudon,  the  botanist,  wrote  to  the  Duke 
to  ask  leave  to  make  drawings  of  them.  The  Duke  mistook  the  signature  for  "  C.  J.  London," 
the  name  of  the  diocesan,  and  therefore  wrote  to  the  Bishop  that  he  might  do  anything  with 
the  trees  but  cut  them  down.  Mr.  Loudon,  owing  to  this  mistake,  never  received  a  reply  to 
bis  letter,  and  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  very  few  men  whose  letters  were  unanswered  by  the 
Duke. 

1  Canova  had  several  sittings  from  Napoleon  for  the  head  of  this  remarkable  statue,  and  was 
BO  well  pleased  with  its  resemblance  to  the  original,  that  he  expressed  the  strongest  interest  In 
this  production  of  his  chisel,  and  explained  to  an  English  gentleman  who  visited  him,  that  the 
reason  why  the  statue  had  remained  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  in  Paris,  till  the  entrance  of  the  Allied 
Armies  into  that  city,  without  the  case  ever  having  been  opened,  was,  merely,  that  the  habitual 
Buperstition  to  which  Bonaparte  was  so  subject  had  induced  him  to  forbid  the  opening  of  the 
case,  solely  because,  when  he  understood  that  the  small  antique  figure  of  Victory  which  stands 
upon  the  orb  in  the  right  hand  of  the  statue  had  its  back  turned  towards  him,  and  had  wings 
upon  its  shoulder!',  he  was  fearful  that  it  would  bo  construed  into  an  omen  that  Victory  had  fled, 
or  would  fly,  fr<jm  him,  and  therefore  would  not  allow  anybody  in  Paris  to  see  the  statue  ;  and 
thus  it  is  remarkable  that  this  8l;itue,  which  Napoleon  rejected  as  ominous  of  defeat,  fell  into  the 
possession  of  his  Conqueror— a  lasting  memorial  of  Victory.  The  orb  is  supposed  to  represent 
the  globe.  It  is  remarkably  disproportioned  to  the  size  of  the  figure.  An  observation  to  thai 
eflcct  being  made  to  Canova,  we  believe,  he  courteously  replied,  "  Ah,  you  sec,  Napoleon's  world 
did  not  include  Great  Britain !" 

2  Bnmoy  is  a  delightful  village,  situate  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  Yercs,  on  the  Lyons  road, 
about  twenty-flve  kilometres  from  Paris.  It  was  formerly  a  Royal  residence,  with  a  magnificent 
chateau,  and  a  display  of  water-works  which  must  have  rivalled  St.  Cloud  or  Versailles.  Charlee 
X.  used  to  visit  Bnmoy  as  a  rendezvous  de  chase  ;  but  the  chilteau  was  partly  destroyed  at  the 
time  of  the  great  Revolution,  and  the  remaining  portions  have  since  been  converted  into  'illas  or 
country  residences. 


1815.J  THE  BRIDGE   OF  JENA.  65 

patience,  and  the  magnanimity  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  were  to  be 
put  to  a  very  severe  test. 

No  two  men  could  be  more  unlike  in  every  respect  than  the  Duke 
and  his  colleague,  Marshal  Bliicher.  The  Prussian  marshal  had  the 
highest  possible  respect  for  the  Duke.  He  offered  him  the  homage 
which  the  superior  mind  insensibly  exacts  of  the  inferior.  The  one 
soldier,  however,  was  the  mere  representative  of  brute  force  ;  the  other 
was  decorated  with  all  the  attributes  of  moral  greatness.  Bliicher 
would  have  tarnished  every  success  by  the  indulgence  of  a  vindictive 
spirit ;  "Wellington  sheathed  the  sword  when  the  battle  was  won. 

"  Being  angered— his  revenge  being  nigh — 
He  bade  the  wrong  stay,  and  the  displeasure  fly." 

Thwarted  in  his  project  for  seizing  the  person  of  Napoleon,  the 
Prussian  marshal  determined,  on  entering  Paris,  that  she  should  feel 
that  she  was  a  conquered  city,  and  no  longer  permitted  to  boast  of 
the  trophies  of  the  subjugation  and  humiliation  of  Prussia.  There 
is  a  bridge  on  the  Seine  erected  by  Napoleon,  and  bearing  the  title  of 
the  Pont  de  Jena,  in  commemoration  of  the  battle  which  laid  Prussia 
at  his  feet.  Bliicher  conceived  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  destroy  the 
bridge,  in  right  of  retribution,  and  at  the  instance  and  with  the  con- 
sent (it  is  said)  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  he  had  caused  excavations 
to  be  made  in  some  of  the  piers,  filled  them  all  with  gunpowder,  and 
stripped  the  bridge  of  its  pavement.  At  the  same  time,  Bliicher 
imposed  upon  the  city  a  military  contribution  of  one  hundred  millions 
of  francs,  and  threatened  that,  unless  the  sum  were  paid  within  twenty- 
four  hours,  he  would  send  a  considerable  number  of  the  bankers  and 
merchants  to  prison  ;  in  earnest  of  the  sincerity  of  which  menace,  he 
actually  arrested  two  of  the  principal  bankers,  by  placing  guards  in 
their  houses ! 

The  intelligence  of  these  violent  measures  on  Marshal  Bliicher's 
part  reaching  the  ears  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  he  addressed  the 
following  letter  to  the  Marshal — a  letter  than  which  nothing  that  he 
ever  penned  more  fully  illustrated  the  loftiness  of  his  character,  his 
sense  of  delicacy,  and  his  regard  for  the  interests  of  justice  and 
humanity. 

"  TO  MARSHAL  PRINCE  BLUCHER. 

"Paris,  9th  June,  1815. 

"  The  subjects  on  which  Lord  Castlereagh  and  I  conversed  with 
your  Highness  and  General  Compte  Gneisenau  this  morning,  viz., 

VOL.  II.  2  G 


66  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

the  destruction  of  the  bridge  of  Jena,  and  the  levy  of  the  contribution 
of  one  hundred  millions  of  francs  upon  the  city  of  Paris,  appear  to 
me  to  be  so  important  to  the  allies  in  general,  that  I  cannot  allow 
myself  to  omit  to  draw  your  Highness's  attention  to  them  again  in 
this  shape. 

"  The  destruction  of  the  bridge  of  Jena  is  highly  disagreeable  to 
the  King  and  to  the  people,  and  may  occasion  disturbance  in  the  city. 
It  is  not  merely  a  military  measure,  but  is  one  likely  to  attach  to  the 
character  of  our  operations,  and  is  of  political  importance.  It  is 
adopted  solely  because  the  bridge  is  considered  a  monument  of  the 
battle  of  Jena,  notwithstanding  that  the  Government  are  willing  to 
change  the  name  of  the  bridge. 

"  Considering  the  bridge  as  a  monument,  I  beg  leave  to  observe 
that  its  immediate  destruction  is  inconsistent  with  the  promise  made 
to  the  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  French  army,  during  the 
negotiation  of  the  Convention,  viz.,  that  the  monuments,  museums, 
&c.,  should  be  reserved  for  the  decision  of  the  Allied  Sovereigns. 

"  All  that  I  ask  is,  that  the  execution  of  the  orders  given  for  the 
destruction  of  the  bridge  may  be  suspended  till  the  Sovereigns  shall 
arrive  here,  when,  if  it  should  be  agreed  by  common  accord  that  the 
bridge  ought  to  be  destroyed,  I  shall  have  no  objection. 

"  In  regard  to  the  contribution  laid  on  the  city  of  Paris,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  your  Highness  will  acquit  me  of  any  desire  to  dispute  the 
claim  of  the  Prussian  army  to  any  advantage  which  can  be  derived 
from  its  bravery  and  exertions,  and  services  to  the  cause ;  but  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  the  allies  will  contend  that  one  party  to  a  general 
alliance  ought  not  to  derive  all  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  opera- 
tions of  the  armies.  Even  supposing  the  allies  should  be  inclined  to 
concede  this  point  to  the  Prussian  army,  they  will  contend  for  the 
right  of  considering  the  question  whether  France  ought  or  ought  not 
to  be  called  upon  to  make  this  pecuniary  sacrifice,  and  for  that  of 
making  the  concession  to  the  Prussian  army,  if  it  should  be  expedient 
to  make  it. 

"  The  levy  and  application  of  this  contribution  ought,  then,  to  be  a 
matter  for  the  consideration  and  decision  of  all  the  allies  ;  and  in 
this  point  of  view  it  is  that  I  entreat  your  Highness  to  defer  the 
measures  for  the  levy  of  it  till  the  Sovereigns  shall  have  arrived. 

"  Since  I  have  had  the  happiness  of  acting  in  concert  with  your 
Highness  and  the  brave  army  under  your  command,  all  matters  have 
been  carried  on  by  common  accord,  and  with  a  degree  of  harmony 
unparalleled  in  similar  circumstances,  much  to  the  public  advantage. 
"What  I  now  ask  is,  not  the  dereliction  of  your  measures,  but  th< 


1815.]  THE  ANSWER  TO  CALUMNY.  67 

delay  of  them  for  the  day,  or  at  most  two  days,  which  will  elapse 
before  the  Sovereigns  will  arrive,  which  cannot  be  deemed  unreason- 
able, and  will,  I  hope,  be  granted,  on  account  of  the  motive  for 
making  the  request." 

Yet  did  not  the  Duke  escape  calumny.  He  was  assailed  virulently 
in  every  possible  manner.  To  anonymous  letters  he  gave  no  heed  ; 
but  some  one  even  personally  addressed  him,  charging  him  with 
participating  in  the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  Prussians  and  their 
labours  at  the  bridge.  He  calmly  replied  to  the  writer,  that  had 
he  (the  writer)  known  any  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  attempted  destruction,  he  would  have  found  that  the  Duke 
did  not  deserve  the  reproach  levelled  at  him.  He  attributed  them 
to  the  ease  with  which  false  impressions  are  made  upon  an  excitable 
people.  "  If,"  he  added,  "  the  injustice  which  you  have  done  me  in 
your  letter  should  have  the  effect  of  inducing  you  hereafter  to  be 
cautious  and  reflective  before  you  accuse  a  public  man  on  any  future 
occasion  that  may  present  itself,  I  forgive  you  the  present  wrong." 


C8 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1815. 


CHAPTER  VL 


The  Second  Restoration— Condemnation  of  Political  Offenders— Justification  of  the  Duke  in 
reference  to  Marshal  Ney— The  spoliation  of  the  Louvre— The  Duke's  honourable 
proceedings — The  Army  of  Occupation. 

the  7th  of  July,  Louis  XVIII. 
entered  Paris,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Allied  Armies.  He 
was  less  welcome  now  than  in 
March,  1814,  for  Bourbonism 
and  its  priestcraft,  its  partiali- 
ties and  prejudices,  had  been 
tried  and  found  wanting.  Before, 
he  had  everything  to  forgive: 
in  1815,  he  had  something  to 
avenge. 

A  decree,  dated  9th  of  July, 
announced  the  formation  of  the 
new  French  Ministry.  The 
Prince  de  Talleyrand  was  ap- 
pointed President  of  the  Council 
and  Secretary  of  State  for  the  department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Talleyrand  was  the  French  Vicar  of  Bray.  He  had  been  a  member 
of  almost  every  Government  France  had  known  from  the  hour  ho 
entered  into  political  life.  A  man  of  consummate  abilities,  of  great 
wit  and  unsparing  sarcasm — familiar  with,  and  attached  to,  the 
ceremonials  of  Courts — he  had  rendered  himself  rather  necessary 
than  agreeable  to  the  dominant  authorities.  Of  aristocratic  origin 
he  was  sent  to  college  preparatory  to  taking  holy  orders  ;  for  as 
there  had  always  been  a  prelate  of  the  noble  house  of  Talleyrand,  he 
was  intended  for  the  ecclesiastical  dignity.  At  the  age  of  thirty-five 
he  had  become   Bishop  of  Autun,  without  having  acquired  a  high 


1815.J 


PRINCE  TALLEYRAND. 


69 


reputation  for  piety  and  church  learning.  Establishing  a  friendship 
with  Mirabeau,  he  adopted  the  free  opinions  of  that  popular  orator, 
and  when  the  Constituent  Assembly  met,  Talleyrand  was  an  important 
agent  in  the  reforms  it  planned  and  enforced.  He  was  despatched  to 
England  to  endeavour  to  bring  about  a  community  of  feeling  between 
France  and  ourselves  on  the  subject  of  legislative  change.  The 
decapitation  of  Lous  XYI.  brought  things  to  a  crisis  and  shocked 
all  Europe.  Talleyrand  was  then  compelled,  under  the  Alien  Act,  to 
fly  to  America.  He  there  turned  his  attention  to  commercial  affairs, 
lived  by  them,  prospered  by  them ;  but  when  the  republic  was 
established   he  was  recalled,  through  the  influence  of  Madame  de 


PRINCE   TALLEYRAND. 


Stael,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Government  as  Minister  for 
Foreign  Affairs.  He  soon  quarrelled  with  the  Directory.  Sieyes 
and  he  never  could  agree.  Napoleon,  quick  to  discover  talent  and 
pliable  instruments,  found  both  in  Talleyrand,  and  confirmed  him  as 
Foreign  Minister  when  he  assumed  the  Consulate.  Talleyrand  served 
the  Emperor  as  Grand  Chamberlain,  but  a  misunderstanding  arose 


'^O  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1816. 

owing  partly  to  the  war  with  Spain,  and  partly  to  Talleyrand's  spirit 
of  intrigue  with  England  and  the  Bourbons,  and  Napoleon  dismissed 
him  with  a  handsome  douceur.  With  the  Restoration,  Talleyrand, 
who  had  always  carried  on  a  clandestine  correspondence  with  Louis 
XVIII.,  returned  to  power.  He  was  immediately  sent  as  Ambas- 
sador to  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  and  influenced  the  Congress 
to  oppose  Napoleon.  Could  Louis  XVIII.  do  less  than  make  him 
the  chief  of  his  first  ministry,  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo  had  con 
Bolidated  (for  a  time)  the  throne  of  the  Bourbons  ?  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  liked  Talleyrand,  his  society,  his  wit,  his  cleverness,  and 
no  doubt  he  dropped  a  word  in  season,  which  ensured  his  present 
elevation. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Talleyrand,  in  conjunction  with  the  Due  de 
Richelieu,  the  Prime  Minister,  was  to  dismiss  from  the  Chamber  of 
Peers  all  those  who  had  accepted  seats  in  the  Chamber  recently 
established  by  Napoleon.  In  this  act  of  dismissal  were  comprehended 
Marshals  the  Dukes  of  Elchingen,  Albufera  (Suchet),  Cornegliano, 
and  Treviso  (Mortier).  This  was  followed  by  a  decree,  dated  24th 
of  July,  directing  that  the  generals  and  officers  who  betrayed  tJie  king 
before  the  23rd  of  March,  or  who  attacked  France  and  the  Govern- 
ment with  force  and  arms,  and  those  who,  by  violence,  gained  possess- 
ion of  power,  should  be  arrested  and  brought  before  competent 
courts-martial  in  their  respective  divisions.  Amongst  the  officers 
included  in  this  decree  were  Marshals  Ney  and  Grouchy,  Colonel  La- 
bedoyere,  Generals  Drouet  d'Erlon,  Clausel,  Laborde,  Cambronne,  and 
Lavalette.  By  the  same  decree  numbers  were  banished  Paris,  and 
ordered  into  the  interior  of  France,  there  to  await  until  the  Chambers 
should  decide  which  of  them  ought  to  depart  the  kingdom,  or  be  de- 
livered up  to  prosecution.  Soult,  Excelmans,  Carnot,  Vandamme,  and 
Regnault  de  St.  Jean  d'Angely  were  included  in  the  eight-and-thirty 
thus  exiled. 

Of  those  who  were  ordered  to  be  arrested  and  brought  to  trial, 
Colonel  Labedoyere  and  Marshal  Ney  were  found  guilty  and  shot  to 
death.  The  circumstance  created  a  great  sensation  in  Paris  and  in 
England,  for  the  character  of  Ney  for  courage  and  soldiership — a 
character  which  he  maintained  to  the  latest  hour  of  his  life — had 
created  a  great  deal  of  sympathy  in  his  favour.  The  Bourbons 
were  denounced  in  France  and  in  England  for  a  want  of  humanity, 
and  much  obloquy  was  cast  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington  for  ab- 
staining from  an  interference  in  Ney's  behalf  "  The  share  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  in  that  lamentable  butchery,  if  it  reflect  no 
discredit  on  him,  certainly  cannot  be  told  to  his  honour."     So  spake 


1815.]  THE  DUKE  AND  MARSHAL  NET.  71 

an  influential  part  of  the  liberal  press  of  England ;  and  the  Muse  of 
Byron,  in  her  "  savage  imbecility,"  bespattered  him  with  tirades  un- 
worthy of  a  poet  capable  of  sublime  and  lofty  efforts.  Passion  and 
prejudice  evidently  had  more  to  do  with  these  contemptible  censures 
than  reason  and  common-sense.  Calmly  and  patiently  reviewing  the 
circumstances  at  this  distance  of  time,  and  looking  at  the  consequences 
of  Marshal  Ney's  atrocious  treachery,  apart  from  the  simple  act  of 
his  betraying  the  cause  of  the  King,  it  seems  impossible  to  imagine 
that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  could,  as  a  soldier  in  love  with  honour, 
as  a  statesman  abhorring  the  author  of  the  frightful  bloodshed  arising 
out  of  Napoleon's  being  permitted  to  march  on  Paris,  move  hand  or 
foot  to  save  the  perfidious  Marshal.  Every  English  soldier  who  had 
been  executed  for  desertion  or  betrayal  of  his  trust,  under  a  warrant 
signed  by  the  Duke,  would  unquestionably  have  been  murdered  had 
Ney  been  spared.  The  Marshal's  defence  of  himself  was  the  weakest 
that  could  be  conceived.  He  said  he  had  "  lost  his  head"  when  he 
approached  Napoleon — he  was  "  disconcerted" — he  was  in  "  no  relation 
with  things  as  they  were" — he  was,  "  doubtless,  wrong  in  reading 
his  proclamation  to  the  troops  at  Lons  le  Saulier,  but  he  was  im- 
pelled by  circumstances,"  all  of  which  amounted  to  a  confession  that 
he  had  no  fixed  principles  in  the  first  instance,  no  justification  what- 
ever to  offer  in  the  second.  It  was  established  on  the  clearest 
evidence,  that  if  battle  had  been  given  to  Napoleon  when  Ney, 
with  his  corps,  encountered  the  returned  Emperor's  small  force,  the 
troops  might  have  remained  faithful  to  the  King ;  but  the  procla- 
mation defeated  everything  !"  The  circumstances  connected  with 
that  proclamation  have  been  already  given  to  the  reader.  Can 
any  candid  Englishman,  recalling  those  circumstances,  hold  Ney 
guiltless  of  all  the  blood  of  our  countrymen  spilt  at  Quatre 
Bras  and  "Waterloo  ?  Would  any  British  ofiicer  who  might  thus 
betray  his  Queen,  and  consign  his  country  to  all  the  horrors  of 
war,  be  deemed  worthy  of  the  slightest  clemency?  Many  efforts 
were  made  to  save  Ney ;  by  personal  application  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  of  Madame  Ney;  by  appeals  to  the  allies  in  Paris, 
and  to  the  Prince  Regent  in  England ;  but  they  were  properly  un- 
avaiJing.  Ney  himself  made  no  appeal  to  the  generosity  of  the 
soldier  who  had  defeated  him  at  Quatre  Bras,  and  driven  him  back 
at  Waterloo ;  his  letter  claimed  mercy  on  the  faith  of  a  clause  in  the 
Military  Convention  of  Paris.  It  was  more  of  a  lawyer-like  than  a 
soldier-like  appeal.  That  clause  expressly  exempted  all  persons 
found  in  Paris  at  the  time  of  the  capitulation  from  any  measure 
of  severity  at  the  hands  of  the  allied  troops,  but  it  certainly  did  not 


72  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815 

tie  up  the  bands  of  any  existing  or  future  French  government  from 
acting  in  that  respect  as  it  might  seem  fit ;  and  so  wrote  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  to  Marshal  Ney.* 

A  great  many  negotiations  took  place,  and  treaties  were  entered 
into  at  Paris  at  this  time,  for  the  due  settlement  of  the  affairs  of 
Europe,  and  in  most  of  these  the  Duke  of  Wellington  took  an  active 
part,  exhibiting  as  much  ability  as  a  statesman  as  he  had  hitherto 
manifested  as  a  general.  Whilst  acting  as  the  British  representative 
on  these  occasions,  a  circumstance  occurred,  which  forcibly  exemplified 
his  forbearance,  firmness,  and  disinterestedness. 

At  a  very  early  conference  of  the  ministers  of  the  allies  at  Paris, 
the  minister  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  put  the  direct  question 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  whether  he  had  received  any  instructions 
from,  or  knew  the  intentions  of,  his  Court  as  to  the  integrity  or 
demolition  of  the  Louvre  and  other  Parisian  galleries  ?  to  which  the 
Duke  distinctly  replied,  that  he  had  not  received  any  instructions 
from  his  Court  upon  the  subject;  and  as  his  Court  did  not  interfere 
with  the  galleries  on  the  former  occasion,  (meaning  upon  the  first 
restoration  of  the  Bourbons,)  he  had  no  reason  to  suppose  they 
would  interfere  on  the  present  occasion.  This  seemed  to  be  received 
as  satisfactory  at  the  moment,  and  nothing  further  was  said  upon  it 
at  that  time.  But  at  a  subsequent  conference,  a  considerable  time , 
afterwards,  the  minister  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  renewed  the 

1  If  there  could  have  been  any  doubt  aa  to  the  interpretation  put  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
upon  the  clause,  the  following  letter  from  Earl  Bathursl  must  have  removed  it,  and  at  the  same 
lime  imposed  upon  the  Duke  the  obligation,  as  a  good  and  loyal  subject,  of  continuing  to  act 
with  perfect  neutrality  in  the  matter : — 

"FROM  EARL  BATHURST  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLtNGTOX. 

"Downing  Street,  7(/t  July,  1815. 
"My  Lord, 

"  Although  your  Grace  has  stated  distinctly  that  the  convention  entered  into  by  you 

and  Marshal  Prince  IJIiicher  on  the  one  hand,  and  certain  French  authorities  on  the  other, 

upon  the  3rd  instant,  while    it    decided  all    the  military    questions,  had    touched  nothing 

political ;  and  although  it  camiot  be  imagined  that,  in  a  convention  negotiated  with  these 

authorities  by  Prince  Bliicherand  your  Grace,  you  would  enter  into  any  engagement  whereby 

it  should  be  presumed  that  his  most  Christian  Majesty  was  absohitoly  precluded  from  the  just 

exercise  of  his  authority,  in  bringing  to  condign  punishment  such  of  his  subjects  as  had,  by 

their  treasonable  machinations  and  unprovoked  rebellion,  forfeited  all  claims  to  his  Majesty's 

clemency  and  forbearance ;  yet.  In  order  that  no  doubt  shall  bo  entertained  as  to  the  sense 

with  which  this  article  is  to  bo  considered  by  the  Prince  Regent,  in  conveying  his  entire 

approbation  of  the  convention,  I  am  commanded  to  state  that  his  Royal  Highness  deems  the 

twelfth  article  of  it  to  bo  binding  only  on  the  conduct  of  the  British  and  Prussian  commanders 

and  the  commander*  of  such  of  the  allies  as  may  become  parties  to  the  present  convention,  by 

Uieir  ratiflcation  of  it  "I  have,  &c. 

"  BAXHUKaT." 


1815.]  SPOLIATION   OF  THE   LOUVRE.  13 

subject,  and  stated,  to  the  surprise  of  all  present,  that  a  positive 
promise  had  been  made  by  the  King  of  France  (Louis  XVIII.), 
during  the  short  period  of  Bonaparte's  resumption  of  the  throne,  to 
his  master,  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  that  if  he  (Louis)  should 
ever  recover  the  Crown,  he  would  restore  to  the  King  of  the  Nether- 
lands all  the  works  of  art  belonging  to  Holland  and  Belgium,  which 
Napoleon  had  removed  from  those  countries  into  France,  and  were 
then  in  the  Louvre ;  and  that  as  all  matters  connected  with  the  settle- 
ment of  affairs  appeared  then  to  be  nearly  brought  to  a  satisfactory 
conclusion,  he  considered  it  proper  that  he  should,  without  further 
delay,  insist  upon  the  performance  of  the  King's  promise  in  this 
respect  to  his  master.  Upon  this  disclosure,  Marshal  Bliicher,  as 
the  representative  of  Prussia,  declared,  that  if  the  works  of  art 
belonging  to  the  Kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  were  to  be  restored  to 
the  King  of  those  countries,  he  (Marshal  Bliicher)  must  insist  upon 
a  similar  restoration  being  made  to  his  master,  the  King  of  Prussia. 
These  two  claims  having  been  so  strongly  put  forward,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  felt  that  it  was  his  duty,  in  fairness  to  all  interests  con- 
cerned, to  require,  without  any  further  loss  of  time,  that  in  the  event 
of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  King  of  Prussia  being  allowed 
the  works  of  art  in  the  Louvre  belonging  to  them  respectively,  an 
option  should  be  secured  for  all  other  powers  interested  in  the  same 
question  to  reclaim  such  works  as  belonged  to  them,  if  they  should 
think  proper  to  do  so.  The  requisition  of  the  two  first-mentioned 
claimants  being  adhered  to,  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  disso- 
lution of  the  galleries  was  inevitable,  and  serious  discussions  on  the 
subject  immediately  ensued  between  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and 
the  Duke  de  Richelieu,  at  that  time  the  Prime  Minister  of  France. 
From  the  Duke  of  Richelieu  he  obtained  no  satisfactory  decision,  and 
subsequently  had  an  audience  of  the  King,  which  was  as  little  decisive 
in  its  result ;  the  effectual  part  of  the  King's  promise  was  evaded, 
and  the  Duke  was  again  referred  by  his  Majesty  to  the  Duke  de 
Richelieu  upon  this  momentous  and  still  undecided  question.  By  the 
Duke  de  Richelieu  the  Duke  was  at  length  referred  to  Denon  (the 
principal  officer  of  the  Government  as  regarded  the  Fine  Arts).  A 
great  deal  of  discussion  ensued,  and  ultimately,  when  Denon  found 
that  there  appeared  to  be  no  escape  from  this  demand  upon  the 
French  Government,  he  said  to  the  Duke,  "If  you  are  to  have  the 
galleries  you  must  take  them."  This  settled  the  question,  and  a 
guard  was  immediately  placed  over  the  Louvre,  and  preparations 
made  for  removing  all  those  works  which  were  claimed  in  con- 
sequence of  the  original  promise  of  Louis  XVIII.  to  the  King  of  the 


V4  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

Netherlands.  This  occurrence  caused  extraordinary  excitement  in 
Paris.  The  bitter  hatred  of  the  Prussians  by  the  French  appeared  to 
be  superceded  by  the  virulence  which  manifested  itself  in  a  few  hours 
against  the  English  on  this  occasion,  as  the  supposed  authors  of  this 
formidable  blow  to  the  vanity  and  exultation  by  which  the  French 
had  always  been  actuated  with  respect  to  these  possessions  ;  and  the 
Duke  of  "Wellington,  who,  as  appears  from  the  above  statement  of  facts 
to  have  been  perfectly  innocent  of  any  spontaneous  assault  upon  the 
Louvre,  became  the  subject  of  the  most  unmeasured  and  opprobrious 
invective.  From  this  unmerited  and  painful  position  the  Duke  could 
in  an  instant  have  relieved  himself,  and  have  transferred  the  fury  to 
which  he  was  exposed  to  the  real  instigators  of  the  movement,  if  he 
had  chosen  to  state  the  fact,  that  Louis  XVIII.  had  falsified  his  word, 
by  first  voluntarily  promising  in  part  to  demolish  the  galleries,  and 
then  practically  opposing  the  execution  of  that  promise  ;  but  it  needed 
not  one-tenth  part  of  the  penetration  and  sagacity  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  to  enable  him  clearly  to  foresee  what  would  have  been 
the  eflfect  upon  the  interests  of  that  monarch  and  his  crown,  and 
probably  upon  all  Europe,  if  in  the  then  excited  state  of  Paris,  such  a 
disclosure  had  been  made.  Here,  then,  is  another  extraordinary 
instance,  in  which  private  feeling  and  personal  interest  were  nobly 
sacrificed  by  this  high-minded  man,  in  the  faithful  and  intrepid 
discharge  of  what  he  felt  to  be  his  paramount  duty  to  the  general 
interests  of  those  for  and  with  whom  he  was  called  upon  to  act.' 

1  The  reader  is  referred  to  Appendix  II.,  for  the  Duke's  explanation  of  this  affair  to  the 
British  Ministry. 


181 5.J 


THE  ARMY  OF  OCCUPATION. 


75 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Army  of  Occupalion— The  Duke's  residence  in  Paris,  from  1815  to  1818— The  Army  breaks  up, 
and  the  Duke  returns  to  England. 


y  the  aOth  of  November,  1815,  after 
a  great  deal  of  protocolling,  anxious 
and  sometimes  angry  discussions, 
the  Allied  Powers  made  a  treaty 
with  the  French  King,  settling  the 
future  limits  of  the  Kingdom,  de- 
fining the  compensation  France 
was  to  make  for  the  expenses  of 
the  long  war,  and  the  spoliation 
inflicted  on  diflferent  states  during 
the  Revolution,  and  fixing  the  sums 
she  was  to  pay  for  the  maintenance 
of  an  allied  army  in  the  difibrent 
French  fortresses  for  the  period  of 
five  years.  The  burthen  thus  im- 
posed upon  the  nation  did  not  fall  short  of  seventy  millions  sterling — 
a  terrible  pressure  upon  the  industry  of  the  people  and  produce  of 
the  country  for  many  years  in  prospect.  The  allied  army  in  oc- 
cupation of  the  fortresses  was  150.000  strong,  and  the  Ministers 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  four  great  powers  determined  that  that  army 
should  be  placed  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

The  state  paper,  in  which  the  ministers  intimated  their  wishes  upon 
the  subject,  was  so  highly  honourable  to  the  Duke,  that  no  biography 
of  his  Grace  can  be  complete  without  it.  The  document  is  at  the 
same  time  a  remarkable  specimen  of  diplomatic  courtesy.  The  Duke 
de  Richelieu — the  grand-nephew  of  the  famous  cardinal — was  the 
Prime  Minister  of  France  at  the  time.  He  had  struggled  with 
patriotic  fervour  to  obtain  for  his  country  the  complete  restoration  of 


76  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815 

her  power  and  position,  and  the  departure  of  the  whole  of  the  foreign 
troops.  Sound  policy,  however,  dictated  to  the  allies  an  adherence 
to  the  plan  they  had  chalked  out,  and  it  was  considered  a  great  act  of 
clemency  that  550.000  of  the  troops,  then  in  the  French  territories, 
should  be  withdrawn,  and  that  some  of  the  posts,  such  as  Conde, 
Giret,  and  Charlcmont,  and  the  forts  of  Joux  and  Ecluse  should  not 
be  included  in  the  territorial  cession.  Another  point  yielded  to  the 
earnest  entreaties  of  the  Duke  de  Richelieu,  was  the  diminution  of  the 
tribute  by  one  hundred  millions  of  francs. 

The   following  is   the   paper,   in   which   the   arrangement  of  the 
command  of  the  allied  armies  was  notified  to  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  : 


"  TO  HIS  EXCELLENCY  THE  DUKE  DE  RICHELIEU. 

"  The  Allied  Sovereigns  having  confided  to  Marshal  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  the  command  in  chief  of  those  of  their  troops  which, 
according  to  the  5th  article  of  the  treaty  concluded  this  day  with 
France,  are  to  remain  in  this  country  during  a  certain  number  of 
years,  the  undersigned  ministers,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  think  it  their  duty  to 
give  some  explanation  to  his  Excellency  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  as  to 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  powers  attached  to  this  command. 

"  Although  chiefly  guided  with  respect  to  the  measure  by  motives 
tending  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  their  subjects,  by  being  very 
far  from  having  any  intention  of  employing  their  troops  in  aid  of  the 
police,  or  of  the  internal  administration  of  France,  or  in  any  manner 
that  might  compromise  or  interfere  with  the  free  exercise  of  the  royal 
authority  in  this  country  ;  the  Allied  Sovereigns  have,  however,  in 
consideration  of  the  high  interest  which  they  take  in  supporting  the 
power  of  legitimate  sovereigns,  promised  to  his  most  Christain 
Majesty  to  support  him  with  their  arms  against  every  revolutionary 
convulsion,  which  might  tend  to  overthrow  by  force  the  order  of 
things  at  present  established,  and  to  menace  also  again  the  general 
tranquillity  of  Europe.  They  do  not  however  dissemble,  that  in  the 
variety  of  forms  under  which  the  revolutionary  spirit  might  again 
manifest  itself  in  France,  doubts  might  arise  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
case  which  might  call  for  the  intervention  of  a  foreign  force ;  and 
feeling  the  difiiculties  of  framing  any  instructions  precisely  applicable 
to  each  particular  case,  the  Allied  Sovereigns  have  thought  it  better 
to  leave  it  to  the  tried  prudence  and  discretion  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  to  decide  when,  and  how  far,  it  might  be  advisable  to 
employ  the  troops  under  his  orders,  always  supposing  that  he  would 
not  in  any  case  so  determine  without  having  concerted  his  measures 


1815.]  THE   DUKE    IN   PARIS.  77 

with  the  King  of  France,  or  without  giving  information,  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  the  Allied  Sovereigns  of  the  motives  which  may  have  in- 
duced him  to  come  to  such  a  determination.  And  as,  in  order  to 
guide  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  the  choice  of  his  arrangements,  it 
will  be  important  that  he  should  be  correctly  informed  of  the  events 
which  may  occur  in  France,  the  ministers  of  the  four  Allied  Courts, 
accredited  to  his  most  Christian  Majesty,  have  received  orders  to 
maintain  a  regular  correspondence  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and 
to  provide  at  the  same  time  for  an  intermediate  one  between  the 
French  Government  and  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  allied  troops, 
for  the  purpose  of  transmitting  to  the  French  Government  the  com- 
munications which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  may  have  occasion  to  ad- 
dress to  it ;  and  of  communicating  to  the  Marshal  the  suggestions  or 
requisitions  which  the  Court  of  France  may  wish  in  future  to  make 
to  him.  The  undersigned  flatter  themselves  that  the  Duke  de  Riche- 
lieu will  readily  recognise  in  these  arrangements  the  same  character, 
and  the  same  principles,  which  have  been  manifested  in  concerting 
and  adapting  the  measures  of  the  military  occupation  of  a  part  of 
France.  They  carry  with  them,  also,  on  quitting  the  country,  the 
consoling  persuasion  that,  notwithstanding  the  elements  of  disorder 
which  France  may  still  contain — the  effect  of  revolutionary  events — 
a  wise  and  paternal  government,  proceeding  in  a  proper  manner  to 
tranquillise  and  conciliate  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  abstaining 
from  every  act  contrary  to  such  a  system,  may  not  only  succeed  in 
maintaining  the  public  tranquillity,  but,  also,  in  the  re-establishing 
universal  union  and  confidence,  relieving,  likewise,  as  much  as  the 
proceedings  of  the  government  can  prevent  it,  the  Allied  Powers  from 
the  painful  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  those  measures  which,  in 
case  of  any  new  convulsion,  would  be  imperiously  prescribed  to  them 
by  the  duty  of  providing  for  the  safety  of  their  own  subjects,  and  the 
general  tranquillity  of  Europe,  &c. 

"  The  undersigned  have  the  honour,  &c. 

"  Metternich. 

"  Castlereagh. 

"  Hardenberg. 

"  Capo  d'Istria." 

The  four  names  will  be  familiar  to  the  reader.  Metternich  was  the 
astute  minister  of  Austria,  and  through  life  the  most  ardent  upholder 
of  the  monarchical  principle  in  its  most  despotic  form.  Of  Lord 
Castlereagh  we  have  already  spoken.  Baron  Hardenberg  repre- 
sented  the   Prussian    Crown.      He  was   a   highly-educated   man,  of 


18  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815 

excellent  business  habits,  and  had  filled  important  diplomatic  offices 
for  many  years,  and  in  the  most  troublous  days  of  the  Prussian  mon- 
archy. Count  Capo  d'Istria,  a  Greek,  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
Emperor  of  Russia,  and  in  all  the  negotiations  common  at  this  period 
among  the  Allied  Powers,  sought  to  maintain  a  preponderance  for 
Russian  interests. 

Ten  days  after  the  Definitive  Treaty  with  France  had  been  signed, 
the  allied  armies  quitted  the  country.  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  in 
his  capacity  of  Field  Marshal,  bade  them  adieu  in  a  complimentary 
order,  observing  that  in  the  late  campaign  they  had  given  proofs  to 
the  world  that  they  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  all  the  good 
qualities  of  soldiers.  He  bore  testimony  to  their  good  conduct  in 
their  camps  and  cantonments,  as  well  as  when  engaged  with  the  enemy 
on  the  field. 

The  life  led  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  during  th«  period  of  his 
command  of  the  army  of  occupation,  was  peculiarly  agreeable  to  his 
feelings,  for  it  combined  the  claims  of  duty  wiSh  the  allurements  of 
pleasure.  The  French,  who  at  first  were  disposed  to  give  vent  to 
their  mortification  in  caricatures  of  the  British  and  puns  at  the 
expense  of  the  Duke,'  gradually  become  reconciled  to  one  who  never 
interfered  with  their  affairs  but  to  obtain  for  them  some  con- 
cession from  the  allies,  and  whose  splendid  hospitalities  attracted 
hundreds  of  wealthy  English  families  to  spend  their  fortunes  in  Paris. 
Capefigue,  a  Frenchman,  says, — "  The  generalissimo  resided  in  Paris, 
where  he  saw  a  good  deal  of  Louis  XVIII.,  and  his  English  principles 
were  in  perfect  agreement  with  a  system  of  moderation  and  freedom. 
He  possessed  an  honest  and  upright  heart,  and  a  habit  of  judging  with 
ease  and  simplicity  of  the  state  of  events ;  and  we  must  do  him  the 
justice  to  say  that  when,  on  various  occasions,  he  was  constituted 
arbiter  of  the  claims  of  the  allies,  he  almost  invariably  gave  his 
j|jinion  in  favour  of  our  unfortunate  country."  Numerous  anec- 
dotes are  preserved  of  the  "  Duke  in  Paris,"  many  of  them  of  an 
apocryphal  character,  and  some  embellished  or  distorted  according 
to  the  fancy  or  prejudices  of  the  writer.  It  is  certain  that  he  felt 
himself  quite  secure  among  a  people  towards  whom  he  entertained 
the  most  friendly  feelings.  He  was  accustomed  to  ride  out  every 
day  on  horseback  attended  by  a  single  groom.  You  were  sure  to 
meet  him  either  in  the  Boulevards,  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  or  the 
Champs  Elysces."     He  had  "  a  French  guard  at  his  residence,  which 

1  "Oh,  Wellington— or  yUainton,  for  fame 
Sounds  the  heroic  syllables  both  ways." — Byron. 
9  "  I  have  met  him  when  he  stopped  his  horse  to  speak  to  my  companion,  addressing  bia< 


1815.]  THE  DUKE  IN  PARIS.  19 

rendered  any  attack  near  his  own  house  hazardous.  The  returned 
emigrants  hated  the  English  at  heart  much  more  than  the  Bonapart- 
ists,  because  they  found  the  Duke  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
population  of  France,  from  the  sovereign  to  the  poorest  subject, 
much  less  aid  to  place  such  miserable  incompetent  individuals  at  the 
head  of  affairs.  '  We  hate  your  government,'  said  the  Bonapartists ; 
'  you  have  beaten  us — it  is  the  fortune  of  war, — but  we  have  no 
hatred  to  individual  Englis"hmen,  and  we  are  happy  to  see  you.'  The 
old  emigrant  party  hated  us  altogether,  adding  an  implacable  re- 
ligious antipathy  to  ingratitude,  of  which  antipathy  the  Bonapartists 
had  none. 

" '  Apropos  of  the  French  guard,'  says  a  recent  writer ;  '  there 
was  a  cover  for  the  officer  laid  every  day  at  the  Duke's  table. 
The  restoration  of  Louis  XVIII.  was  accompanied,  as  far  as 
possible,  with  the  absurdities  of  the  old  time,  fi'om  the  Court 
being  under  that  influence,  and  a  monarch,  even  poor  old  gorman- 
dising Louis,  was  a  Dieu  viortel  in  their  eyes,  or  all  others  were 
to  esteem  him  so.  The  late  King  of  Prussia  visited  Paris  in  1917, 
incog.,  as  the  Count  de  Ruppin.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  invited 
the  king-count  to  dinner.  Louis  XVIII.  invited  himself  to  meet 
him.  Covers  were  laid  for  six  only.  A  sort  of  avant-courier  of 
old  Louis  proceeded  to  the  Duke's  to  examine  whether  all  was 
en  regie.  On  being  told  that  six  covers  were  laid — if  I  recollect 
rightly,  the  Duke  de  Richelieu  and  Sir  Charles  Stuart,  with  the  two 
kings  and  the  Duke,  made  up  five  of  the  party — "  Who,"  the 
officious  official  asked — '•  who  is  the  sixth  cover  for  ?  I  must  an- 
nounce it  to  his  most  Christian  Majesty."  He  was  'told  it  was  for 
the  officer  of  the  guard,  a  French  captain.  He  at  once  declared  that 
the  King  could  not  dine  that  way,  with  a  subject  in  such  a  station ; 
it  was  contrary  to  all  rule — all  etiquette.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  appealed  to,  who  replied  he  could  not  alter  the  rule  of  his  house, 
and  have  his  table  changed ;  that  he  was  a  soldier  himself  The 
official  went  back  to  the  Tuileries,  and  made  his  report.  They 
then  attempted  to  prevent  the  King  from  going,  but  Louis  cared 

familiarly  by  his  Christian  name  'Bob.'  Except  an  occasional '  God-dem !'  from  some  lower-class 
Frenihman,  spoken  often  in  the  same  tone  to  any  English  passenger,  I  never  heard  of  the  Duke'3 
meeting  an  insult  in  his  daily  rides  about — at  least  none  that  caused  any  public  remark  or 
complaint.  I  have  still  his  inflexible  figure  when  on  horseback  before  my  eyes,  almost 
savouring  of  the  drill ;  his,  on  the  whole,  fresh,  healthy  complexion,  and  active  make,  notwith- 
standing his  services  in  the  burning  climate  of  the  south.  He  had  the  appearance  of  being  taller 
than  he  really  was;  latterly  he  had  seemed  to  shorten,  and  grow  broad.  His  countenance  was 
always  striking,  the  upper  part,  above  the  mouth,  being  exceedingly  fine."—"  Reminiscences^^ 
from  the  JVcw  Monthly  Magazine, 


80  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1815. 

nothing  about  the  matter,  he  said,  and  shocked  some  of  his  old 
courtiers  in  no  slight  degree — the  relics  of  the  race  %ho  thought 
France  was  ruined  for  ever  when  Necker  came  to  court  with  strings 
in  place  of  buckles  in  his  shoes.  On  the  present  occasion,  it  may  be 
added  that  no  one  was  more  surprised  than  the  officer  of  the  guard 
himself,  to  be  seated  at  table  so  unexpectedly  with  two  crowned 
heads.' " 

The  fair  Parisiemics  were  much  captivated  by  the  elegant  manners 
of  the  British  officers ;  but  the  Duke  himself — his  achievements — his 
martial  bearing — particularly  enslaved  their  imaginations.  It  is  re- 
lated by  a  lady  of  the  Court  of  Louis  XVIII.,  that  the  Comtesse  de 

Bl no  sooner  saw  him  than  she  became  deeply  enamoured  of  him.* 

Nor  was  she  the  only  one  whose  heart  was  temporarily  enchained, 
although,  be  it  observed,  the  Duke  wasted  very  little  of  his  time  in 
paying  general  court  to  the  sex.  He  admired  spirituclle  women,  and 
was  often  found  in  the  company  of  those  who  enjoyed  the  highest  rep- 
utation for  their  conversational  powers ;  but  he  was  not  much  of  a 
wooer.  Lady  Hester  Stanhope  gave  it  as  her  opinion  that  he  was  "  a 
plain,  blunt  soldier,  who  pleased  women  because  be  was  gallant,  and 
had  some  remains  of  beauty"  (he  was  now  nearly  forty-six)  "  but  he 
had  none  of  the  dignity  of  courts  about  him." 

To  the  honourable  and  friendly  conduct  of  the  Parisians  towards 
the  Duke  there  were  two  disgraceful  exceptions.  Upon  one  occasion, 
a  quantity  of  gunpowder  was  placed  in  his  cellar  for  explosion,  on  the 
occurrence  of  Sifete — and  upon  another,  a  miscreant  named  Cantillon 
discharged  a  pistol  into  his  carriage.  To  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  eternal 
infamy,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  when  he  heard  of  the  circum- 
stance, he  included  in  his  will  a  bequest  to  this  latter  ruffian,  who 
escaped  the  vengeance  of  the  law.* 

1  The  anecdote,  as  published  some  fifteen  years  since,  runs  as  follows: — "  His  eagle-like  coun- 
tenance completely  captivated  her.  The  lady's  Royalist  sentiments  might  certainly  have  some 
share  in  this  enthusiasm  ;  but,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  poor  Countess  was  in  love.  When  in  com- 
pany with  the  Duke,  she  sighed  and  assumed  all  sorts  of  languishing  airs.  She,  no  doubt, 
thought  it  a  very  fine  thing  to  have  a  hero  for  her  lover.  At  length  a  rendezvous  was  solicited 
and  granted ;  but  its  result  did  not  appear  to  convince  the  lady  that  the  Duke  wa.s  quite  as 
amiable  and  gallant  as  he  w.is  reported  to  be.  She  was  greatly  enraged,  and  she  spoke  of  Iho 
Duke  in  the  most  contemptuous  terms.  There  are  some  things  which  a  woman  can  never 
pardon ;  when  the  Countess  heard  that  the  Duke  had  received  the  baton  of  a  French  Marshal, 
ehe  said  that  he  deserved  a  cudgel  rather  than  a  baton.  Only  those  who  witnessed  the  state  of 
things  in  France  in  18M  and  1815,  can  form  an  idea  of  the  exlravag."jit  political  fanaticism  which 
then  prevailed,  and  which,  in  several  instances,  was  converted  into  love.    The  above  story  I  had 

from  my  friend  the  Viscountess  de  Vau who  was  exceetlingly  intimate  with  the  Countess  de 

Bl .    I  communicated  it  to  the  King,  who  was  much  amused  by  it." — Souvenirs  of  a  Lady  vf 

the  Court  of  Louis  XVIII. 

'i  "  On  February  11,  1818,  as  the  Duke,  in  his  carriage,  was  entering  the  gate  of  his  hotel 


1817.]  THE   WATERLOO   "PRIZE  MONEY."  81 

Judging  from  the  general  orders  issued  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
during  the  period  of  the  occupancy  of  France  by  the  troops  under 
his  command,  the  charge  was  by  no  means  free  from  anxieties.  He 
paid  frequent  and  prolonged  visits  to  Cambria,  in  I816^and  1817, 
and  on  each  occasion  he  is  to  be  found  rep^hending  irregularity  and 
disorder — the  terms  by  which  he  expressed  drunkftiwegs,  violence, 
and  robbery.  It  was  also  necessary  to  check  the  conduct  of  officers, 
some  of  whom,  in  hunting,  would  ride  over  the  corn-fields,  or,  in  garri- 
son, invade  the  boxes  of  the  theatres  without  requital,  to  the  dismay 
of  the  box-keepers,  and  the  disturbance  of  the  entertainment.  Dis- 
putes often  took  place  between  the  French  people  and  the  British 
troops,  and  as  the  former  never  scrupled  to  resort  to  violence,  the 
Duke  gave  peremptory  and  frequent  orders  that  the  latter  should  not 
go  about  without  their  fire-arms. 

Early  in  the  year  1817,  the  Prince  Kegent  accorded  twenty-five 
millions  of  livres  to  the  army  as  prize  booty,  captured  on  the  15th, 
16th,  17th,  and  18th  of  June,  1815.  This  proved  a  seasonable  addi- 
tion to  the  pecuniary  resources  of  men  and  officers,  and  rendered  a 
residence  in  France  even  still  more  attractive  than  it  had  hitherto 
proved.     The  share  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  60,000/. 

It  has  been  stated  above  that  the  period  stipulated  for  the  occupa- 
pation  of  France  by  the  troops  under  the  Duke  was  five  years.  It 
has  also  been  mentioned  that  certain  heavy  sums  were  to  be  paid  on 

at  Paris,  a  wretch  named  Cantillon  fired  a  pistol  at  his  Grace,  but  happily  missed  his  aim.  The 
Ministers  of  the  Allied  Sovereigns,  as  well  as  the  King  of  France,  warmly  congratulated  the 
Duke  on  his  escape,  and  the  Prince  Regent  sent  him  an  autograph  letter  on  the  occasion.  Lord 
Castlereagh,  in  consequence  of  this  atrocious  attempt,  procured  an  extension  of  the  Alien  Act 
for  two  years.  Cantillon,  and  his  accomplice,  named  Marinot,  were  tried  in  the  next  year,  but 
were  acquitted.  Napoleon  (died  May  5,  1821)  left  Cantillon  a  legacy  of  10,000  francs  for  this 
atrocity,  in  the  fifth  item  of  the  fourth  codicil  of  his  will,  as  follows : — 

" '  We  bequeath  10,000  francs  to  the  subaltern  officer,  Cantillon,  who  has  undergone  a  trial 
upon  the  charge  of  having  endeavoured  to  assassinate  Lord  Wellington,  of  which  ho  was 
pronounced  innocent.  Cantillon  had  as  much  right  to  assassinate  that  oligarchist,  as  the 
latter  had  to  send  me  to  perish  on  the  rock  of  St.  Helena.  Wellington,  who  proposed  Jhis 
outrage,  attempted  to  justify  himself  by  pleading  the  interest  of  Great  Britain.  Cantillon,  if  he 
really  had  assassinated  that  lord,  would  have  excused  himself,  and  have  been  justified  by  the 
same  motives — the  interest  of  France — to  get  rid  of  a  general  who  had,  moreover,  violated  the 
capitulation  of  Paris,  and  by  that  had  rendered  himself  responsible  for  the  blood  of  the  martyrs, 
Ney,  Lab6doy6re,  &.C.,  and  for  the  crime  of  having  pillaged  the  museums,  contrary  to  the  text  of 
the  treaties.' 

" '  This  clause  in  the  last  will  of  a  dying  man'  (we  quote  the  words  of  Sir  Walter  Scott) 
'is  not  striking  for  its  atrocity  merely,  but  from  the  inaccuracy  of  the  moral  rea.wning  which 
it  exhibits.  Napoleon  has  drawn  a  parallel  betwixt  two  cases,  which  must  be  therefore  both 
right  or  both  wrong.  If  both  were  wrong,  why  reward  the  ruffian  with  a  legacy  ?  but,  if  both 
were  right,  why  complain  of  the  British  government  for  detaining  him  at  St.  Helena?'"— 
Wellinirtoniana. 

VOL.  II.  2  H 


82  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1818 

various  accounts  to  the  Allies — enough  to  bear  down  the  richest  nation 
upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  But  a  stipulation  was  made  in  favour  of 
private  ii^ividuals  whose  fortunes  had  suffered  by  the  revolutions 
and  wars,  ^d  these  having  been  invited  to  send  in  their  claims,  they 
poured  in  dn  every  side.  *  The  payment,  according  to  the  first  arrange- 
ment, was  to^ljS"  effected  by  inscriptions  on  the  great  book  of  the 
public  debt  of  France,  and  nine  millions  a  year  were  set  aside  for 
thart  purpose.  The  time,  however,  for  presenting  claims  was  not  to 
expire  until  the  28th  of  July,  1817,  when  the  sum  total  amounted  to 
a  sum  "  of  almost  fabulous  magnitude,  which  surpassed  the  value  of 
the  two  budgets  of  France."  What  was  to  be  done,  asks  the  author 
of  '•  The  Diplomatists  of  Europe,"  under  circumstances  of  so  much 
difficulty  ?  Russia  was  so  situated  as  naturally  to  assume  the  cha- 
racter of  a  mediator,  for  she  had  but  few  claims  ;  and  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  convinced  that  unless  the  negotiation  were  carried  on  by 
an  arbiter  common  to  all  parties,  it  would  fall  to  the  ground  before 
the  diversity  of  views  and  opinions,  proposed  to  intrust  it  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  making,  at  the  same  time,  a  sort  of  appeal  to  his 
generosity. 

Those  who  trusted  to  the  liberal  character  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  rendered  justice  alike  to  him  and  to  themselves.  It  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  scorn  a  claim  addressed  to  his  generosity,  even 
though,  as  in  this  case,  his  own  pecuniary  interests  and  public  func- 
tions were  likely  to  sustain  much  damage  from  an  abridgment  of  the 
five  years  during  which  he  had  expected  to  hold  command.  He  ac- 
cepted the  mediation.  A  congress  of  plenipotentiaries  assembled  at 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  to  discuss  the  subject.  Their  deliberations  were 
brief  France  had  kept  her  engagements  religiously  up  to  this  point. 
Order  had  been  re-established,  and  everything  justified  the  hope  of  a 
progressive  consolidation  of  the  repose  and  prosperity  of  the  nation. 
It  was  needless — it  would  have  been  cruel — to  have  checked  her  ad- 
vance in  happiness  by  rigidly  insisting  upon  the  observance  of  the 
Treaty.  Influenced  by  his  own  convictions,  the  arguments  of  Pozzo 
di  Borgo,  the  llussian  plenipotentiary,  and  the  urgent  appeals  of  the 
Due  de  llichclieu,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  energetically  adopted  the 
cause  of  France,  and  procured  the  assent'  of  the  allies  to  the 
evacuation  of  France  by  the  troops  he  commanded,  and  the  surrender 
of  a  portion  of  the  indemnity.  France,  to  this  hour,  remembers  the 
great  service  thus  rendered  by  the  man  she  had  been  taught  to  hate. 

Early  in  November,  1818,  the  Duke  quitted  the  army  of  occupation 
after  giving  expression  to  his  feelings  in  the  following  Genera! 
Order : — 


1818.]  EVAC^Uj^.^  of  FRANCK  83 

rintp- 


•'Field-Marshal  the H^Tof  Well.^gtoir  ,,3ifcT,ot  t.l.p  l-^v  nf  the 
troops  whom  he  had  the  hon  to 

them  his  gratitude  for  the  good  cc)i|^M|H^tuh  u^s  > 
during  the  time  they  have  been  unoi^^^ordeis. 
three  years  since  the  Allied  Sovereigns  crofided  to  the  F; 
the  chief  command  of  that  part  of  these  forces  which  cin 
rendei'ed  it  necessary  to  keep  in  France.    If  the  measures  whi? 
Majesties  commanded  have  been  executed  in  a  manner  to  give 
satisfaction,  this  result  must  be  wholly  attributed  to  the  prudent  and 
enlightened  conduct  manifested  on  all  occasions  by  their  ExcellenciiB 
the  Generals  commanding  in  chief;  to  the  good  example  which  they 
have  given  to  the  other  generals  and  officers  who  were  subordinate  to 
them  ;  and,  lastly,  to  the  excellent  discipline  which  has  always  pre- 
vailed in  the  contingents. 

"  It  is  with  regret  that  the  Field-Marshal  has  seen  the  moment 
arrive  when  the  dissolution  of  this  army  was  to  put  an  end  to  his 
public  connection  and  his  private  relations  with  the  commanders 
and  other  officers  of  the  corps  of  the  army.  The  Field-Marshal 
deeply  feels  how  agreeable  these  relations  have  been  to  him.  He 
begs  the  Generals  commanding  in  chief  to  receive,  and  make  known 
to  the  troops  under  their  orders,  the  assurance  that  he  shall  never 
cease  to  take  the  most  lively  interest  in  everything  that  may  concern 
them ;  and  that  the  remembrance  of  the  three  years  during  which 
he  has  had  the  honour  to  be  at  their  head  will  be  always  dear  to 
him. 

•    (Signed)  "  G.  Murray, 

"  Lieutenant-General,  and  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the  Allied  Army." 

The  Allied  Armies  began  to  evacuate  France  on  the  21st  of  No- 
vember, 1818.  A  week  previously,  the  Emperors  of  Austria  and  Rus- 
sia, and  the  King  of  Prussia,  to  mark  their  great  regard  for  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  created  him  a  Field-Marshal  of  their  respective 
armies. 


LIFE 


.A 


APSLEY    HOUSE. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Duke's  return — Appointed  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance — Birth  of  Queen  Vicloria — 
Accession  of  George  IV.— Queen  Caroline— Unpopularity  of  the  Duke— Trial  of  the  Quern 
—The  Congress  at  Verona— Death  of  Lord  Londonderry — The  Duke  goes  to  Verona- 
Result  of  his  mission. 


HE  return  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to 
England  for  a  permanency  was  a  source  of 
very  great  satisfaction  to  many  of  the  high- 
est members  of  the  nobility,  who  had  for  too 
long  a  time  been  denied  the  opportunity  of 
testifying  their  regard  for  one  of  their  own 
order  who  had,  by  a  long  series  of  tri- 
umphs, adorned  the  peerage  and  exalted  the 
British  character.  To  no  one,  however, 
was  his  arrival  more  agreeable  than  to  the 
Prince  Regent,  who  was  beginning  to  feel 
the  value  of  the  presence  of  a  councillor  and 
companion  who  had,  throughout  his  career, 
given  the  strongest  imaginable  proofs  of  his 
loyalty  and  truth. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  took  up  his  residence  at  Apsley  House 
in  Piccadilly.     He  had  purchased  the  mansion  of  his  brother  some 


1819.]  BIRTH   OF   QUEEN  VICTORIA.  '  85 

time  previously,  and  under  the  professional  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Wyatt,  the  celebrated  architect,  it  had  been  enlarged  and 
repaired — in  fact  it  was  almost  entirely  re-built.  Here  he  began  to 
give  those  annual  dinners  known  as  the  "  Waterloo  Banquet."  At 
first  they  took  place  in  the  dining-room,  and  the  guests  were  forty-two 
in  number  ;  but  they  gradually  increased  to  eighty  or  ninety — seldom 
falling  short  of  eighty-six — and  then  the  entertainments  were  given  in 
the  drawing-room,  which  acquired  the  title  of  the  "  Waterloo  Gallery." 

To  the  active  mind  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  idleness  would 
have  been  intolerable.  The  Government,  moreover,  were  sensible 
that  they  would  be  guilty  of  an  absurd  piece  of  self-denial  if  they 
did  not  avail  themselves  of  his  services  in  a  position  of  importance 
adequate  to  his  great  talents  and  merits.  Fortunately,  at  the 
moment  of  his  return  (December,  1818)  the  office  of  Master-General 
of  the  Ordnance — an  appointment  second  only  in  responsibility  to 
that  of  Commander-in-Chief — was  vacant,  and  this  was  immediately 
conferred  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  office  has  a  salary 
attached  to  it  of  £3000  per  annum,  and  the  Master-General  is  allowed 
a  Secretary  at  £1000  per  annum.  The  duties  comprehend  the  com- 
plete control  and  management  of  the  Artillery  branch  of  the  service, 
and  all  that  relates  to  it.  It  was  therefore  in  every  way  suited  to 
the  dignity,  the  tastes,  and  the  military  rank  of  the  Duke. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1819,  the  gracious  lady  of  these  realms, 
Queen  Victoria,  came  into  the  world  at  Kensington  Palace.  Amongst 
the  dignitaries  and  officers  of  state  present  at  the  auspicious  event 
was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  circumstance  could  not  fail  to 
have  its  influence  upon  the  mind  of  the  Duke.  It  imparted  an 
increased  degree  of  interest  to  his  connection  with  the  Crown  in 
after  years,  casting  a  halo  of  parental  affection  around  the  Royalty 
which,  under  any  circumstances,  he  would  have  been  proud  to  mani- 
fest towards  his  sovereign — and  that  sovereign  a  female. 

In  the  same  year  the  sinecure  office  of  Governor  of  Plymouth  was 
conferred  upon  the  Duke.  It  seemed  to  be  the  special  pleasure  of 
the  Prince  to  heap  honours  and  rewards  upon  the  man  who  had  for 
60  long  a  time  sustained  the  glory  of  the  British  arms,  and  was  now 
the  chosen  companion  of  the  Regent's  luxurious  leisure.  The 
Court  Circular  of  the  time  continually  makes  mention  of  the  visits 
of  the  Duke  at  Carlton  Palace,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
his  presence  imparted  dignity  even  to  a  Court,  which,  under  the 
auspices  of  Queen  Charlotte,  relaxed  nothing  of  the  severity  of  cere- 
monial and  coldness  of  punctilio  by  which  it  was  distinguished  through- 
out the  reign  of  George  III.     Early  in  the  following  year,  the  Duke 


86 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1820 


received  the  appointment  of  Colonel-in-cliief  of  the  Rifle  Brigade — 
an  appointment  of  more  honour  than  profit,  and  invariably  held  by  a 
military  oflacer  of  the  highest  rank.' 

George  III.  dying  in  1820,  the  crown  devolved  upon  the  Prince 
Regent,  who  had  for  several  years  exercised  the  monarchical  preroga- 
tive, and,  in  all  but  the  title,  was  the  sovereign  of  the  country. 

This  event  was  followed  by  the  appearance  in  England  of  the 
wife  of  George  IV.,  who  had  for  six  or  seven  years  been  residing 


LORD    ELDON. 

and  travelling  abroad.  She  came,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  her  wisest 
and  best  friends,  to  claim  the  right  of  being  crowned  with  her 
husband.  It  was  a  fatal  piece  of  folly.  Her  life  on  the  continent 
had  been  remarkable  for  its  irregularity,  its  indiscretions  and  sensuali- 
ties. If  absolutely  innocent,  she  had  been  so  entirely  regardless  of 
public  opinion,  that  guilt  was  generally  inferred.  But  although 
narrowly  watched  by  the  emissaries  of  tlie  King,  she  would  probably 
have  been  left  to  pursue  her  mad  career  with  impunity  had  she  not, 


I  The  emoluments  are  only  238/.  loi.  Od.  per  auniun. 


1820. 


QUEEN  CAROLINE   IN   ENGLAND. 


87 


by  coming  to  England,  raised  a  commotion  and  a  scandal,  and  forced 
the  issue  of  the  question  as  to  whether  she  should  continue  a  Queen. 
To  destroy  her  title  by  establishing  her  incontinency  became  now  the 
almost  unavoidable  alternative  of  the  King.  A  Bill  of  Pains  and 
Penalties  was  brought  in,  and  the  Queen  was  tried  by  the  House  of 
Lords.  The  evidence  was  of  a  revolting  description.  Some  of  the 
witnesses  grossly  perjured  themselves — others,  of  unquestionable 
integrity,  adduced  a  sufficiency  of  damnatory  facts,  to  shake  the  belief 


LORD   LIVERPOOL.. 


which  a  generous  public  wished  to  entertain  of  her  purity.  Great 
excitement  was  produced  out  of  doors  by  the  trial — society  divided 
itself  into  parties — the  press  became  either  her  champions  or  perse- 
cutors— family  feuds  arose  out  of  the  antagonistic  opinions  as  to  her 
innocence — and  the  King  himself,  who,  in  legal  parlance,  came  not 
into  court  with  clean  hands,  was  especially  the  object  of  public  vitu- 
peration. Lords  Liverpool  and  Eldon  (the  latter  Lord  Chancellor  of 
England),  were  the  King's  chief  advisers  in  the  matter,  and  conducted 
the   proceedings  with  courage  and  perseverance ;  but  the  principal 


88 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLmGTON. 


[1821 


supporter  of  the  monarch  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  Standing 
by  the  King  (his  favourite  expression)  in  the  time  of  difficulty,  he 
disregarded  vulgar  clamour,  and  beheld  with  supreme  indifference  the 
waning  of  a  popularity  on  which  he  had  never  set  much  store.  He 
could  not  contemplate  without  horror  the  attempt,  as  he  conceived  it, 
to  pollute  the  throne,  and  he  was  keenly  aflfected  by  the  deplorable 
spectacle  presented  to  other  nations,  by  the  contest  in  which  the 
highest  personages  in  the  realm  were  involved.  These  feelings  nerved 
his  defence  of  George  IV. 

The  issue  of  Queen  Caroline's  visit  to  England  is  written  in  the 
page  of  history.  The  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties  was  abandoned, 
because  the  Ministerial  or  Tory  majority  was  insignificant.  The 
Queen  continued  in  England,  however,  and  when  George  IV.  was 
crowned,  in  1821,  she  renewed  her  claims,  and  even  attempted  to 
force  herself  into  Westminster  Abbey  during  the  ceremonial.  The 
mob — as  much  from  dislike  to  the  King,  who  had  always  kept  himself 


THE  W.^LL  OK  TUE  CHATKAU  OF  IIOUGOUMONT. 

aloof  from  the  people,  as  from  any  settled  convictions  of  the  Queen's 
innocence,  and  the  integrity  of  her  pretensions — espoused  her  cause  ; 
but  the  clamour  was  borne  down  by  the  agents  of  authority,  and  the 
pageant  of  the  coronation  soon  diverted  attention  from  the  alleged 
persecution,  and  afforded  the  many-headed  monster  a  fertile  subject 
of  agreeable  excitement. 

At  the  coronation,  which  took  place  in  the  autumn  of  1821,  the 


1822.]  THE  CONGRESS  AT  VERONA.  89 

Duke  of  Wellington  officiated  as  Lord  High  Constable  of  England. 
Soon  afterwards  George  IV.  visited  Ireland,  and  subsequently  pro- 
ceeded to  his  Hanoverian  dominions.  Upon  the  latter  occasion,  the 
Duke  of  "Wellington  accompanied  him.  The  King  took  the  route  by 
way  of  Ostend  and  Brussels.  The  vicinity  of  the  field  of  Waterloo 
tempted  his  Majesty  to  proceed  to  the  locality  of  the  great  battle, 
and  he  enjoyed,  when  there,  the  inestimable  advantage  of  the  society 
of  the  Duke,  who,  acting  as  cicerone^  pointed  out  to  the  King  the 
scenes  of  the  various  contests  of  the  18th  June,  1815.  George  IV. 
was  gifted  with  a  strong  comprehension,  military  tastes,  and  a  perfect 
acquaintance  with  the  science  of  war.  With  all  the  details  of  the 
great  struggle  fresh  in  his  memory,  he  realised  with  facility  the  images 
conjured  up  by  the  exact  description  of  the  Duke.  The  contests  at 
Hougoumont  particularly  interested  the  King.  It  is  difficult  to 
say  who  was  the  proudest  man  on  that  day — the  King  who  heard 
upon  the  battle-field  the  story  of  the  battle  from  the  lips  of  the 
mightiest  soldier  in  the  memorable  fight — or  the  Field- Marshal,  who 
"  showed  how  fields  were  won,"  with  the  proudest  sovereign  in 
Europe  for  his  auditor. 

The  year  1822  saw  the  subject  of  this  biography  again  employed 
on  an  important  diplomatic  mission.  The  affairs  of  Europe  were 
terribly  out  of  joint.  Five  years'  experience  of  peace  and  absolutism, 
contrasting  as  it  did  very  forcibly  with  the  laissez  allcr  of  Juntas  and 
a  state  of  war,  had  fostered  a  restless  and  angry  spirit  among  the 
people  in  many  parts  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  Naples  and  Pied- 
mont became  the  theatre  of  revolutions  designed  to  destroy  authority. 
The  spirit  of  innovation  spread  in  Spain  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
country  was  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  distraction — on  the  very 
verge  of  social  dissolution :  not  so  much  by  the  struggle  between  the 
partisans  of  the  new  system  and  the  old,  or  by  the  dissensions  of  the 
Liberals  themselves,  as  by  mutual  jealousies,  their  ignorance  of  all 
practical  modes  of  administration,  and  their  atrocious  want  of  all  moral 
or  political  principle.  Turkey  too  had  presented  a  scene  of  continual 
disorder ;  there  had  been  an  insurrection  in  Albania,  and  two  insur- 
rections north  of  the  Danube.  And  in  Greece  and  its  islands  a  revolt 
had,  amid  outrages  and  butcheries  disgraceful  to  humanity,  acquired 
so  much  strength  as  to  render  the  struggle  with  the  Ottoman  Power 
of  exceedingly  dubious  issue.  In  France,  the  Ministry  had  been 
wavering  and  unsteady,  and  the  increase  of  the  public  prosperity  had 
failed  to  diminish  the  discontent  of  the  people. 

Uneasy  at  the  prospect  of  a  disturbance  of  the  monarchical  prin- 
ciple, the  Sovereigns  who  had  assisted  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna 


90 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[18i 


now  determined  to  meet  at  Yerona,  to  concoct  measures  for  the 
suppression  of  the  liberalism — as  they  denominated  the  resistance  to 
tyranny — disseminating  itself  over  Europe.  Lord  Castlereagh,  who 
had  become  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  was  to  represent  Great  Britain 
at  the  second  Congress,  but  the  eflforts  he  had  long  made  to  sustain  a 
position  of  responsibility  requiring  higher  intellectual  powers  than  he 
possessed,  had  now  begun  to  operate  upon  him.  His  mind  was  rap- 
idly giving  way.  The  Duke,  at  one  of  his  interviews  with  Lord  Lon- 
donderry, detected  the  approach  of  insanity,  and  bis  impressions 
received  a  dreadful  confirmation  in  the  self-destruction  of  the  unfor- 
tunate nobleman.  On  the  12th  of  August,  1822,  just  as  his  physician, 
who  was  latterly  in  frequent  attendance  upon  him,  was  entering  his 
dressing-room,  Lord  Londonderry  fell  a  corpse  into  his  arms.  He 
had  inflicted  a  deep  and  mortal  womid  upon  himself  in  the  carotid 
artery,  with  a  small  penknife  he  had  concealed  in  a  letter-case.' 


THE    RIGHT    UOX.    GEORGE    CANNING. 


The  Right  Hon.  George  Canning  succeeded  Lord  Londonderry  in 

I  As  Lord  Castlereagh,  he  had  become  so  very  unpopular,  from  liis  resistance  to  progrese,  hi* 
adherence  to  the  interests  of  absolute  monarchy,  and  his  domestic  Toryism,  that  the  multitude 


1822.]  THE  BRONZE  STATUE  OF  ACHILLES.  91 

the  office  of  Foreign  Minister.  Immediately  addressing  his  attention 
to  the  great  European  question  at  issue,  he  selected  the  Duke  of 
"Wellington  to  proceed  to  Verona,  as  the  best  substitute  for  Lord 
Castlereagh  available.  As  it  was  agreeable  to  George  IV.  that  he 
should  accept  the  office,  the  Duke  received  his  instructions  from 
Mr.  Canning  and  departed. 

Among  the  subjects  which  the  Sovereigns  assembled  at  Verona 
regarded  with  anxious  solicitude  was  the  state  of  Spain.  The  Spanish 
people  had  peremptorily  demanded  the  realisation  of  those  consti- 
tutional prospects  with  which  they  had  long  been  beguiled,  and  it 
seemed  probable  that  Ferdinand  VII.  would  be  compelled  to  yield. 
Such  a  compulsion  was  viewed  at  Verona  in  the  light  of  a  political 
sacrilege,  and  it  was  determined  by  France,  with  more  or  less  assent 
on  the  part  of  the  Allied  Crowns,  to  maintain  the  royal  prerogative  in 
Spain  by  force  of  arms.  When  the  actual  invasion  of  Spain  by  a 
French  army,  in  support  of  absolutist  principles,  was  announced  to 
the  world,  it  was  loudly  exclaimed,  that  either  the  instructions 
given  to  the  Duke  by  Mr.  Canning  must  have  been  disregarded, 
or  that  the  Government  had  been  grossly  inattentive  to  its  duty, 
in  permitting  such  an  outrage  upon  the  independence  and  liberties 
of  a  people.  The  debates  in  Parliament  were  long  and  violent, 
and  though  those  were  not  times  of  Ministerial  minorities,  the 
Opposition  produced  some  impression  by  their  protests.  The 
Duke  defended  himself  by  proving  what  could  never,  of  so  strict 
a  disciplinarian,  have  been  seriously  disbelieved — that  he  had  faith- 
fully conformed  to  his  instructions,  that  those  instructions  included 
no  authority  to  use  menace,  but  that,  as  far  as  influence  or  remon- 
strance could  go,  he  had  strongly  dissuaded  such  interference  with 
the  affairs  of  the  Spanish  nation,  and  had  set  the  difficulties  of 
Peninsular  intervention  in  the  fullest  light  from  his  own  experience. 
At  this  distance  of  time  we  can  see  that  the  affair,  like  many  of  our 
own  day,  was  magnified  beyond  its  due  proportions  for  party 
purposes.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suspect  that  the  Duke,  who 
had  no  personal  sympathies  with  Canning,  and  few.  as  yet,  with  his 
politics,  may  have  co-operated  somewhat  ungraciously  with  the  liberal 
successor  of  Castlereagh  ;  but,  apart  from  his  invariable  fidelity  to 
his  duties,  it  is  perfectly  certain,  from  his  known  opinions,  that  he 
must  have  been  opposed  to  the  renewal  of  war  in  the  Peninsula 
under  circumstances  like  these.  He  may  have  had  very  little 
affection  for  Spanish  patriots,  and  he    may  have    thought   that  the 

exulted  at  his  death.    In  the  "  Life  of  Lord   Eldon"  it   is  stated,  that   when  the  corpse  was 
taken  out  of  the  hearse  at  Westminster  Abbey,  the  mob  cheered  for  joy  that  he  was  no  morel 


92 


LITE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1823. 


neutrality  professed  by  his  Government  would  have  been  as  truly 
violated,  by  contesting  the  decisions  of  Russia  or  France,  as  by  dic- 
tating terms  to  Spain  ;  but  his  opposition  to  the  project  was  doubtless 
exerted  as  cordially  as  his  position  allowed.' 

In  this  year  (1822),  on  the  18th  of  June,  the  bronze  statue  of 
Achilles,  subscribed  for  by  the  ladies  of  England,  between  1819  and 
1821,  and  alluded  to  in  a  foregoing  page,  was  erected  in  Hyde  Park, 
is  a  memorial  of  the  warrior  Duke. 

I  Memoir  of  Uie  Duke  published  in  the  Time*  of  the  ICth  September,  1852. 


TUE   TOW.V    OF    WELLINOTON. 


1826.] 


THE  PICTURES  AT  APSLEY  HOUSK 


CHAPTER  IX, 


Three  yeara  of  Idleness— Apsley  House— The  pictures— The  Greek  question— Embassy  to  St. 
Petersburgh— Death  of  the  Duke  of  York— The  Duke  of  Wellington  appointed  Commander- 
in-Chief— Death  of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool— Mr.  Caiming  forms  a  Ministry— Resignation  of 
the  Duke— His  reasons  for  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  and  the  command  of  the 
Army. 

HE  feeling  which  had  been  engen- 
dered in  England  by  the  Duke's 
espousal  of  the  cause  of  the  King 
on  the  occasion  of  Queen  Caroline's 
return,  and  the  absence  of  any  ne- 
cessity for  his  appearing  prominently 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  or  elsewhere, 
rendered  the  three  years  between 
1823  and  1826  a  blank  in  his  Grace's 
public  existence.  Mention  is  rarely 
made  of  him  in  the  papers  and 
periodicals  of  the  day,  excepting 
in  connection  with  the  ordinary 
chroniclings  of  "  The  Court  of 
Fashion."  He  passed  much  of  his 
time  in  improving  his  country  seat,  and  in  decorating  his  mag- 
nificent town  dwelling.  The  latter  became  the  receptacle  of  a 
great  number  of  beautiful  works  of  art,  many  of  which  had  for- 
Eierly  graced  the  palace  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  at  Madrid,  falling 
into  the  possession  of  the  Duke  after  the  battles  of  Salamanca 
and  Vittoria.  The  front  drawing-room  of  Apsley  House  was 
particularly  distinguished  by  the  high  character  of  the  paintings. 
The  Italian  and  Spanish  masters  occupied  conspicuous  places,  but 
the  Duke  generally  preferred  the  Dutch  school.  The  familiar  pictures 
of  Jan  Stein  and  Cuyp  found  an  ardent  admirer  in  him,  and  our  own 


§4  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1826. 

AVilkie  came  in  for  a  share  of  Lis  patronage.  The  celebrated  picture 
of  "  TJte  Che/sea  Pensioners  reading  an  account  of  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo]''  was  purchased  for,  and  still  adorns  the  walls  of  Apsley 
House/  and  near  to  it  is  a  companion  picture,  "  Tlie  Greemoich  Pen- 

1  The  JHuitraUd  London  .Vews  of  the  '20th  November,  1852,  gives  the  following  interesting 
abstract  of  U'llkie's  own  account  of  the  preparation  of  the  picture  :— 

"When  it  was  known  (says  Cunningham,  in  his  'Life,')  that  Wilkie  was  engaged  on  a 
picture  for  the  Duke  of  Wellington  of  a  military  nature,  great  was  the  stir  in  the  ranks  of  the 
array,  and  likewise  in  society ;  Uie  current  of  a  heady  flght  was  in  the  fancy  of  some,  while 
others  believed  he  would  choose  the  field  after  the  battle  was  fought,  and  show  the  mangled 
relics  of  war— 

'• '  ^Vith  many  a  sweet  babe  fatherless, 
And  many  a  widow  mourning ;' 

bat  no  one  guessed  that  out  of  the  wooden  legs,  mutilated  arms,  and  the  pension  lists  of  old 
Chelsea,  he  was  about  to  evoke  a  picture  which  the  heart  of  the  nation  would  accept  as  a  re- 
membrance of  Waterloo,  a  battle  which  had  filled  the  eyes  of  Britain  with  mingled  gladness  and 
tears.  Amongst  those  who  were  touched  by  the  subject  was  Sir  Willoughby  Gordon,  a  soldier 
of  the  old  Scottish  stamp,  whose  name  appears  early  in  the  list  of  the  painter's  admirers ;  of 
whom  the  following  entries  in  the  painter's  journal  speak : — 

" '  JVov.  28/A,  1818.  Sir  Willoughby  Gordon  called,  and  expressed  a  strong  wish  to  possess 
my  sketch  of  'The  Chelsea  Pensioners.'  I  mentioned  the  price  of  sixty  guineas,  to  wliich  he 
agreed. 

^^Dee.  ii3rd.  Left  a  note  at  Apsley  House,  to  inform  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington  that  1 
had  prepared  a  sketch  of  '  The  Chelsea  Pensioner?,'  and  would  be  proud  to  submit  it  to  his 
Grace's  consideration  either  at  Apsley  House  or  at  Kensington.' 

"Subsequent  entries  show  how  the  Duke  and  the  artist  were  at  cross  purposes  for  some  little 
lime,  ere  they  could  come  to  a  meeting  upon— to  the  latter  all-engrossing  point— the  order  of 
the  day  for  his  great  work  : — 

^*Jan.  24tA,  1819.  Went  to  dine  with  Haydn,  and  when  absent  was  so  unfortunate  as  to 
miss  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  did  me  the  honour  to  call  about  three  o'clock.  His  Grace 
looked  at  the  sketch,  but  made  scarcely  any  remark  upon  it ;  but  both  the  Duke  and  the  friend 
that  was  with  him  seemed  to  look  with  attention  at  'The  Wedding'  and  at  'Duncan  Gray.' 
His  Grace  said,  when  going,  that  ho  would  call  again. 

"'20£A.  Sent  a  note  to  the  Duke,  to  express  my  regret,  and  to  say  that,  after  Tuesday,  when 
my  picture  ('  The  Penny  Wedding ')  was  to  bo  delivered  at  Carlton  House,  I  should  be  at  home 
constantly. 

"■^ Feb.  264A.  Called  .it  Apsley  House.  The  Duke  sent  me  out  word  that  he  had  to  attend  a 
committee,  and  begged  tliat  I  would  call  some  other  day. 

"'27tA.  Went  to  .Apsley  House  again,  and  took  my  sketch  with  me.  The  Duke  still  could  not 
see  me,  but  requested  that  I  would  leave  my  sketch.' 

"  At  length  on  the  7th  of  March,  he  calls  again  at  Apsley  House,  has  an  interview  with  the 
Duke, '  who  told  me  he  wished  to  have  In  the  picture  more  of  the  soldiers  of  the  present  day, 
instead  of  those  I  had  put  of  half  a  century  ago.  He  wished  me  to  make  a  slight  sketch  of  the 
alteration,  and  would  call  on  me  in  a  week  or  ten  days  and  look  at  it. 

"The  alterations  were  put  In  progress,  but  the  Duke  does  not  appear  to  have  called  till  the 
18th  of  June,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle,  when  Wilkio  unfortunately  was  again  absent,  dining 
with  Haydn,  and  so  missed  the  Duke. 

"'On  coming  home  in  the  evening,'  the  journal  says:— 'found  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
had  called  about  five  o'clock,  with  two  ladies,  one  of  whom  sccraed  to  be  the  Duchess.  My 
fistcr  saw  them,  and  showed  them  the  pictures  and  sketches.  His  Grace  mentioned  what  be 
liked  and  disliked  in  the  last  sketch  I  made,  and  leiX  word  that  be  should  be  at  home  if  I 


1826.]  WILKIE'S   CHELSEA   PENSIONERS,  95 

sioners  2^enising  the  Description  of  Trafalgar.  In  later  years,  the 
Duke  purchased  and  adorned  his  walls  with   Sir  W.  Allan's  gigantic 

called  any  morning  before  twelve  o'clock.'  Accordingly,  Wilkle  called  a  week  after,  but  the 
Duke  '  sent  out  word  he  was  engaged,  but  requested  the  sketches  to  be  left,  and  he  would  call 
upon  me  in  a  few  days.' 

"  The  above  notes  show  that  the  Duke  had  a  will  of  his  own,  even  in  regard  to  a  picture, 
and  was  precise  in  explaining  his  views.  In  the  following  passage  we  find  that  he  was  open 
to  conviction,  and  could  yield  a  point  or  two  to  others  in  matters  of  which  they  might  be  sup- 
posed to  know  more  than  himself. 

"  In  his  objections  to  the  introduction  of  the  man  with  the  ophthalmia  the  Duke  was  firm  ; 
and  he  was  right,  both  in  point  of  feeling  and  of  artistic  taste : — 

"  '  July  lith.  Called  at  Apsley  House.  Mr.  Long  (afterwards  Lord  Famborough)  there,  and, 
after  waiting  a  considerable  time,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  came  from  a  review  in  the  Park.  He 
showed  Mr.  Long  the  two  sketches  of 'The  Chelsea  Pensioners,'  stating  what  he  liked  and 
disliked,  and  observing  that  out  of  the  two  a  picture  might  be  made  that  would  do.  He  preferred 
the  one  with  the  young  figures ;  but,  as  Mr.  Long  remonstrated  against  the  old  fellows  being 
taken  out,  the  Duke  agreed  that  the  man  reading  should  be  a  pensioner,  besides  some  others 
in  the  picture.  He  wished  that  the  piper  might  be  put  In,  also  the  old  man  with  the  wooden 
leg ;  but  he  objected  to  the  man  with  the  ophthalmia.  I  then  asked  the  Duke  if  I  might  now 
begin  the  picture,  and  he  said  immediately  if  I  pleased.    I  brought  the  sketches  home  with  me.' 

"Wilkieset  to  work  accordingly,  and  painted  ou  so  miremittingly,  as  to  Injure  his  health. 
On  the  30th  of  October,  1820,  he  writes  to  Sir  George  Beaumont :—' My  picture  of 'The 
Chelsea  Pensioners'  is  in  progress ;  but,  previous  to  my  leaving  town,  imderwent  a  complete 
alteration,  or  rather  transposition  of  all  the  figures.  The  effect  has  been  to  concentrate  the 
interest  to  one  point,  and  to  improve  the  composition  by  making  it  more  of  a  whole.  The 
background  is  almost  a  correct  view  of  the  place  itself,  and  is  remarkably  favourable  for  the 
picture.' 

"  Mr.  Cunningham  says  :— 

" '  The  ■•  Waterloo  Gazette'  was  like  a  spell  on  Wilkie  during  the  whole  of  the  year  1821, 
and  as  far  into  the  succeeding  year  as  the  month  of  April,  when  it  went  to  the  Exhibition : 
those  who  were  curious  in  such  things  might  have  met  him  after  measuring  the  ground,  as  it 
were,  where  the  scene  of  his  picture  is  laid,  watching  the  shadows  of  the  houses  and  trees, 
eyeing  every  picturesque  pensioner  who  passed,  and  taking  heed  of  jutting  houses,  projecting 
signs,  and  odd  gates,  in  the  odd  rabblement  of  houses  which,  in  days  before  the  cholera  and 
amended  taste,  formed  the  leading  street,  or  rather  road,  of  Chelsea.  Nor  had  he  seen  without 
emotion,  as  I  have  heard  him  say,  the  married  soldiers  when  they  returned  from  the  dreadful 
wars ;  sometimes  two  legs,  as  he  observed,  to  three  men,  accompanied  by  women,  most  of 
whom  had  seen,  and  some  had  shared  in,  the  perils  and  hardships  in  the  Spanish  campaigns, 
or  had  witnessed  the  more  dreadful  Waterloo,  and  soothed  or  ministered  to  the  wounded  as 
they  were  borne  from  the  field — 

"  '  When,  from  each  anguish-laden  wain, 
The  blood-drops  laid  the  dust  like  rain.' 

"  '  With  these,  Chelsea  mingled  veterans  who  had  been  at  Bimker's-hill  and  Saratoga ; 
others  were  blinded  with  the  hot  sands  of  India  or  Egypt,  or  carried  the  scars  of  the  Duke  of 
York's  campaign  in  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  of  the  French  Revolution.  He  brooded 
over  all  these  matters.  Every  time  he  visited  Chelsea,  and  saw  groups  of  soldiers  pnid  and 
disbanded,  and  observed  their  convivialities,  the  more  was  he  confirmed  that  the  choice  of  the 
picture  was  excellent,  and  that  even  the  desire  of  the  Duke  to  mingle  the  soldiers  of  his  own 
great  battles  with  the  hoary  veterans  of  the  American  War  had  its  advantages.' 

"Mrs.  Thompson,  wife  of  Dr.  A.  T.  Thompson,  states,  in  a  pleasing  narrative,  how  Wilkie 
used  to  go  continually  to  Jews'-row,  Chelsea,  to  sketch  an  old  projecting  house,  under  the 
shade  of  which  some  of  his  groups  were  placed. 


96  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLrNQTON.  [1521 

picture  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  the  only  faithful  representation 
of  the   battle    that  had    ever   appeared.     It    possessed  the   peculiar 

« '  I  remember,'  proceeds  this  accomplished  lady,  '  how  he  rejoiced  over  the  picturcsquo 
attributes  of  Jews'-row,  and  loved  to  emimerate  its  peculiarities.  I  do  not  know  whelher  you 
know  it :  it  is  a  low  Teniers-like  row  of  extremely  mean  public-houses,  lodging-houses,  rag- 
shops,  and  huckster-shops,  on  the  right  hand  as  you  approach  Chelsea  College.  It  is  the  PaU 
Mall  of  the  pensioners;  and  iU  projecting  gables,  breaks,  and  other  irregularities,  were 
admirably  suited,  in  the  artist's  opinion,  for  the  localities  of  the  picture  which  then  was  formed 
in  his  mind.  Tlicre  is,  you  know,  a  young  child  in  the  picture  half  springing  out  of  its  mother's 
arms.  The  attitude  of  the  child,  which  is  nature  itself,  was  suggested  by  a  momentary  motion 
which  he  observed  in  one  of  my  children ;  and  he  asked  again  and  again  to  see  the  child,  in 
order  to  confirm  that  impression,  and  fix  the  same  effect.' 

"At  length  the  picture  was  finished,  and  ready  for  the  Exhibition  in  1822.  On  the  27th 
of  February,  ^Vilkie  writes: — 

" 'Had  the  honour  of  a  call  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  see  the  picture.  He  seemed 
highly  pleased  with  it;  took  notice  of  the  black's  head  and  old  Doggy,  and  of  the  black  dog 
which  followed  the  Blues  in  Spain;  observed  that  it  was  more  fini-shed  than  any  I  had  done; 
was  interested  with  what  I  told  him  of  the  people,  and  where  they  had  served;  and  seemed 
pleased  with  the  young  man  at  the  table,  and  with  the  circumstance  that  old  Doggy  had 
been  at  the  siege  of  Gibraltar.' 

"The  picture  was  hung  at  the  Royal  Academy  in  the  centre,  on  the  fire-place,  with 
Jackson's  portrait  of  the  Duke  of  York  on  the  one  side,  and  Lawrence's  portrait  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  on  the  other ;  an  arrangement  with  which  the  artist  was  much  pleased.  The 
Duke  was  pleased  also.  He  was  present  at  the  opening  dinner,  and 'appeared  much  pleased 
with  the  picture,  and  with  the  satisfaction  it  seemed  to  give  to  other  people.' 

"The  crushing  and  crowding  to  see  this  picture  were  greater  than  had  ever  been  known  in 
any  similar  case : — 

" '  The  battle  of  Waterloo  itself,'  says  Cunningham,  '  made  scarcely  a  greater  stir  in 
the  land  than  did  'The  reading  of  the  Gazette,'  when  it  appeared  in  the  Academy 
Exhibition.  The  hurry  and  the  crush  of  all  ranks  to  see  it,  which  Wilkie  has  described  tn 
his  journal,  was  surpassed  by  the  reality ;  a  crowd,  in  the  shape  of  a  half-moon,  stood  before 
it  from  morning  to  night,  the  taller  looking  over  the  heads  of  the  shorter;  while  happy  was 
the  admirer  who  could  obtain  a  peep,  and  happier  still  they  who,  by  patient  wailing,  were 
rewarded  witli  a  full  sight,  as  some  of  the  earlier  comers  retire<l,  wearied  but  not  satisfied. 
Soldiers  hurried  from  drill  to  see  it ;  the  pensioners  came  on  crutches,  and  brought  with  them 
their  wives  and  children  to  have  a  look  ;  and  as  many  of  the  heads  were  portraits,  these  were 
eagerly  pointed  out,  and  the  fortunate  heroes  named,  sometimes  with  a  shout.  Such  was  the 
enthusiasm  which  the  picture  inspired.' 

"The  artist,  trembling  for  the  safety  of  his  picture,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  President, 
requesting  him  to  cause  a  railing  to  be  erected  round  it;  a  request  which  Sir  Thomaa 
Lawrence,  with  his  usual  good  and  gentlemanly  feeling,  himself  superintended  before  eight  o'clock 
on  the  very  day  following. 

"The  Duke  of  Wellington,  if  not  a  lavish  man,  was  a  liberal  man;  ho  thought  every  man 
who  did  his  duly  should  have  his  due.  Accordingly,  wo  find  the  following  entries  in  the 
artist's  journal  :— 

"'Ju/y20«A.  Received  a  no le  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  asking  what  he  was  indebted 
for  the  picture. 

"'This  pictiu-e  contains  sixty  figures,  and  took  me  full  sixteen  months'  constant  work, 
besides  months  of  study  to  collect  and  arrange.  It  was  ordered  by  the  Duke  in  the  summet 
of  181G,  the  year  afler  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Ilia  Grace's  object  was  to  have  British 
soldiers  regaling  at  Chelsea;  and,  in  justice  to  him,  as  well  as  to  myself,  it  is  but  right  to 
state  that  tho  introduction  of  the  Gazette  was  a  subsoquent  idea  of  ray  own,  to  unite  tho 
Interest,  aiKl  iflve  importance  to  tiic  business  of  the  piotujrft 


182Y.]  EMBASSY  TO  RUSSIA.  97 

recommendation,  in  the  Duke's  eyes,  of  giving  prominence  to 
Napoleon  and  the  French  troops,  merely  showing  the  British  Field- 
Marshal  in  the  distance.'  But  this  homage  to  Napoleon's  military 
genius  shone  conspicuously  in  other  rooms  in  the  mansion.  There 
vfere — there  still  are  (for  they  are  inalienable  from  the  title  of 
Wellington)  numerous  portraits  of  Napoleon  and  his  generals,  Soult, 
Massena,  &c.,  but  not  a  single  picture  of  the  Duke  himself  His 
own  friends  and  favourites  in  every  variety  of  style,  from  the  kit- 
cat  to  the  life-size  portrait,  abounded ;  Lords  Anglesey  and  Fitzroy 
Somerset,  &c  ,  and  the  present  Duchess  of  Wellington  (then  Mar- 
chioness of  Douro),  to  whom  the  Duke  was  always  much  attached ; 
while  of  the  noble  owner  of  the  mansion  there  was  but  one  effigy — a 
bust  by  Nollekens — which  occupied  by  no  means  a  conspicuous  situa- 
tion in  the  dwelling. 

Strathfieldsaye,  as  each  autumn  came  round,  presented  a  succession 
of  visitors,  many  of  whom  partook  of  the  sports  of  the  field.  "  The 
Duke  was  a  fox-hunter,""  spending  as  many  hours  in  the  saddle  in 
this  country,  in  the  pursuit  of  healthful  pleasure,  as  he  was  accustomed 
to  spend  in  the  Peninsula  and  the  Netherlands,  in  the  service  of  his 
country. 

At  Strathfieldsaye  the  Duke  raised  a  monument  to  poor  old  Copen- 
hagen^ his  favourite  Waterloo  horse. 

In  the  year  1826  it  became  necessary  to  despatch  a  special  Ambas- 
sador to  St.  Petersburgh.  The  struggle  of  the  Greeks  for  liberty 
was  approaching  a  climax.  Aided  by  the  money  and  the  sympathy 
of  Englishmen — among  whom  Lord  Byron  occupied  a  foremost 
position^ — and  still  more  by  the  clandestine  contributions  of  Russia, 


"'S^nii.  Sent  the  picture  to  Apsley  House,  with  a  bill  of  the  price,  which,  after  mature  con- 
sideration, 1  put  at  12C0;.,  i.  e.  twelve  hundred  guineas. 

" '  23r<i.  Was  told  by  Sir  VVilloughby  Gordon  that  his  Grace  was  satisfied  to  give  twelve  hun- 
dred guineas  for  the  picture,  and  gave  Sir  W.  leave  to  tell  me  so. 

"'25fA.  At  the  Duke's  request,  waited  upon  him  at  Apsley  House,  when  he  counted  out  the 
money  to  me  in  bank-notes,  on  receiving  which  I  told  his  Grace  that  I  considered  myself  hand- 
somely treated  by  him  throughout.'  " 

1  It  is  from  a  recollection  of  the  general  character  of  this  picture,  which  the  writer  of  this 
biography  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  in  Apsley  House  some  time  since,  that  the  pictorial 
sketch  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  in  a  foregoing  page,  has  been  taken. 

"-  Mr.  Apperly  (Nimrod,  as  he  called  himself)  in  his  articles  on  the  Turf  and  the  Chase,  in  the 
"  Quarterly  Peview,"  could  not  find  a  more  suitable  peroration  than  this  simple  phrase.  It  em- 
bodied at  once  a  justification  and  a  recommendation  of  the  sport,  and  exhibited  its  connection 
with  the  highest  modern  chivalry. 

3  Byron's  sympathies  with  the  cause  of  Greece,  "  But  living  Greece  no  more,"  are  familiar 
to  the  reader.  He  went  thither  to  assist  her  with  his  influence  and  money  in  1823, 
»nd  after  his  arrival  at  Missolonghi,  in  January  of  the  following  year,  he  was  appointed 
VOL,    II.  2  I 


98 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 


j;i827. 


whose  connection  with  the  Greek  Church,  independently  of  her 
political  interests,  had  rendered  her  keenly  alive  to  the  results  of  the 
struggle,  the  Greeks  had  made  considerable  head  against  their 
Mussulman  persecutors,  and  had  established  a  species  of  Provisional 
Government   of  their   own.      Nothing   was   wanting   but   the    open 


COPENHAGEN S   GRAVE. 


espousal  of  her  interests  by  some  great  European  Power  to  sever  the 
connection  of  Greece  with  Turkey.  Russia  was  prepared  to  make 
the  declaration,  and,  of  course,  to  reap  her  recompense,  in  the 
establishment  of  her  power  and  authority  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Canning  saw  the  danger  which  menaced  British  interests.  To  pre- 
vent altogether  the  interference  of  Russia  was  impossible.  The  only 
way  in  which  it  could  be  kept  within  due  bounds  was  by  inducing 
the  Court  of  St.  Petcrsburgh  to  act  in  common  with  England,  and 
other  powers,  as  meditators  in  the  quarrel  between  Turkey  and 
Greece.     To  this  end  a  special  embassy  became  necessary,  and  the 


Coraraander-in-Chief  of  nn  expedition  against  Lcpanto,  then  held  by  the  Turks,    He  was  seized 
viUi  illness  in  the  following  montti,  and  died  in  April,  1824. 


1827.]  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK.  99 

Duke  of  Wellington  was  solicited  to  fulfil  the  delicate  and  important 
mission.  His  firm  unbending  character — his  rigid  adherence  to  the 
path  of  diplomacy  chalked  out  for  him — were  guarantees  that  the 
interests  of  Great  Britain  were  safe  in  his  hands.  The  friendship 
which  the  Emperor  Nicholas — for  the  Czar  Alexander  had  died — 
entertained  for  the  Duke,  likewise  encouraged  a  belief  that  Kussia 
would  be  more  disposed  to  give  way  than  if  the  negotiations  were  con- 
ducted by  an  English  ambassador  who  was  personally  a  stranger  at 
the  Court. 

The  Duke  proceeded  to  St.  Petersburgh.  The  coronation  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  supplied  an  excuse  for  the  splendour  of  the  em- 
bassy. His  reception  was  all  that  could  be  desired — it  certainly  was 
deserved.  Upon  the  anniversary  of  the  entrance  of  the  allied 
armies  into  Paris,  the  Emperor  paid  him  a  very  high  compliment. 
He  addressed  him  an  autograph  letter,  in  which  he  told  the  Duke  that 
in  order  to  testify  to  him  his  particular  esteem  of  his  great  qualities, 
and  for  the  distinguished  services  he  had  rendered  to  the  whole  of 
Europe,  he  had  given  orders  that  the  Smolensko  Regiment  of  In- 
fantry, formed  by  Peter  the  Great,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  his  army,  which  was  formerly  under  the  Duke's  command  in 
France,  should  thenceforward  be  called  "  The  Duke  of  Wellington's 
Regiment." 

The  mission  of  the  Duke  was  perfectly  successful.  It  was  agreed 
between  England  and  Russia,  in  concert  with  France,  who  readily 
became  a  party  to  the  arrangement,  that  the  Ottoman  Porte  should 
be  called  upon  to  offer  certain  terms  to  the  Greeks,  which  the 
Greeks  should  be  called  on  to  accept ;  and  that  ulterior  -measures^ — 
a  significant  phrase,  comprehending  a  resort  to  arms, — should  be 
adopted  to  obtain  the  assent  of  such  of  the  parties  as  might  prove 
refractory.  The  terms  to  be  proposed  were,  that  the  Turkish  Sultan 
should  still  retain  a  nominal  sovereignty  over  the  Greeks,  receive 
from  them  a  fixed  annual  tribute,  and  have  some  determinate  voice 
in  the  nomination  of  the  authorities  by  whom  they  were  to  be 
governed  ;  but  those  authorities  should  be  directly  chosen  by  the 
Greeks  themselves.  All  Mussulmans  possessing  property  in  Greece 
were  to  give  it  up,  and  receive  indemnification  by  some  arrangement 
to  be  afterwards  concocted.  The  object  of  the  plan  was  "  to  bring 
about  a  complete  separation  between  the  two  nations,  and  to 
prevent  the  collisions  which  are  the  inevitable  consequences  of  so 
long  a  struggle."  The  result  of  this  proposal  will  be  hereafter  men- 
tioned. 

At   the   close  of   1826,  the  Duke  of  Wellington   was   appointed 


100  LIFE   OF   THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827. 

Constable  of  the  Tower  of  London,  vacating  the   Governorship  of 
Plymouth. 

Early  in  1827,  died,  Frederick  Duke  of  York,  the  second  son 
of  George  III.,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  army.  His 
death  was  a  subject  of  national  grief; — to  the  army  the  loss  was 
irreparable.  He  had  been  for  thirty-two  years  at  its  head,  and  his 
administration  of  it  did  not  merely  improve, — it  created  an  army. 
From  the  earliest  date  of  his  appointment  he  applied  himself  to  the 
correction  of  the  abuses  which  at  that  time  disgraced  the  internal 
organisation  of  the  force,  rendering  its  bravery  ineffectual.  His 
personal  experience  in  the  Netherlands,  during  the  war  of  the  French 
Revolution  had  bitterly  proved  the  necessity  of  extensive  reforms,  and 
he  only  waited  the  opportunity  which  supreme  command  gave  him, 
of  carrying  them  out  vigorously  and  rapidly.  He  at  once  identified 
himself  with  the  welfare  and  the  fame  of  the  service.  He  possessed 
great  readiness  and  clearness  of  comprehension  in  discovering  means, 
and  great  steadiness  and  honesty  of  purpose  in  applying  them.  By 
unceasing  diligence  he  gave  to  the  common  soldier  comfort  and 
respectability ;  the  army  ceased  to  be  considered  a  sort  of  pest-house 
for  the  reception  of  moral  lepers  ;  discipline  and  regularity  were 
exacted  with  unyielding  strictness  ;  the  officers  were  raised  by  a  gradual 
and  well-ordered  system  of  promotion,  which  gave  merit  a  chance, 
instead  of  being  pushed  aside  to  make  way  for  mere  ignorant  rank 
and  wealth.  The  head  as  well  as  the  heart  of  the  soldier  took  a 
higher  pitch  the  best  man  in  the  field  was  the  most  welcome  at 
the  Horse  Guards ;  there  was  no  longer  even  a  suspicion  that 
unjust  partiality  disposed  of  commissions,  or  that  peculation  was 
allowed  to  fatten  upon  the  spoils  of  the  men.  The  officer  knew  that 
one  path  was  open  to  all ;  and  the  private  felt  that  his  recompense 
was  secure.  The  spirit  thus  produced  soon  showed  its  effects  in  the 
field. 

"  The  private  character  of  the  Duke  of  York,  frank,  honourable, 
and  sincere — was  formed  to  conciliate  personal  attachments ;  a 
personal  enemy  he  had  never  made ;  and  a  friend  once  gained, 
he  had  never  lost.  Failings  there  were ;  he  was  improvident  in 
pecuniary  matters ;  his  love  of  pleasure,  though  it  observed  the 
decencies,  did  not  always  respect  the  moralities  of  private  life ; 
and  his  errors,  in  that  respect,  had  been  paraded  in  the  public 
view  by  the  labours  of  unsparing  malice,  and  shameless,  unblushing 
profligacy.  But  in  the  failings  of  the  Duke  of  York  there  was 
nothing  that  was  un-English — nothing  that  was  un-princcly ;  and 
those  whose  own  reflections  while  they  enjoy  tranquillity  of  conscious 


1827.] 


THE   DUKE   COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 


101 


virtue,  tell  them  likewise  through  what  difficulties  that  tranquillity 
must  be  pursued,  even  in  the  more  uniform  paths,  and  under  the 
more  sober  lights  of  private  life,  will  most  easily  forgive  the  aberra- 
tions  into  which  the   less  fortunate  are   seduced,  amid   the  devious 


THE    DUKE    OF    YORK   IN    THE    COEONATION    COSTUME. 


paths  and  false  and  dazzling  glare  of  courtly  temptation.  Never  was 
man  more  easy  of  access,  more  fair  and  upright  in  his  dealings,  more 
affable,  and  even  simple,  in  his  manners.  Every  one  who  had  inter- 
course with  him  was  impressed  with  the  openness,  sincerity,  and  kind- 
ness which  appeared  in  all  his  actions  ;  and  it  was  truly  said  of  him 
that  he  never  broke  a  promise,  and  never  deserted  a  friend.  Beloved 
by  those  who  enjoyed  the  honour  of  his  private  intercourse,  his  ad- 
ministration of  a  high  public  office  had  excited  one  universal  sentiment 
of  respect  and  esteem." 

The  Parliament  met  soon  after  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  York. 
All  parties  in  both  Houses  joined  in  panegyrising  his  good  qualities 


102  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827 

Mr.  Peel  said  : — "  The  Duke  had  been  forty-sis  years  a  soldier  ;  and 
when  he  came  into  office  he  had  declared,  that  no  man  should,  for  the 
future,  labour  under  the  disadvantages  which  he  had  had  to  contend 
with.  To  enumerate  all  the  benefits  which  the  Duke  had  conferred 
upon  the  array,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  through  many  details  of 
various  regulations  connected  with  religious  duties,  with  military 
schools,  with  points  of  discipline,  and  with  the  security  of  fair  hopes 
of  promotion  to  every  man  in  the  service.  But  it  was  sufficient  to 
recollect  that,  while  the  Duke  of  York  held  the  office  of  Commander- 
in-Chief,  every  man  knew  that  justice  would  be  done  him  ;  and  it  was 
by  this,  and  not  by  the  minute  regulations  of  discipline,  that  the 
English  army  had  obtained  that  plastic  energy  which  distinguished 
the  free  soldier  from  another.  During  the  long  period — during  the 
ten  thousand  days  in  which  the  Duke  of  York  had  been  in  office — he 
(Mr.  Peel)  did  not  think  that  one  of  those  days  had  passed  without 
bis  devoting  some  portion  of  it  to  the  business  of  his  official  situation. 
No  letter  ever  came  to  the  office  which,  if  it  had  a  signature,  was  not 
read  and  attended  to.  Individuals  might  frequently  have  mistaken 
the  proper  quarter  to  which  their  applications  should  be  addressed  ; 
but  even  in  these  cases  a  civil  answer  was  always  returned,  accom- 
panied by  a  direction  to  the  applicant  respecting  the  department  to 
which  he  ought  to  apply.  The  impartiality  of  the  royal  Duke  had 
always  been  the  theme  of  applause  in  that  House,  whenever  his 
disposal  of  promotion  had  been  brought  under  its  notice.  On  the 
augmentation  of  the  army  in  1825,  the  only  lieutenants  who  were 
promoted  were  senior  lieutenants  ;  no  interest  was  allowed  to  inter- 
fere in  this  ;  and  the  only  exception  to  the  rule  which  the  Duke  had 
here  laid  dovra,  was  one  which  reflected  anything  but  dishonour.  It 
was  in  the  case  of  a  lieutenant  of  the  year  1814,  who  was  promoted  on 
account  of  his  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  where  the  command 
of  his  regiment  devolved  upon  him,  all  the  other  officers  of  the  regi- 
ment having  been  disabled  or  slain.  In  1825,  twenty-two  captains 
were  promoted  to  the  rank  of  majors,  without  purchase.  The  power 
of  conferring  promotion  without  purchase  was  certainly  a  means  of 
conferring  favour ;  but  the  average  service  of  these  twenty-two 
captains,  who  had  thus  obtained  majorities  without  purchase,  was 
twenty-six  years.  Sixteen  majors  were  also  raised  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant-colonels  ;  and  the  average  service  of  these,  fifteen  years. 
During  the  whole  of  the  time  in  which  the  Duke  of  York  was  in 
office,  there  had  never  been  an  instance  of  an  officer  being  raised  by 
purchase  over  the  head  of  another,  without  the  offer  being  previously 
made  to  that  officer,  or  unless  ho  had  for  some  reason  forfeited  hia 


1827.]  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK.  103 

claims  to  promotion.  Three-fourths  of  the  commissions  which  had 
been  given  away  in  the  year  1825,  without  purchase,  were  conferred 
upon  the  sons  or  relations  of  old  officers.  The  Duke  had  possessed 
extraordinary  advantages,  from  having  been  in  the  army  for  forty-six 
years,  and  having  filled  the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief  for  thirty- 
«ix  years.  It  was  no  slight  encouragement  to  a  soldier  to  know  that 
an  experienced  eye  observed  him,  while  there  was  no  greater  advantage 
in  a  Commander-in-Chief  than  to  know  who  had  seen  service." 

Mr.  Brougham  considered  it  no  small  praise  to  the  Duke  of  York, 
that,  "having  for  so  long  a  time  held. the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief, 
he  had  never  allowed  his  political  principles,  by  which  he  (Mr. 
Brougham)  meant  party  principles,  to  interfere  in  the  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  his  office.  The  best  testimony  of  the  sincerity  and 
honesty  with  which  the  late  Duke  entertained  those  strong  political 
sentiments  which  he  was  known  to  hold  upon  some  subjects,  was, 
that  he  entertained  them  free  from  all  asperity  towards  the  persons 
who  differed  from  him." 

Sir  R.  Wilson .  said :  '•  It  was  worthy  of  observation,  that  the 
improvement  which  the  Duke  of  York  had  effected  in  the  discipline 
of  the  army  was  maintained  without  any  exaggerated  severity.  When 
his  Eoyal  Highness  came  into  office,  corporal  punishment,  which  had 
been  carried  to  so  great  an  extent  as  to  become  a  matter  of  oppro- 
brium in  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  was  considerably  reduced  by  him ; 
and  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  the  House  would  complete  what  the  late 
Commander-in-Chief  had  begun.  The  kindness,  the  benevolence, 
and  the  impartiality  of  the  Duke  of  York,  were  well  known  ;  and 
although  parties  upon  whose  cases  he  judged  might  sometimes  think 
bis  decisions  harsh,  yet  in  no  case  had  any  one  impeached  the  motives 
upon  which  he  had  determined." 

Upon  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  York,  the  King  placed  the  com- 
mand of  the  British  army  in  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
In  what  other  hands,  indeed,  could  it  so  fitly  have  been  deposited  ? 
He  who  had  led  the  army  to  victory  in  every  part  of  the  world  in 
which  he  had  been  called  upon  to  serve  ;  who  had  become  identified 
with  its  honour  and  greatness ;  who,  by  his  rank  and  his  position,  his 
familiarity  with  every  branch  of  the  service,  and  whose  name 
throughout  Europe  and  Asia  filled  the  trumpet  of  fame,  was  indicated 
by  the  common  voice  as  the  only  individual  in  whom  the  serious  and 
honourable  trust  could  appropriately  be  confided.  The  Duke, 
however,  always  alive  to  the  favour  of  the  monarch,  appreciated  the 
compliment,  and  George  IV.  to  render  it  complete,  gave  the  Duke 
the  colonelcy  of  the  Grenadier  Guards. 


104  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827 

We  now  approach  a  new  epoch  in  the  life  of  the  Duke  of  "Wellington. 
Hitherto  we  have  known  him  only  as  the  warrior  and  the  occasional 
diplomatist — the  invincible  commander,  the  astute  minister-plenipo- 
tentiary, the  courteous  ambassador,  or  the  inflexible  envoy.  We  are 
now  to  recognise  the  politician  and  the  minister. 

The  Earl  of  Liverpool,  who  had  held  the  office  of  Premier  since  the 
death  of  Mr.  Spencer  Perceval,  was  struck  with  paralysis  in  the  month 
of  February,  1827.  The  event  was  disastrous  in  its  immediate  efi"ects, 
because  it  broke  up  a  firm  government,  and  gave  rise  to  serious  dis- 
sensions ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  its  ultimate  consequences  were 
essentially  favourable  to  the  course  of  political  and  religious  freedom. 
The  Cabinet  of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool  was  singularly  constructed.  It 
comprised  men  of  great  talent — good  men  of  business,  and  experienced 
debaters — but  the  opinions  they  represented  were  of  a  varied  and 
antagonistic  character.  The  Earl  himself  was  inveterately  opposed 
to  the  claims  of  the  Roman  Catholics  to  political  equality  with  Pro- 
testants and  Dissenters — equally  opposed  to  those  claims  were 
Lords  Eldon,  Bathurst,  and  Castlereagh;  and  Mr.  Peel  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  were  supposed  to  share  their  opinions.  Mr. 
Canning,  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  eloquent  supporter  of  the 
Catholics.  It  had  been  agreed,  however,  between  them,  that 
"  Catholic  Emancipation,"'  as  it  was  called,  should  remain  an  open 
question,  that  is  to  say,  every  minister  was  at  liberty  to  maintain  his 
own  individual  opinion,  without  attempting  to  lend  it  the  influence 
and  patronage  of  his  particular  department.  Such  an  anomalous 
state  of  things  could  not  have  lasted  under  any  other  man  than  Lord 
Liverpool.  The  weight  of  his  character  alone  cemented  the  discordant 
materials.  He  was  not  distinguished  by  any  brilliancy  of  genius,  and 
was  inferior  to  several  of  his  colleagues  as  a  public  speaker.  But  he 
possessed  a  "  sound,  cautious,  business  mind,"  well  stored  with 
political  knowledge.  His  habits  of  business  were  regular  and  con- 
firmed, and  his  integrity  was  pure  and  unquestioned.  He  was  most 
disinterested,  and  the  public  gave  him  credit  for  his  honesty.  The 
Earl  was  never  once  suspected  of  governing  to  suit  mere  party  pur- 
poses— be  never  made  a  speech  for  the  pleasure  of  victory — he  never 
entered  into  an  intrigue  to  acquire  or  to  retain  power.'  He  was  as 
open  and  manly  in  his  conduct  as  he  was  honest  and  prudent  in  his 
resolves.  And  as  he  was  quite  independent  of  office  in  a  pecuniary 
sense,  the  world  knew  that,  while  he  would  do  nothing  unworthy  of 
his  position,  he  did  not  care  to  hold  it  if  it  were  incompatible  with 
his  convenience,  or  rendered  harassing  by  cabinet  dissensions.     Each 

1  "  Annual  Register,"  1827 


1827.]  MR.  CANNING   AND   THE   DUKK  105 

of  his  colleagues  knew  if  he  resigned  there  would  be  a  difficulty  in 
selecting  a  successor,  and  a  common  interest  therefore  held  them 
together. 

The  King  sent  for  Mr.  Canning  immediately  that  it  became  neces- 
sary to  provide  a  successor  to  Lord  Liverpool.  On  the  subject  of 
the  Catholic  claims,  the  King  was  inflexible.  He  would  not  hear  of 
concession.  Mr.  Canning  proposed  then  to  retire ;  advising  his 
Majesty  to  form  a  Cabinet  of  men  opposed  to  the  Catholics  d 
I' out  ranee.  This  would  have  deprived  the  Ministry  of  its  only  hold 
upon  the  popular  regard,  and  essentially  weakened  its  foreign 
influence.  The  proposition  was  inadmissible.  Canning's  colleagues 
then  suggested  the  placing  an  anti-Catholic  peer  at  the  head  of  the 
Government — continuing,  in  fact,  the  system  adopted  by  the  Earl 
of  Liverpool.  Where  was  a  peer  combining  all  Lord  Liverpool's 
qualities  and  influence,  to  be  found  ?  And  what  right  had  the  anti- 
Catholic  Ministry  to  suppose  that  Canning  himself,  pro-Catholic  as 
he  was,  could  not  conduct  the  afi"airs  of  the  country  without  making 
emancipation  a  cabinet  question  ?  Three  months  were  consumed  in 
negotiations  and  correspondence.  At  length,  on  the  lOth  of  April, 
the  King  insisted  that  Mr.  Canning  should  be  at  the  head  of  the 
Administration,'  but  that  that  Government,  like  its  predecessor,  must 
continue  divided  on  the  Catholic  question. 

Within  eight  and  forty  hours  from  this  declaration,  seven  of  the 
Ministers  sent  in  their  resignation.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  not 
only  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet — he  threw  up  the  Command  of 
the  Army  and  the  Master-Generalship  of  the  Ordnance. 

The  suddenness  of  the  resignations  caused  a  great  commotion  in 
the  Houses  of  Parliament  and  in  the  country,  albiet  some  such  issue 
was  expected  in  many  quarters.  None,  however,  excited  greater 
interest  than  that  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  "  His  retirement  " — 
we  quote  what  follows  from  the  "  Annual  Register  " — "  not  merely 
from  the  Cabinet,  but  from  the  command  of  the  army,  which  was  by 
no  means  in  itself  a  cabinet  office,  and  might  be  held  with  perfect 
propriety  by  a  person  who  stood  in  no  political  intimacy  with  the 
Cabinet,  seemed  expressive  of  hostility  to  the  new  arrangements 
of  a  peculiar  and  very  decided  character.     Accordingly,  his  Grace's 

J  "  Canning's  refusal  to  give  way  to  his  colleagues  upon  the  subject  of  a  Premiership,  was 
natural.  He  looked  upon  the  office  as  his  'inheritance.'  He  was  the  last  survivor  of  the 
great  race  of  statesmen  who  had  been  contemporaies  with  Pitt  and  Fox.  As  second 
Minister,  also,  in  the  administration  of  Lord  Liverpool,  ho  had  a  right,  upon  being  thus  con- 
eulted,  to  vindicate  in  his  own  person  the  principle  of  direct  succession."— il»6er«  BclC$ 
^^  Life  of  Canning. '■ 


106  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827 

explanations  on  this  occasion  were,  on  both  points,  expected  to  be  full 
manly,  and  satisfactory.  It  is  due  to  him  that  they  should  be  given 
here  in  all  their  length  and  breadth.  '  He  should  be  obliged,'  he 
said,  '  to  trouble  their  lordships  with  some  details  ;  but  he  would 
make  them  as  short  as  possible,  as  he  had  no  other  reason  for  entering 
upon  them  then  a  wish  to  vindicate  his  character  against  the  attacks 
which  had  been  made  upon  it  in  another  place — to  say  nothing  of 
the  abuse  which  had  been  poured  on  him,  day  after  day,  by  a  press, 
which,  if  not  in  the  pay,  was  under  the  direct  influence  of  Govern- 
ment. There  were  two  points  on  which  he  intended  to  trouble  their 
lordships;  the  first  was,  his  retirement  from  the  councils  of  his 
Majesty ;  and  the  second,  his  resignation  of  the  ofi5ce  of  Commander- 
in-Chief  In  regard  to  the  first,  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Canning, 
on  the  10th  of  April,  a  letter,'  stating  that  the  writer  had  been  desired 
by  the  King  to  form  a  new  Administration,  on  the  principles  of  Lord 
Liverpool's,  and  expressing  a  hope  that  his  Grace  would  continue  to 
form  part  of  it.  This  letter,  their  lordships  would  observe,  did  not 
contain  one  word  of  information  who  the  persons  were  of  whom  it 
was  intended  that  the  new  Cabinet  should  consist,  or  what  members 
of  the  old  Cabinet  had  resigned,  or  were  expected  to  resign.  He  was 
not  desired  to  come  and  receive  explanation^  as  to  the  evident 
omissions  of  the  letter ;  nor  was  he  referred  to  any  person  who  could 
give  him  information  on  these  points.  He  had  since  learned,  from 
authority  which  could  not  be  questioned,  that  this  was  not  the  line 
of  conduct  pursued  towards  his  other  colleagues.  They  had  been 
invited  to  go  to  the  intended  minister,  and  receive  such  explanations 
as  they  required ;  or  the  Minister  had  gone  to  them  in  person  to  give 
them  these  explanations  ;  or  had  sent  his  personal  friends  to  give  them 
for  him.  To  himself,  however,  no  explanation  was  ever  given,  nor 
was  he  referred  to  any  person  who  could  give  it.     Although,  as  he 

I  «  TO  HIS  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Foreign  Office,  .Opril  10th,  6  p.  m.,  1827. 
"Mv  DEAR  Duke  op  Wellinoto!*, 

"The  King  has,  at  an  audience  from  which  I  have  just  returned,  been  graciously 
pleased  to  signify  to  me  his  Majesty's  commands  to  lay  before  his  Majesty,  with  as  little  loss 
of  time  as  possible,  a  plan  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Administration.  In  executing  these 
commands,  it  will  be  as  much  my  own  wish  as  it  is  my  duly  to  his  Majesty,  to  adhere  to  the 
principles  upon  which  Lord  Liverpool'a  government  has  so  long  acted  together.  I  need  not 
add  how  essentially  the  accomplishment  must  depend  upon  your  Grace's  continuing  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet.         , 

"  Ever,  my  dear  Duke  of  Wellington,  your  Grace's  sincere  and  faithful  servant, 

"Georoe  Canniko." 


1827.]  THE   DUKE'S   EXPLANATIONS.  107 

had  been  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  that  right  honourable  gentle- 
man, he  was  somewhat  surprised  at  this  departure  from  the  forms  of 
intimacy  which  had  distinguished  their  intercourse,  still  he  felt  no 
pique  against  him  for  his  omissions,  and  therefore  determined  that 
nothing  should  prevent  him  from  communicating  with  him  in  the 
most  open  and  amicable  manner.  In  that  spii'it  he  wrote  to  him  the 
same  evening,'  expressing  his  anxiety  to  continue  in  his  Majesty's 
councils,  but  stating  his  wish  to  be  informed  who  was  to  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  Ministry.  Next  day  he  received  Mr.  Canning's  reply.' 
It  stated,  that  it  was  usually  understood,  that  the  individual  who 
was  entrusted  by  the  King  with  the  formation  of  a  government  was 
to  be  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  and  that  it  was  not  intended  to  depart 
from  that  custom  in  the  present  instance  ;  that  his  Grace's  letter, 
however,  had  been  submitted  to  the  King,  and  his  Majesty's  orders 
received,  to  inform  his  Grace  that  he,  Mr.  Canning,  was  to  be  the 
Prime  Minister.  His  Grace  said,  that  this  did  not  tend  to  convince 
him  that  there  was  any  serious  design  that  he  should  form  a  part  of 
the  new  Cabinet ;  but  he  still  thought  it  was  his  duty  not  to  let  his 
private  feelings  towards   the   right   honourable   gentleman  influence 

1  "TO  THE  RIGHT  HON.  GEORGE  C.'VNNING. 

"London,  .IprU  10th,  1827. 
"My  dear  Mr.  Canning, 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  evening,  informing  me  that  the  King  had  desired 
you  to  lay  before  his  Majesty  a  plan  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  Administration ;  and  that,  in 
executing  these  commands,  it  was  your  wish  to  adhere  to  the  principles  on  which  Lord  Liver- 
pool's Government  had  so  long  acted  together.  I  anxiously  desire  to  be  able  to  serve  his  Majesty, 
as  I  have  done  hitherto  in  his  Cabinet,  with  the  same  colleagues.  But,  before  I  can  give  an 
answer  to  your  obliging  proposition,  I  should  wish  to  know  who  the  person  is  you  intend  to 
propose  to  his  Majesty  as  the  head  of  the  Government. 

"  Ever,  my  dear  Mr.  Canning,  yours  most  sincerely, 

"  Wellington." 

2  "TO  HIS  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Foreign  OrncK,  ^pril  llth,  1B27. 

"My   DEAR   OlJKE   OF   WELLINGTON, 

"  I  believed  it  to  be  so  generally  understood,  that  the  King  usually  entrusts  the  forma- 
tion of  an  Administration  to  the  individual  whom  it  is  his  Majesty's  gracious  intention  to  place  at 
the  head  of  it,  that  it  did  not  occur  to  me,  when  I  commmiicated  to  your  Grace  yesterday  the 
command  wluch  I  had  just  received  from  his  Majesty,  to  add,  that,  in  the  present  instance,  his 
Majesty  does  not  intend  to  depart  from  the  usual  course  of  proceeding  on  such  occasions.  I  am 
sorry  to  have  delayed  some  hours  this  answer  to  your  Grace's  letter ;  but,  from  the  nature  of  the 
subject,  I  did  not  like  to  forward  it  without  having  previously  submitted  it  (together  with  your 
Grace's  letter)  to  his  Majesty. 

"  Ever,  my  dear  Duke  of  Wellington,  your  Grace's  sincere  and  faithful  servant, 

"George  Cannino." 


lOS  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1827. 

his  decision  on  this  great  and  important  public  question.  He  there- 
fore considered  it  entirely  upon  its  own  grounds,  and  turned  his  atten- 
tion particularly  to  the  point  whether  he  could,  consistently  with  his 
avowed  principles,  join  in  the  new  Administration.  He  sincerely 
wished  that  he  could  bring  himself  to  a  conviction,  that  the  new 
Govcrnm^t  was  to  adhere  to  the  line  of  policy  pursued  by  Lord 
Liverpool.  He  thought  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage,  if  it  could 
be  so  constituted  ;  but  he  was  afraid  that  it  would  not.  He  conceived 
that  the  principles  of  Lord  Liverpool's  policy  had  been  already  aban- 
doned, and  that  the  measures  of  a  government,  constituted  on  the 
principles  of  Mr.  Canning,  would  be  viewed  with  suspicion  by  foreign 
governments,  and  would  give  no  satisfaction  to  the  people  at  home. 
Under  these  circumstances,  his  Grace  requested  Mr.  Canning  to  com- 
municate to  his  Majesty,  that  he  wished  to  be  excused  from  forming 

a  part  of  the  new  Cabinet,'  ' 

#  #  *  *  * 

"  Such  were  the  communications  which  had  taken  place — so  stood 
the  facts.  '  I  have  heard,'  continued  his  Grace,  '  that  Mr.  Canning 
states  to  his  personal  friends,  that  my  letter  to  him  of  the  10th 
instant,  in  which  I  inquired  who  was  to  be  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment, gave  him  great  offence ;  and  I  therefore  wish  the  point  to  be 
fully  examined,  in  order  that  your  lordships  may  see,  whether  any- 
thing was  done  by  me  which  could  justify  him  in  taking  offence.  I 
must  here  inform  your  lordships,  that  early  in  the  month  of  April, 

1  uTo  THE  RIGHT  HON.  GEORGE  CANNING. 

"London,  .9prit  Ulh,  1827. 
"  My  dear  Mr.  Cannino, 

"I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  day,  and  I  did  not  understand  tlie  one  of 
yesterday  evening  as  you  explained  it  to  me.  I  understood  from  yourself  that  you  had  in 
contemplation  another  arrangement,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  practice  to  which  you  refer 
has  been  so  invariable  as  to  enable  me  to  affix  a  meaning  to  your  letter  which  its  words,  in 
my  opinion,  did  not  convey.  I  trust  that  you  will  have  experienced  no  inconvenience  from 
the  delay  of  this  answer,  which  1  assure  you  has  been  occasioned  by  my  desire  to  discover  a 
mode  by  which  I  could  continue  united  with  my  recent  colleagues.  I  sincerely  wish  that  1 
could  bring  my  mind  to  the  conclusion  that,  with  the  best  intentions  on  your  part,  your 
Government  could  be  conducted  jiractic.iUy  on  the  principles  of  that  of  Lord  Liverpool  ;  that 
it  would  be  generally  so  considered;  or  that  it  would  bo  adequate  to  meet  our  difficulties  in  a 
manner  satisfactory  to  the  King,  or  conducive  to  the  interests  of  the  country.  As,  however, 
I  am  convinced  that  these  principles  must  be  abandoned  eventually ;  that  all  our  measures 
would  be  viewed  with  suspicion  by  the  usual  supporters  of  the  Government ;  that  I  could  do 
no  good  in  the  Cabinet ;  and  that  at  last  I  should  be  obliged  to  separate  myself  from  it,  at  the 
moment  at  which  such  separation  would  be  more  inconvenient  to  the  King's  service  than  it  can 
be  at  present ;  I  must  beg  of  you  to  .request  Ills  Majesty  to  excuse  me  from  belonging  to  his 

councils. 

"  Ever,  my  dear  Sir.  Canning,  yours  most  sincerely, 

"Wellington." 


1827.]  THE   DUKE'S   EXPLANATIONS.  109 

I  had  a  conversation  with  the  right  honourable  gentleman,  in  which  he 
stated  to  me,  that  in  case  his  Majesty  should  desire  him  to  reconstruct 
the  Grovernment,  one  of  his  plans  was  to  recommend  that 
Mr.  Eobinson,  then  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  should  be  called  up 
to  your  lordships'  House,  and  should  be  made  First  Lord  of  the 
Treasury  ;  and  I  confess  that  it  was  my  intention,  if  I  had  heard 
anything  more  of  that  scheme,  to  have  proposed  such  a  modification 
of  it  as  would  have  kept  the  members  of  the  old  Administration 
together.  I  mention  this  to  your  lordships,  in  order  that  you  may 
see  that  the  language  of  my  first  note  was  founded  on  his  previous 
communication  to  me.  Not  only  was  the  offence  which  Mr.  Canning 
took  at  my  note  unfounded,  but  it  was  quite  unjustifiable,  even  upon 
the  grounds  on  which  he  himself  had  put  it.  When  negotiations 
were  going  on  for  the  formation  of  a  ministry  in  1812,  the  present 
Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland  waited  on  a  noble  lord  and  a  noble  earl 
for  the  purpose  of  consulting  with  them  to  that  effect ;  but,  on  both 
of  these  occasions,  he  was  only  commissioned  by  the  Prince  Regent 
— he  did  not  know  what  place  he  himself  was  to  occupy  in  the  Admin- 
istration, or  who  was  to  be  at  its  head — nor  did  he  desire  any  place 
in  the  Government.  This  is  one  instance  of  a  command  to  form  an 
Administration,  not  necessarily  implying  that  he  to  whom  such  com- 
mand is  given  is  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  Government.  After  that 
had  failed.  Lord  Hastings  (at  that  time  Lord  Moira)  carried  a  com- 
munication to  a  noble  lord,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  ministry,  but 
he  stated,  that  he  did  not  know  how  a  single  seat  was  to  be  disposed 
of,  or  who  was  to  be  at  its  head.  This  is  another  instance  in  which 
the  principle  alluded  to  was  not  observed.  But  there  is  still  an 
authority,  which,  in  this  case,  would  not  be  disputed,  proving  that 
the  question  which  I  had  asked  ought  not  to  have  been  construed 
into  an  offence.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Perceval,  Lord  Liverpool 
waited  on  Mr.  Canning,  by  command  of  the  Prince  Regent,  and 
requested  that  he  would  consent  to  form  part  of  the  Administration. 
From  a  memorandum  of  what  took  place  on  that  occasion,  it  appears 
that  the  very  first  question  which  Mr.  Canning  put  to  Lord  Liverpool 
was,  who  was  to  be  at  the  head  of  that  Administration  ?  Now,  if 
that  was  the  first  question  which  the  right  honourable  gentleman 
thought  proper  to  put  in  1812,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  be  censured 
in  1827.  Moreover,  in  the  right  honourable  gentleman's  letter  it  was 
stated,  that,  in  the  formation  of  a  ministry,  it  was  not  intended  to 
depart  from  the  line  of  policy  adopted  under  the  Administration  of 
the  Earl  of  Liverpool.  Now,  if  that  policy  were  to  be  continued,  I 
could  never  suppose  that  the  right  honourable  gentleman  would  be 


110  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON.  [1827 

at  the  head.  I  am  sure  that  the  right  honourable  gentleman  is 
utterly  incapable  of  misrepresenting  my  meaning,  or  of  wilfully  taking 
offence  ;  but  I  had  no  intention  of  giving  offence  in  asking  the 
question.  If  Mr.  Canning  were  Minister  on  the  10th  why  had  he 
felt  it  necessary  to  lay  ray  letter  before  his  Majesty  ?  This  fact 
proves  that  he  was  not  then  minister.  It  is  further  proved,  that  he 
was  not  minister  on  the  11th,  by  what  was  done  in  another  place. 
In  fact,  he  was  not  minister  until  he  kissed  hands  on  the  acceptance 
of  office,  which  was  not  till  the  12th,  and  on  that  day  he  had  repre- 
sented to  his  Majesty,  that  he  could  not  go  on  in  the  formation  of  a 
ministry  till  his  new  writ  was  moved  for,  which  was  done  on  the  same 
day.  Now  it  is  too  much  that  I  should  be  accused  of  being  peevish, 
hasty,  ill-tempered,  and  so  on,  for  having  asked  such  a  question,  and 
then  for  having  sent  in  my  resignation,  after  having  received  the 
answer  which  I  did  receive.'  " 

It  was  impossible  for  the  Duke  to  remain  in  office  under  a  Minister 
whom  he  would  feel  himself  bound  to  oppose  on  at  least  one  vital 
question  of  domestic  policy.  He  would  suppose,  he  said,  that  the  King 
himself  differed  from  his  Ministers  on  some  important  principle  of 
policy,  and  that  he,  forming  part  of  the  right  honourable  gentleman's 
Cabinet,  but  agreeing  with  his  Majesty,  were  called  upon  to  give  his 
opinion,  how  could  he  give  the  right  honourable  gentleman  that  fair 
support  which  one  member  of  the  Cabinet  had  a  right  to  expect  from 
another  ?  lie  could  have  no  secret  understanding  upon  the  great 
and  important  question  to  which  he  was  now  alluding ;  but  he  must 
know  the  principle  on  which  the  Government  was  hereafter  to  be 
conducted ;  and  that  principle  must  not  only  be  known  to  him,  but 
also  to  the  public  at  large.  Would  he  not  have  been  degrading 
himself,  and  deceiving  the  public,  in  sitting  in  a  Cabinet  with  the 
right  honourable  gentleman  at  its  head,  whose  principles  he  felt 
himself  bound  to  oppose?  It  was  no  answer  to  tell  him  that  the 
present  Cabmet  acted  upon  the  same  principles  with  that  of  which 
Lord  Liverpool  had  been  the  head.  The  two  Cabinets  materially 
differed ;  and  the  chief  difference  between  them  was  this,  that  the 
Cabinet  of  Lord  Liverpool  was  founded  on  the  principles  of  main- 
taining the  laws  as  they  now  were, — whilst  that  of  the  right  honour- 
able gentleman  was  founded  on  the  principle  of  subverting  them. 
Those  who  formed  part  of  Lord  Liverpool's  Cabinet  knew  well  what 
it  was  to  which  they  pledged  themselves  ;  for  they  knew  that  his 
lordship  was  conscicntiou.sly  opposed  to  all  changes  in  the  existing 
form  of  government.  But  those  who  coalesced  with  the  right  honour- 
able gentleman  had  no  idea  how  far  their  coalition  was  to  carry  them ; 


1827.]  THE   DUKE'S   EXPLANATIONS.  Ill" 

for  the  right  honourable  gentleman  was  the  most  able,  and  active, 
and  zealous  partisan  of  those  changes  with  which  the  country  was  at 
present  threatened.  The  principles  of  the  noble  earl  were  principles 
by  which  any  man  might  safely  abide :  the  principles  of  the  honour- 
able gentleman  fluctuated  every  day,  and  depended  upon  transitory 
reasons  of  temporary  expedience.  These  were  the  conscientious 
reasons  of  his  resignation.  #  #  »  *  They  knew  little  of  the 
King  who  imagined  he  could  be  moved  by  intimidation ;  and  still 
less  did  they  know  of  himself,  who  thought  his  ambition  ran  in  such 
a  channel.  "  Can  any  man  believe,"  asked  his  Grace,  in  a  spirit  of 
honest  and  justifiable  pride,  "  Can  any  man  believe,  that  after  I  had 
raised  myself  to  the  command  of  the  army,  I  would  have  given  it  up 
for  any  but  conscientious  reasons?  I  say  raised  myself — not  because 
I  undervalue  the  support  received  from  my  noble  and  gallant  friends 
around  me — not  because  I  have  forgotten  the  services  of  the  officers  and 
soldiers  who  acted  under  me — not  because  I  do  not  entertain  a  proper 
sense  of  the  gracious  favour  and  kindness  of  his  Majesty  towards  me. — 
but  because  I  know  that,  whatever  his  Majesty's  kindness  might  have 
been  towards  me,  he  could  not  have  exalted  me  through  all  the 
grades  of  military  rank  to  the  very  highest,  if  I  had  not  rendered  to 
him  and  to  my  country  some  service  of  which  he  entertained  a  high 
sense  ?  Will  any  man  then  believe,  that,  when  I  was  in  a  situation 
which  enabled  me  to  recommend  to  the  notice  of  his  Majesty  all  my 
former  friends  and  companions  in  arms,  and  to  reward  them  according 
to  their  merits,  for  the  exertions  which  they  had  formerly  made 
under  my  command  in  the  field,  I  would  voluntarily  resign  a  situation 
so  consonant  to  my  feelings  and  my  habits,  for  the  mere  empty  ambi- 
tion of  being  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Government?  I  know  that  I 
am  disqualified  for  any  such  office  ;  and  I  therefore  say,  that  feeling 
as  I  do,  with  respect  to  the  situation  which  I  recently  filled  at  the 
head  of  the  army, — liking  it,  as  I  did,  from  the  opportunities  which 
it  gave  me  to  improve  the  condition  of  my  old  comrades-in-arms, — 
knowing  my  own  capacity  for  filling  that  office,  and  my  incapacity  for 
filling  the  post  of  first  Minister,  I  should  have  been  mad,  and  worse 
than  mad,  if  I  had  even  entertained  the  insane  project  which  certain 
individuals,  for  their  own  base  purposes,  have  imputed  to  me.  It  is 
equally  base  to  say  that  there  was  any  conspiracy  between  myself  and 
my  colleagues,  to  dictate  to  the  King  the  construction  of  a  new 
Administration.  I  call  upon  any  individual  to  whom  I  ever  men- 
tioned my  opinions  as  to  the  formation  of  a  new  Government,  to 
state  in  direct  terms  what  those  opinions  were.  I  call  on  the  noble 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of   Lancaster,  who  himself  resigned,  and 


112  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1827. 

wbo,  from  having  re-accepted  his  office,  would  be  a  fair  witness,  to  say 
whether  there  was  any  concert  between  him  and  any  of  his  colleagues 
as  to  their  common  resignation.  There  is  no  conspiracy.  It  is  a  foul 
falsehood  to  say  that  there  was  such  a  conspiracy.  I  repeat  it  is  a 
foul  fiilschood,  and  I  care  not  who  has  said  it." 

In  regard  to  his  resignation  of  the  command  of  the  army,  his  Grace 
said  he  would  candidly  state  to  the  House  that,  when  he  retired  from 
his  Majesty's  councils,  he  was  perfectly  aware  that  he  could  not 
retain  any  office  under  the  new  Government.  The  office  of  Com- 
mander-in-Chief placed  the  holder  of  it  in  a  constant  confidential 
relation  with  his  Majesty  and  the  Government.  With  the  Prime 
Minister  the  Commander-in-Chief  was  in  communication  every  day. 
The  Commander-in-Chief  had  not  a  control  over  the  army,  for  the 
chief  control  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Prime  Minister.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Minister  could  not  withdraw  any  part  of  the 
army  in  Portugal,  or  elsewhere,  without  consulting  the  Commander- 
in-Chief;  he  could  not  make  up  his  budget,  nor  introduce  any  reform 
into  the  army  in  England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  or  indeed  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  without  seeking  the  opinion  of  the  Commander-in-Chief. 
The  difference  which  existed  between  himself  and  Mr.  Canning,  in 
political  opinions,  would  not  of  itself  have  prevented  him  from  retain- 
ing the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief.  He  would  have  followed  the 
example  of  his  illustrious  and  royal  predecessor,  and  would  have  held 
himself  aloof  from  all  considerations  of  party  feeling.  No  political 
opinions  would  have  prevented  him,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
from  continuing  either  at  the  Horse-Guards,  or  at  the  head  of  the 
army  in  the  field ;  but  from  the  tone  and  tenor  of  the  communica- 
tions which  he  had  received  from  his  Majesty, — from  the  nature  of 
the  invitation  the  right  honourable  gentleman  had  originally  given 
him  in  his  first  letter,  to  join  in  the  new  Administration, — and  from 
the  contents  of  the  last  letter  which  he  had  received  from  Mr.  Canning 
by  his  Majesty's  commands,  he  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
him  to  consider  the  continuance  of  his  relation  with  that  honourable 
gentleman  either  serviceable  to  the  country,  or  creditable  to  himself. 
He  therefore  sent  in  to  his  Majesty  the  resignation  of  the  two  offices 
which  he  held  under  the  appointment  of  the  Crown.  In  regard  both 
to  them  and  to  his  situation  as  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  his  conduct 
had  not  been  hastily  adopted.  He  had  adopted  it  only  after  the 
most  mature  deliberation  which  he  could  give  to  the  subject ;  and  the 
more  he  reflected  on  it,  the  more  he  felt  satisfied  that  he  had  acted 
consistently  and  correctly.  He  had  no  other  object  in  making  this 
statement  but  that  the  truth  should  be  laid  before  their  lordships  and 


1827.]  MR.   CANNING'S   MINISTRY.  113 

the  public,  and  he  felt  fully  confident  that  they  would  concur  in  think- 
ing that  he  had  been  most  unjustly  and  wantonly  accused. 

Such  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  defence. 

Posterity,  with  all  the  advantages  of  accumulated  evidence  and  the 
Duke's  clever  justification  before  it,  will  form  its  own  conclusions.  It  is 
difficult  to  believe,  after  all,  that  the  verdict  will  be  entirely  favour- 
able to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  As  far  as  human  motives  can  be 
penetrated  through  a  cloud  of  somewhat  plausible  correspondence 
and  apologetic  oratory,  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  desertion  of 
Mr.  Canning  will  be  found  among  the  least  defensible  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington's  acts.  Canning  was  not  of  aristocratic  origin :  his 
father  had  been  a  barrister ;  the  highest  positions  attained  by  his 
ancestors  were  those  of  mayors  and  county  members ;  one  had  been 
a  city  knight  in  1456;  and  his  mother  when  widowed,  married  a 
country  actor.  These  were  crimes  which  the  proud  peers  of  England 
never  could  forgive.  They  were  rather  magnified  than  palliated  by 
the  brilliant  talents  of  George  Canning ;  for  the  pre-eminence  which 
his  ability  assured  him  added  the  pangs  of  jealousy  and  mortification 
to  the  intensity  of  patrician  dislike  "  Parvenu  "  was  ever  upon  the 
lips  of  those  who  held  by  their  pedigrees  ;  and  they  rendered  homage 
to  an  intellectual  brilliancy  they  could  neither  comprehend  nor  rival, 
with  marked  and  ungracious  reluctance.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  not  of  this  latter  class,  for  he  had  a  mind  fully  capable  of  esti- 
mating the  high  qualities  of  others  ;  but,  nevertheless,  he  stood  very 
much  upon  his  order — he  was  at  the  head  of  the  aristocracy  of  rank, 
and  never  could  thoroughly  relish  contact  with  men  of  plebeian  descent. 
All  his  favourite  generals  and  aides-de-camp  were  persons  of  family, 
and  he  delighted  in  advancing  to  posts  of  consequence  those  who  cast 
the  lustre  of  an  ancient  name  upon  their  trust. 

Besides  this  foundation  for  a  disinclination  to  serve  under  Canning, 
the  Duke  was  obnoxious  to  the  imputation  of  desiring  supreme 
power.  It  was  natural  that  he  should  seek  the  Premiership.  He 
had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  almost  irresponsible  command,  that 
it  may  be  presumed  he  wished  for  a  revival  of  absolute  authority. 
It  is  true  that  he  modestly  chid  himself  when  his  ambitious  views 
were  hinted,  and  that  he  even  declared  he  should  be  "  mad  "  to  covet 
an  office  for  which  he  was  disqualified ;  yet  in  the  face  of  all  this  he 
soon  afterwards  became  Prime  Minister,  and  carried  out  the  very 
policy  which  he  professed  to  constitute  the  obstacle  to  his  co-opera- 
tion with  Canning  !  The  inference  is  fair,  that,  in  refusing  to  serve 
under  Canning's  premiership,  the  Duke  hoped  that  great  embarrass- 
ment would  be  experienced  by  Canning  in  the  formation  of  a 
VOL.  u.  2  k 


n4  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827. 

Ministry ;  and  that  in  abandoning  the  task  in  despair,  the  Duke 
himself — avowedly  the  first  of  the  Anti-Catholic  section  of  the 
Cabinet — would  be  sent  for.  The  Duke  was  premature  in  that 
calculation,  if  he  really  made  it.  Canning  formed  his  government,  in 
which  were  comprehended  some  very  superior  men:'  Lord   Dudley, 

I  "  Mr.  Canning  and  Lord  Dudley  especially,  the  men  of  the  greatest  talents  in  the  party, 
were  truly  formidable.  Possessing  in  an  equal  degree  all  the  resources  of  accurate  and 
extensive  information,  all  the  powers  of  acute  reasoning  and  lively  fancy,  and  all  the  accom- 
plishments of  the  most  finished  classical  education,  they  dilTered  rather  in  the  degrees  to  which 
habit  and  accident  had  fitted  them  for  actual  business,  and  in  the  strength  of  their  under- 
Btandings  as  influenced  by  their  inclinations,  than  in  the  genius  or  the  acquirements  which 
might  inspire  or  had  trained  their  oratory.  Mr.  Canning  was  the  more  powerful  declaimer — 
Lord  Dudley  had  the  more  original  fancy  and  the  sharper  wit ;  although  in  every  kind  of  wit 
and  humour,  Mr.  Canning,  too,  greatly  excelled  most  other  men.  Lord  Dudley  could  follow 
an  argument  with  more  sustained  acuteness,  while  Mr.  Canning  possessed  a  skill  in  statement 
which  frequently  disposed  of  the  matter  in  dispute  before  his  adversary  was  aware  that 
his  flank  had  been,  as  it  were,  turned,  and  thus  spared  himself  the  labour  of  an  elaborate 
attack  by  argumentation.  Both  prepared  for  their  greater  exhibitions  with  extreme  care, 
and  wrote  more  than  almost  any  other  modern  orators ;  but  Mr.  Canning  had  powers  of 
extempore  debating  which  Lord  Dudley  had  either  never  acquired,  or  hardly  ever  ventured  to 
exert.  In  habits  of  business,  and  the  faculties  which  these  whet,  or  train,  or  possibly 
bestow,  Mr.  Canning  had,  of  course,  all  the  advantage  which  could  be  derived  from  a.  long 
life  in  ofl3ce  acting  upon  abilities  of  so  high  an  order.  But  that  Lord  Dudley  only  wanted 
euch  training  to  equal  him  in  these  respects,  was  apparent  from  the  masterly  performance  of 
his  oflicial  duties,  which  marked  his  short  administration  of  the  Foreign  Department  in  1827. 
Here,  however,  all  parallel  between  these  eminent  individuals  ends.  In  strength  of  mind,  in 
that  firmness  of  purpose  which  makes  both  a  man  and  a  statesman,  there  was,  indeed,  little 
comparison  between  them.  Both  were  of  a  peculiarly  sensitive  and  even  irritable  tempera- 
ment ;  and  this,  while  it  aflected  their  manner,  and  followed  them  into  debate,  quitted  them 
not  in  the  closet  or  in  the  Cabinet.  But  in  Mr.  Canning  the  weakness  liad  limits  wliich  were 
not  traced  in  the  nervous  temperament  of  Lord  Dudley.  He  suffered  all  his  life  under  what 
afterwards  proved  to  be  a  diseased  state  of  the  system,  and,  after  making  the  misery  of  part 
of  his  existence,  and  shading  the  happiness  even  of  its  brightest  portions,  it  ended  in  drawing 
a  dark  and  dismal  curtain  over  his  whole  faculties  towards  the  close  of  his  life.  Tlie  result  of 
the  same  morbid  temperament  was  a  want  of  fixed  inclination — a  wavering  that  affected  his 
Judgment  as  well  as  his  feelings — an  incapacity  to  form,  or,  ofter  forming,  to  abide  by  any 
fixed  resolution.  With  these  men  was  joined  Mr.  Huskisson,  than  whom  few  have  ever 
attained  as  gr^at  influence  in  this  country,  with  so  few  of  the  advantages  which  are  apt  to 
captivate  senates  or  to  win  popular  applause,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with  so  few  of  the 
extrinsic  qualities  which,  in  the  noble  and  the  wealthy,  can  always  make  up  for  such  natural 
deficiencies.  He  was  not  fluent  of  speech  naturally,  nor  had  much  practice  rendered  him  a 
ready  speaker  ;  he  had  none  of  the  graces  of  diction,  whether  he  prepared  himself  (if  he  evei 
did  so)  or  trusted  to  the  moment.  His  manner  was  peculiarly  ungainly.  His  statements 
were  calculated  rather  to  excite  distrust,  than  to  win  confldcnce.  Yet,  with  all  this,  he 
attained  a  station  in  the  House  of  Commons,  which  made  him  as  much  listened  to  as  the  most 
consummate  debaters;  and  upon  the  questions  to  which  he,  generally  speaking,  confined 
himself,  the  great  matters  of  commerce  and  finance,  ho  delivered  himself  with  almost  oraculai 
certainty  of  effect.  This  success  he  owed  to  the  thorough  knowledge  which  he  possessed  of 
his  subjects;  the  perfect  clearness  of  his  understanding;  the  keenness  with  which  he  could 
apply  his  information  to  the  purpose  of  the  debate ;  the  acuteness  with  which  he  could  unravel 
the  argument,  and  expose  an  adversary's  weakness,  or  expound  his  own  doctrines.  In  respect 
Df  bis  political  purity,  be  did  not  stand  very  high  with  any  party.    He  had  the  same  intense 


1827.] 


MR.  CANNING'S  MINISTRY. 


115 


Mr.  Huskisson,  &c. ;  and  Lord  Hill  became  the  "  General  Com- 
manding-in-Chief "  of  the  army,  without  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet.  The 
Master-Generalship  of  the  Ordnance  was  given  to  the  Marquis  of 
Anglesey. 

love  of  ofiSce  which  was  and  is  the  vice  of  his  whole  party,  and  to  which  they  have  made  such 
Bacriflces,  reducing  indeed  into  a  principle  what  was  only  a  most  pernicious  errror,  the  source 
of  all  unworthy  compliances,  the  cloak  for  every  evil  proceeding,  that  no  one  can  effectually 
serve  the  state  in  a  private  station.  Yet  whoever  has  known  either  of  these  three  great  men, 
and  casts  his  eye  on  those  followers  whom  they  have  left  behind,  may  be  justified  in  heaving  a 

Bigh  as  he  exclaims,  Eheu  I  quam  multo  minus  est  cum  reliquis  versari,  quam  tui  meminisse  /" 

Lord  Brougham's  "  Statesmen." 


COLUMN   AT  TBIM. 


118 


LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WFJLLINGTON 


[1827. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Duke^  by  an  amendment,  destroys  Mr.  Canning's  Corn  Bill— Death  of  Mr.  Canning— The 
Goderich  Ministry — The  Duke  resumes  the  command  of  the  Army — Break-up  of  the 
Goderich  Administration — The  Duke  becomes  Prime  Minister. 


EW  Parliamentary  Sessions  have 
been  of  greater  interest  and  im- 
portance than  that  of  1827-28. 
All  the  great  questions  which  then 
divided  the  State  councils  into 
strong  parties  of  decided  opinions 
were  agitated  and  discussed  with 
vehemence,  and  not  unfrequently 
with  rancour.  The  claims  of  the 
Roman  Catholics  to  manumission 
from  political  trammels — the  Corn 
Laws,  with  their  protective  evils — 
the  state  of  Parliamentary  Repre- 
sentation— the  condition  of  the  Law — and  the  Shipping  Interests — 
engaged  close  attention,  and  gave  rise  to  acrimonious  debate  and 
personal  difference.' 

The  Corn  Law  question  again  brought  the  Duke  into  antagonism 
with  Mr.  Canning. 

1  Moore's  lively  lament  over  Com  and  Catholics  may  be  recalled  to  the  reader's  recolle» 
•on:— 

What !  still  those  two  infernal  questions 

That  with  our  meals,  and  slumbers  mix — 
That  spoil  our  tempers  and  digestions, 
Eternal  Com  and  Catholics  I 

Gods !  were  there  ever  two  such  bores  ? 

Nothing  else  talk'd  of,  night  or  mom — 
Nothing  in  doors  or  out  of  doors 

But  endlees  Catholic*  and  Com ! 


IS21.]  DEATH  OF  MR.  CANNING.  117 

Previous  to  the  recess,  occasioned  by  the  interregnum  in  the 
Ministry,  a  corn  bill  had  passed  the  House  of  Commons.  It  was 
brought  up  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  May,  1827;  was  read  a  first 
and  a  second  time.  A  debate  took  place  on  the  28th  May,  pre- 
paratory to  its  being  referred  to  a  committee,  and  an  amendment, 
proposed  on  that  occasion  by  Lord  Malmesbury,  was  defeated.  In 
committee,  some  important  amendments  were  made,  and  several 
which  were  proposed  were  lost.  But  one,  brought  forward  by  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  sealed  the  fate  of  the  bill.  By  the  bill,  as  it 
had  been  sent  up  from  the  Commons,  the  duties  payable  on  foreign 
grain  and  the  prices  in  the  home  market  at  which  they  should 
become  payable  were  the  same,  whether  that  grain  were  brought 
directly  from  the  foreign  port  into  the  home  market,  or  having  been 
imported,  was  stored  up  in  bond  under  the  warehousing  system.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington,  insisting  on  the  absolute  necessity  of  preventing 
the  warehousing  system  from  being  a  vehicle  of  fraud,  by  its  operations 
on  the  averages,  moved  that  "  no  foreign  corn  in  bond  should  be 
taken  out  of  bond  until  the  average  price  of  corn  should  have  reached 
sixty-six  shillings ;"  and  he  added  his  belief  that  the  Ministers  were 
not  indisposed  to  accede  to  this  proposal.  Lord  Goderich,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  stated,  on  the  contrary,  that  so  far  from 
being  ready  to  give  an  assent  to  such  a  clause,  it  was  at  direct 
variance  with  the  essential  principles  of  the  bill,  as  an  establishment 
of  that  system  of  prohibition  which  the  bill  removed,  and  would,  if 
persisted  in,  occasion  the  loss  of  the  bill  altogether  !  Lord  Goderich 
added,  that  it  was  singular  that  the  noble  Duke,  with  all  his  opportu- 
nities, should  only  now  have  discerned  the  imperfections  of  the  bill ; 
for,  be  it  remembered,  the  bill  was  passed  while  the  Duke  was  a 
member  of  the  Government.  The  Duke  rejoined  that  he  was  no 
party  to  the  framing  of  the  bill,  which  he  had  never  seen  until  it  was 
printed ;  and  although  he  had  supported  its  general  principles  for  the 
benefit  of  the  country,  he  was  not  therefore  to  be  considered  as 
pledged  to  the  whole  detail  of  its  particular  clauses.  On  a  division, 
the  Ministry  were  left  in  a  minority,  and  the  bill  was  lost. 


Never  were  such  a  brace  of  pests, 
While  Ministers,  still  worse  than  either,- 

Skill'd  but  in  feathering  their  nests, 
Plague  us  with  both,  and  settle  neither. 

So  addled  in  my  cranium  meet 
Popery  and  Corn,  thai  oft  I  doubt, 

Whether  this  year  'twas  bonded  wheat 
Or  bonded  Papists  they  let  out. 


118  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1827. 

Of  course  there  was  a  great  division  of  sentiment  upon  the  suhject 
of  the  virtues  or  otherwise  of  the  lost  bill.  The  great  body  of  the 
public,  however,  seemed  more  alive  to  the  nature  and  cause  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington's  opposition,  than  to  the  probable  mischiefs  or 
prospective  advantages  of  the  bill  itself;  and  it  became  necessary 
that  a  long  correspondence,  explanatory  of  the  source  of  the  mis- 
understanding, should  be  published.  This  correspondence  took  place 
between  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Mr.  Huskisson,  who  was 
alleged  to  have  been  favourable  to  an  amendment ;  and  from  this  it 
appeared  that  the  Duke  had  mistaken  Mr.  Huskisson,  and  had  also 
mistaken  Lord  Goderich,  who,  he  conceived,  had  consented  to  the 
Duke's  proposition. 

Mr.  Canning  was  exceedingly  hurt  at  the  failure  of  the  bill ;  and 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  upon  a  later  night,  he  declared  that,  from 
the  correspondence  between  the  Duke  and  Mr.  Huskisson,  he  "  was 
not  convinced  that  the  former  did  not  labour  under  some  misapprehen- 
sion, and  did  not  think  that  he  was  doing  that  which  was  beneficial." 
He  could  not,  he  said,  "  exclude  from  his  consideration,  that  even  so 
great  a  man  as  t/te  Dulce  of  Wellington  luuL  been  made  an  instrument 
in  tlhe  liamls  of  otlicrs  on  tltat  occasmi.  History  afforded  other 
instances  in  which  equally  great  men  had  been  made  the  instruments 
of  others  for  their  own  particular  views." 

This  was  an  unfortunate,  and,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  a  most 
unmerited  imputation.  The  Duke  was  the  very  last  man  in  the 
world  not  to  perceive  the  designs  of  others,  and  the  very  first  to 
resent  any  attempt  to  convert  him  into  a  tool.  Mr.  Peel  particularly 
animadverted  on  the  unlucky  expression,  characterising  it  as  a  vain 
attempt  to  cast  obloquy  on  a  public  man,  who,  on  the  anniversary  of 
Waterloo,'  if  on  no  other,  ought  not  to  be  subjected  to  unfounded 
charges.  The  House  of  Lords,  as  far  as  etiquette  and  the  rules  of 
the  House  permitted,  took  notice  of  the  unwise  imputation,  and  out 
of  doors  it  was  freely  canvassed, — neither  the  Duke  nor  Mr.  Canning 
gaining  much  by  the  occurrence. 

Mr.  Canning's  Ministry  was  brought  to  an  abrupt  conclusion  by 
his  death,  which  took  place  on  the  8th  of  August,  1827.  He  had 
caught  cold  at  the  funeral  of  the  Duke  of  York  ;  before  he  had  fairly 
recovered  from  it,  he  was  assailed  by  rheumatism,  acquired  by  sitting 
under  a  tree  in  the  open  air,  while  yet  warm  with  exercise.  During 
the  brief  tenure  of  his  power  as  Prime  Minister,  he  was  impelled  to 
great  exertions  to  carry  measures  in  the  face  of  the  strong  opposition 
which  arrayed  itself  against  him, — the  ultra-Liberals  on  the  one 
1  The  debale  took  place  on  the  18th  of  June,  1827. 


1827.]  THE  DUKE  FORMS  A  MINISTRY.  119 

hand,  the  bitter  old  Tories  on  the  other.  While  the  excitement 
lasted,  he  was  sustained ;  but  the  session  over,  "  the  terrible  efiFects" 
of  the  mental  harassment  and  bodily  labour  he  had  endured  began 
to  manifest  themselves.  "  There  was  leisure,"  says  his  graceful 
biographer,  "  for  the  fatal  struggle  between  disease  and  the  powers  of 
life."  And  amidst  the  frightful  contest  came  the  fatal  rheumatic 
attack. — 

"  England  mourned  her  orator,^ 
Who,  bred  a  statesman,  still  was  bom  a  wit," 

and  the  nation  decreed  him  a  public  funeral  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
where  he  lies  at  the  foot  of  Pitt's  tomb. 

The  treatment  which  Canning  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  felt  the  more  acutely  by  the  public,  and 
denounced  with  the  greater  vehemence,  because  it  appeared  in  some 
measure  to  have  accelerated  the  statesman's  death.  If  we  call  to 
mind  that,  when  the  Duke  was  serving  in  the  Peninsula,  continually 
exposed  to  the  obloquy  of  a  factious  opposition,  who  now  attacked 
the  reputation  of  the  General,  and  anon  assailed  the  Ministry,  he 
found  in  George  Canning  the  most  eloquent  champion,  the  most 
enlightened  and  enthusiastic  supporter,  it  augments  our  regret  that, 
upon  whatever  pretext,  the  Duke  should  have  severed  himself  from 
the  Prime  Minister  at  a  critical  moment. 

The  Ministry,  bereft  of  the  commanding  talents  of  Canning, 
became  a  caput  mortuum.  Lord  Goderich  (late  Mr.  Frederick 
Robinson)  was  appointed  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury,  and  Mr.  Herries 
— a  capital  man  of  business,  who  had  been  Secretary  to  the  Treasury 
under  Lord  Liverpool's  Government — came  in  as  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer.  The  appointment  was  distasteful  to  the  Whigs  ;  and 
Lord  Lansdowne  even  waited  upon  the  King,  to  resign  the  seals  of 
the  Home  Department,  under  the  mistaken  impression  that  the  King 
had  forced  Mr.  Herries  upon  Lord  Goderich,  whereas  the  latter  had 
recommended  Mr.  Herries  to  the  King. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  resumed  the  office  of  Commander-in- 
Chief  upon  Mr.  Canning's  demise,  thereby  strengthening  the 
original  impression  that  personal  dislike  had  really  had  some  influence 
on  his  previous  withdrawal. 

There  are  not  many  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  general  orders  of 
1827  which  serve  to  illustrate  his  manner  of  commanding  the  army 
on  a  peace  establishment.     We  find  him  engaged  in  settling  some 

1  "  Our  last,  our  best,  our  only  orator."—  Tke  ^ge  of  Bronze, 


120  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1828. 

disputed  points  regarding  the  comparative  rank  of  civil  and  military 
officers,  and  the  interference  of  District  General  Officers  with  the  duties 
of  the  Ordnance  Department,  but  nothing  else  of  moment  presented 
itself  We  may  imagine,  however,  from  these  that  he  preserved  the 
peremptory  tone  of  command  to  which  he  had  accustomed  himself 
in  the  Peninsula,  and  we  have  evidence  that,  for  all  his  measures,  he 
gave  clear  and  unanswerable  reasons  in  the  fewest  words  possible. 
His  economy  of  language  he  carried  to  a  remarkable  extent,  and 
he  recommended  its  adoption  by  the  officers  generally : — "  If 
officers  abroad,'|^  he  wrote,  "  will  have  no  mercy  on  each  other  in 
correspondence,  I  entreat  them  to  have  some  upon  me  ;  to  confine 
themselves  to  the  strict  facts  of  the  case,  and  to  write  no  more  than 
is  necessary  for  the  elucidation  of  their  meaning  and  intentions." 

Lord  Goderich's  Ministry  was  very  short-lived.  Some  misunder- 
standing with  Mr.  Herries,  arising  out  of  the  introduction  of  Lord 
Althorp  into  the  Ministry,  appeared  to  strike  the  feeble  Premier 
with  a  moral  paralysis.  He  had  conceived  a  notion  that  Mr.  Herries 
■was  the  corner  stone  of  his  Government,  and  that  bereft  of  his  confi- 
dence and  cordial  co-operation,  it  could  not  endure.  Under  this 
strange  hallucination  he  resigned,  after  a  seven  months'  feeble  tenure 
of  power. 

The  King,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  any  reliance  upon  the  Whigs, 
and  aware  of  the  commanding  position  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  acquiring  in  the  House  of  Lords,  now  sent  for  him,  and  commis- 
sioned his  Grace  to  form  a  new  Cabinet.  This  was  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1828. 

After  so  recent  a  disclaimer  of  his  fitness  for  the  office  of  Prime 
Minister  as  that  which  was  more  than  implied  in  his  speech  justifica- 
tory of  his  refusal  to  form  one  of  Mr.  Canning's  Cabinet,  the  readi- 
ness with  which  the  Duke  accepted  the  charge  excited  public  surprise, 
and  no  small  measure  of  public  vituperation.  What !  after  declaring 
that  he  would  be  "  mad"  to  take  such  an  office — after  disavowing 
the  remotest  wish  to  undertake  such  a  responsibility — at  once  and 
unhesitatingly  to  assume  the  trust !  Such  conduct  was  preposterous 
— at  any  rate  it  was  glaringly  inconsistent. 

But  those  who  so  deemed  of  the  Duke's  conduct  knew  him  not. 
They  were  not  aware  that  in  him  loyalty  was  an  ingrained  principle 
— the  wish  of  his  Sovereign  an  imperative  and  irresistible  law.  All 
considerations  vanished  before  the  obligations  of  duty.  If  the  Duke 
could  not  accomplish  what  was  required  of  him,  he  at  least  felt 
himself  under  an  obligation  to  make  the  attempt.  The  desire  of  the 
King  nerved  him  for   the  efi"ort — failure  might  be  unfortunate  and 


1828.]  THE  TEST  AND  CORPORATION   ACTS.  121 

mortifying,  but  disobedience  was  a  crime  of  the  highest  magnitude. 
Such  were  his  feelings  upon  the  subject,  and  those  who  had  attentively 
watched  his  previous  career  justly  gave  him  full  credit  for  integrity 
of  intention. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  speaking  in  the  House  of  Lords  of  his 
acceptance  of  the  office  of  Prime  Minister,  he  said, — "When  I  received 
his  Majesty's  commands  to  give  my  opinion  respecting  the  formation 
of  a  Ministry,  it  was  far  from  my  wish  to  place  myself  at  its  head,  or 
to  take  any  office  other  than  that  which  I  already  held ;  but  finding 
in  the  course  of  the  negotiation  which  arose  out  of  the  commands  of 
his  Majesty,  a  difficulty  in  getting  another  individual  to  fill  the  place, 
and  that  it  was  the  unanimous  wish  of  those  who  are  now  my  col- 
leagues that  I  should  take  it,  I  determined  to  accept  it ;  but  having 
so  determined  I  resigned  the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief" 

The  Duke  had  a  difficult  card  to  play  in  the  construction  of  his 
Cabinet.  Had  he  followed  the  bent  of  his  own  inclinations,  in  all 
probability  he  would  have  formed  a  phalanx  of  ultra-Tories,  prepared 
to  ride  rough-shod  over  the  Liberals,  coute  qui  coute^  or  to  stand  or 
fall  by  a  stern  resistance  to  every  species  of  innovation  upon  existing 
institutions.  The  feeling  of  the  country  was,  however,  too  strong 
upon  certain  questions  to  admit  of  so  daring  a  measure.  Compromise 
— a  thing  the  Duke  detested — was  indispensable  in  the  first  instance, 
to  prevent  too  marked  and  open  a  display  of  public  hostility.  The 
country  watched  with  anxiety  the  proceedings  of  the  Duke.  It  was 
not  long  kept  in ,  suspense.  He  re-called  Mr.  Peel  to  the  Cabinet, 
and  BIr.  Goulburn ;  retaining  Mr.  Huskisson,  Lord  Dudley  and  Ward, 
Mr.  Grant  (afterwards  Lord  Glenelg),  Mr.  Lamb  (afterwards  Lord 
Melbourne),  and  Lord  Palmerston, — all  men  favourable  to  the  policy 
of  Mr.  Canning. 

To  hold  together  a  divided  Cabinet  upon  the  plan  in  force  since 
Lord  Liverpool  accepted  office,  was  not  a  difficult  matter  when  the 
Ministry  loved  place  for  its  own  sake,  and  the  Premier  was  indifferent 
about  the  degree  of  practical  assent  yielded  to  his  views.  The  Duke 
had  very  willingly  taken  a  share  in  a  government  where  he  was 
allowed  free  scope  for  his  opinions,  without  incurring  any  risk  of 
receiving  his  conge.  It  was  otherwise  when  he  came  to  the  top  of  the 
tree.  He  who  had  commanded  so  long,  and  who  was  always  impatient 
of  opposition  to  his  plans,  was  not  likely  to  extend  to  his  subordinates 
the  latitude  of  political  sentiment  he  had  been  permitted  to  enjoy. 
Accordingly,  the  arrangements  at  first  made,  as  they  did  not  combine 
the  elements  of  permanent  existence,  were,  as  we  shall  presently  see, 
of  very  brief  duration. 


122  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1828 

The  parliamentary  session  of  1828  commenced  on  the  29th  of 
January.  The  speech  from  the  throne  carefully  excluded  any  allu- 
sion to  the  subjects  then  engaging  the  thoughts  of  the  people  of 
England.  It  was  entirely  confined  to  a  summary  of  the  foreign 
policy  of  the  previous  year  in  respect  to  the  intervention  in  the 
affairs  of  Greece.  In  the  attempt  to  carry  out  the  treaty  for  the 
reconciliation  of  Turkey  and  Greece,  a  collision  had  taken  place  be- 
tween the  British  fleet,  commanded  by  Admiral  Codrington,  and  the 
fleet  of  the  Ottoman  Porte  at  Navarino.  This  collision  being  called 
in  the  speech  an  ''  untoward  event,"  a  sharp  debate  was  raised  upon 
the  whole  question  ;  and  there  it  ended. 

The  Duke,  untrammelled  by  any  promises  or  recommendations  from 
the  throne,  at  first  determined  to  observe  a  passive  domestic  policy, 
allowing  the  Opposition  to  bring  forward  their  favourite  measures, 
and  regulating  his  assent  or  resistance  by  the  national  feeling  of  the 
hour. 

Lord  John  Russell  opened  the  Liberal  ball  on  the  26th  of  February, 
by  bringing  forward  a  motion  for  the  repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corpora- 
tion Acts.  These  Acts,  passed  in  the  reign  of  the  second  Charles, 
for  the  purpose  of  curbing  and  punishing  the  sects  whose  votes  and 
exertions  had  contributed  to  his  father's  death,  excluded  Dissenters 
from  offices  of  trust  and  power,  and  closed  the  doors  of  all  corpora- 
tions against  them,  unless  they  consented  to  take  the  sacrament 
according  to  the  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  is  true  that  an 
Annual  Indemnity  Bill  relieved  them  from  these  disabilities  ;  but  as 
it  was  at  any  time — in  any  one  year — liable  to  be  opposed  and  sus- 
pended, the  position  of  the  Dissenters  was  not  as  firm  as  their 
modern  loyalty  and  the  principles  of  religious  toleration  demanded. 
After  considerable  discussion,  the  motion  for  the  repeal  of  the  Acts 
was  carried,  much  to  the  alarm  of  the  High  Church  party  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  In  the  House  of  Lords  it  encountered  consider- 
able opposition  from  the  bench  of  Bishops  and  the  Tories  of  the  old 
school.  They  beheld  danger  to  the  Protestant  Church  in  the  slightest 
relaxation  of  the  disqualifying  laws,  and  would  hear  of  no  alteration 
in  the  Acts.  The  strong  common  sense  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
turned  the  scale.  When  it  came  to  him  to  express  the  sentiments 
of  the  Government,  he  declared  himself,  on  the  17th  of  April,  in  these 
terms  : — 

"  I  fully  agree  that  the  security  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the 
union  existing  between  it  and  the  State,  depend  neither  on  the  law 
about  to  be  repealed  by  the  present  bill,  nor  upon  the  provisions  of 
this  measure  itself     That  union  and  security,  which  we   must  all 


1828.]  THE   TEST  AND   CORPORATION  ACTS  123 

desire  to  see  continued,  depend  upon  the  oath  taken  by  his  Majesty 
to  which  we  are  all,  in  our  respective  stations,  parties,  and  not  only 
on  that  oath,  'out  on  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and  the  different  acts  of 
union  from  time  to  time  agreed  to ;  all  of  which  provide  for  the  inti- 
mate and  inseparable  union  of  Church  and  State,  and  for  the  security 
of  both. 

"  The  question  is.  What  security  does  the  existing  system  of  laws, 
as  they  now  stand,  afford  the  Church  establishment  ?  My  Lords,  I 
am  very  dubious  as  to  the  amount  of  security  afforded  through  the 
means  of  a  system  of  exclusion  from  office,  to  be  carried  into  effect 
by  a  law  which  it  is  necessary  to  suspend  by  an  annual  act,  that 
admits  every  man  into  office  whom  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
original  framers  of  the  law  to  exclude.  It  is  perfectly  true  it  was 
not  the  intention  of  those  who  brought  in  that  suspension  law 
originally,  that  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England  should  be 
permitted  to  enter  into  corporations  under  its  provisions.  The  law 
was  intended  to  relieve  those  whom  time  or  circumstances  had  render- 
ed unable  to  qualify  themselves  according  to  the  system  which  Gov- 
ernment had  devised.  However,  the  dissenters  availed  themselves 
Df  the  relaxation  of  the  law,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  into  corpora- 
tions, and  this  the  law  allowed.  What  security,  then,  I  ask,  my 
Lords,  is  to  be  found  in  the  existing  system  ?  So  far  from  dissenters 
being  excluded  by  the  Corporation  and  Test  Acts  from  all  corpora- 
tions, so  far  is  this  from  being  the  fact,  that,  as  must  be  well  known 
to  your  lordships,  some  corporations  are  absolutely  and  entirely  in 
the  possession  of  dissenters.  Can  you  suppose  that  the  repeal  of 
laws  so  inoperative  as  these  can  afford  any  serious  obstacle  to  the 
perfect  security  of  the  Church,  and  the  permanent  union  of  that  es- 
tablishment with  the  State  ?  The  fact  is,  that  the  existing  laws  have 
not  only  failed  completely  in  answering  their  intended  purpose,  but 
they  are  anomalous  and  absurd — anomalous  in  their  origin,  absurd  in 
their  operation, 

"  If  a  man  were  asked  the  question,  at  his  elevation  to  any  corpo- 
rate office,  whether  he  had  received  the  sacrament  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  if  he  said  '  No,'  he  lost  every  vote  that  had  been 
tendered  on  his  behalf,  and  there  was  an  end  of  his  election  ;  but  if, 
on  the  contrary,  by  accident  or  design,  he  got  in  without  the  question 
relative  to  the  sacrament  being  put  to  him,  then  the  votes  tendered 
for  him  were  held  good,  and  his  election  valid,  so  that  no  power  could 
remove  him  from  the  office  which  he  held.  I  ask,  is  there  any  se- 
curity in  that  ?  My  noble  friend  says  that  the  original  intention 
of  the  framers  of  these  acts  was,  that  the  sacrament  should  not  be 


124  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1823 

taken  by  dissenters  ;  but  the  law  requires  that  a  man,  on  entering  into 
any  corporation,  shall  receive  the  sacrament  without  regard  to  his  re- 
ligious belief.  Thus  an  individual,  whose  object  it  is  to  get  into  a 
particular  office,  may  feel  disposed,  naturally  enough,  to  take  the 
sacrament  before  his  election,  merely  as  a  matter  of  form ;  and  thus  a 
sacred  rite  of  our  Church  is  profaned,  and  prostituted  to  a  shameful 
and  scandalous  purpose. 

"  I  confess,  my  Lords,  I  should  have  opposed  this  bill  if  I  thought 
it  calculated  to  weaken  the  securities  at  present  enjoyed  by  the 
Church.  However,  I  agreed  not  to  oppose  the  bill ;  though  I  con- 
sented in  the  first  instance  to  oppose  it,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
blessings  of  religious  peace.  I  was  willing  to  preserve  the  system 
which  had  given  us  this  peace  for  forty  years  ;  for,  during  that  time, 
the  name  and  the  claims  of  dissenters  had  not  been  heard  of.  But 
now  they  have  come  forward,  and  their  claims  are  approved  of  by  a 
great  majority  of  the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  the  bill  has  come  up 
to  this  House.  If  it  be  opposed  by  the  majority  of  this  House,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  now  that  the  claims  are  made,  that  such  an  opposition 
will  carry  hostility  throughout  the  country,  and  introduce  a  degree  of 
rancour  into  every  parish  of  the  kingdom,  which  I  should  not  wish  to 
be  responsible  for." 

Again,  upon  the  21st  of  April,  the  Duke  said  :  "  I  have  not  called 
on  your  lordships  to  agree  to  this  bill  because  it  has  been  passed  by 
the  House  of  Commons ;  I  merely  assigned  that  as  one  of  the  reasons 
which  induced  me  to  recommend  the  measure  to  your  lordships.  I 
certainly  did  allude  to  the  feeling  in  favour  of  the  bill  which  has  for 
some  time  been  growing  up  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  a  good 
reason  for  entertaining  it  in  your  lordships'  House ;  but  other 
reasons  also  operated  on  my  mind.  Many  individuals  of  high  emi- 
nence in  the  Church,  and  who  are  as  much  interested  as  any  other 
persons  in  the  kingdom  in  the  preservation  of  the  Constitution,  have 
expressed  themselves  as  being  favourable  to  an  alteration  of  the  law. 
The  religious  feelings  of  those  venerable  persons  disposed  them  to  en- 
tertain this  measure,  because  they  felt  strong  objections  to  the  sacra- 
mental test.  Under  these  circumstances,  wishing  to  advance  and 
preserve  the  blessings  of  religious  peace  and  tranquillity, — conceiving 
the  present  a  good  opportunity  for  securing  to  the  country  so  inesti- 
mable an  advantage,  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  recommend  this 
measure  to  your  lordships.  It  is  on  all  these  grounds  that  I  support 
the  bill,  and  not  on  the  single  ground — the  circumstance  of  its 
having  been  carried  in  the  House  of  Commons — as  a  noble  lord  has 
stated.     I  am  not  one  of  those  who  consider  that  the  best  means 


1828.]  REFORM   IN   PARLIAMENT.  125 

of  preserving  the  constitution  of  this  country  is  by  rigidly  adhering 
to  measures  which  have  been  called  for  by  particular  circumstances, 
because  those  measures  have  been  in  existence  for  two  hundred  years, 
for  the  lapse  of  time  might  render  it  proper  to  modify,  if  not  to  re- 
move them  altogether. 

"  I  admit,  my  Lords,  that  for  about  two  hundred  years  the  religious 
peace  of  the  country  has  been  preserved  under  these  bills  ;  but,  when 
Parliament  is  discussing  the  best  means  of  preserving  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  country,  it  is  surely  worth  while  to  inquire  whether  any, 
and  what  changes,  in  what  have  been  deemed  the  securities  of  the 
Church,  can  safely  be  made,  so  as  to  conciliate  all  parties. 

"  All  I  hope  is,  that  your  lordships  will  not  unnecessarily  make  any 
alteration  in  the  measure  that  would  be  likely  to  give  dissatisfaction  ; 
that  your  lordships  will  not  do  anything  which  may  be  calculated  to 
remove  that  conciliating  spirit  which  is  now  growing  up — a  spirit 
that  will  redound  to  the  benefit  of  the  country,  and  which,  so  far 
from  opposing,  we  ought,  on  the  contrary,  to  do  everything  to  foster 
and  promote." 

The  result  of  the  discussion  was  the  repeal  of  the  Acts, — the  old 
religious  test  being  replaced  by  a  "  Declaration"  from  the  holder  of 
ofiBce  that  he  would  never  exert  any  power  or  influence  he  might 
possess,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  to  injure  or  subvert  the  Protestant 
Church. 

If  one  large  section  of  the  British  public  had  viewed  the  accession 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  supreme  civil  power  with  doubt  and 
alarm,  the  confidence  with  which  he  now  inspired  it,  in  the  liberality 
of  his  views,  was  counterbalanced  by  the  dread  which  the  opposite  or 
Church  section  entertained  of  his  latitudinarianism.  "  Since,"  said 
they,  "  the  door  is  thus  opened  to  the  dissenters,  we  have  no  security 
that  the  Pioman  Catholics  will  not  be  allowed  to  rush  in  and  destroy 
the  sacred  edifice  of  Protestantism — the  bulwark  of  liberty — the 
guarantee  of  universal  peace."  Apparently  to  calm  this  apprehen- 
sion, but  in  reality  because  the  subject  was  incidentally  introduced, 
the  Duke,  on  the  28th  of  April,  said,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of 
Lords  : — 

"  There  is  no  person  in  this  House  whose  feelings  and  sentiments, 
after  long  consideration,  are  more  decided  than  mine  are,  with  respect 
to  the  subject  of  the  Roman  Catholic  claims  ;  and  I  must  say,  that, 
until  I  see  a  very  great  change  in  that  quarter,  I  shall  continue  to 
oppose  the  Emancipation  of  the  Catholics." 

The  phrase  "  until  I  see  a  very  great  change  in  that  quarter," 
was  very  ambiguous.     What  change  did  the  Duke  desire  ?     A  change 


126  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1828 

in  the  temper  of  the  Catholics,  who  were  then  "  agitating "  tlie 
subject  with  unexampled  fervour?  A  change  in  the  views  of  the 
Protestant  party  —  or  what  ?  Speculation  became  rife  upon  the 
subject ;  and  while  the  Church  party  drew  inferences  favourable  to 
their  views  from  the  declaration  of  "  decided"  feelings  and  sentiments, 
the  Liberals  gathered  hope  from  the  vague  allusion  to  a  possible  alter- 
ation.' 

A  reform  in  the  Parliamentary  representation  had  been  a  standing 
dish  with  a  section  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  On  the  broad  principle  of  taking  from  the 
landed  aristocracy  of  the  House  of  Peers  the  power  of  nominating 
members  subservient  to  their  views,  the  question  had  been  argued 
with  vigour  and  eloquence  by  some  of  the  most  enlightened  and  inde- 
pendent members  of  the  Lower  House,  who  also  contended  for  a 
system  which  would  give  to  a  large  portion  of  the  country,  still  unre- 
presented, the  right  of  sending  members  to  assert  their  views  and 
interests.  Until  1827  the  subject  made  little  progress,  because  the 
advocacy  of  reform  had  been  volunteered  by  a  class  of  popularity- 
hunting  men  whose  station  in  society  was  comparatively  obscure,  and 
their  mode  of  advancing  their  opinions  distasteful  to  the  better 
classes.  In  point  of  fact,  the  very  prospect  of  a  new  system  which 
should  introduce  such  persons  as  Mr.  Cobbett  and  Mr.  Hunt"  into 

1  The  claims  of  the  Roman  Catholics  had  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Duke  at  the  earliest 
period  of  his  Parliamentary  career.  Balancing  even  then  (1793),  between  justice  and  expe- 
diency, the  Honourable  Arthur  Wesley  (as  the  name  was  then  spelt)  thus  spoke,  in  the  Irish 
House  of  Commons : — "  He  had  no  objection  to  giving  the  Roman  Catholics  the  benefits  of 
the  Constitution,  and,  in  his  opinion,  the  bill  [alluding  to  some  bill  then  introduced]  conferred 
them  in  an  ample  degree  ;  but  the  motion  of  the  honourable  gentleman  seemed  calculated 
to  promote  disunion.  With  the  bill  as  it  stands,  the  Protestants  are  satisfied,  and  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  are  contented.  Why,  then,  agitate  a  question  which  may  disturb  both?  —  A 
gentleman  has  said,  that  admitting  the  40i.  freeholders  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion  to 
vote  at  elections  will  annihilate  the  Protestant  estabhshraent  in  Ireland  ;  and  ho  has  founded 
thla  assertion  upon  a  supposition  that  the  Roman  Catholics  will,  in  voting,  be  directed  by 
their  priests.  But  have  not  Roman  Catholics,  like  Protestants,  various  interests  and  various 
passions,  by  which  they  are  swayed  ?  The  influence  of  their  landlords — their  good  or  bad 
opinion  of  the  candidates— their  own  interests— and  a  thousand  other  motives  ?  It  appeared 
to  him  that  they  would  not  vote  in  a  body,  or  as  had  been  supposed,  if  the  bill  should 
pass  in  its  present  form ;  but  if  the  motion  of  the  honourable  gentleman  should  be  adopted, 
then,  indeed,  they  would  undoubtedly  unite  in  support  of  Roman  Catliolic  candidates."  Pre- 
vious to  this,  on  seconding  the  Address  in  answer  to  the  speech  from  the  throne,  tlio  young 
member  for  Trim  said ;— "  In  regard  to  what  hud  been  recommended  in  the  speech  from  the 
throne,  respecting  our  Catholic  fellow-subjects,  he  could  not  repress  expressing  his  approbation 
on  that  head  ;  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  loyally  of  the  Catholics  of  this  country,  and  he  trusted 
that  when  the  question  would  bo  brought  forward,  respecting  that  description  of  men,  that  wa 
would  lay  aside  all  animosities,  and  act  with  moderation  and  dignity,  and  not  with  the  fury  and 
violence  of  partisans." 

3  Cobbett  was  a  man  of  humble  origin,  who  bad  once  been  a  private  soldier.    Of  a  strong 


1828.]  MR.   HUSKISSON'S  RESIGNATION".  127 

Parliament  was  offensive  alike  to  the  aristocracy  and  to  the  middle 
classes,  and  originated  a  strong  and  effective  opposition.  But  by  1828 
circumstances  had  occurred  which  so  powerfully  illustrated  the  neces- 
sity for  purifying  the  elections,  that  public  opinion  began  to  undergo 
a  material  change.  The  House  of  Commons  had  convicted  the  bur- 
gesses of  Penryhn,  in  Cornwall,  of  gross  and  prevailing  bribery,  and 
had  passed  a  bill  disqualifying  the  borough,  and  transferring  its  right 
of  electing  two  members  to  Manchester.  East  Retford,  too,  in  Not- 
tinghamshire, had  also  been  found  guilty  of  corruption,  and  a  bill  was 
brought  in  to  transfer  its  franchise  to  Birmingham.  The  House  of 
Lords,  dreading  the  loss  of  borough  influence,  repudiated  the  first  bill, 
and  the  second  (East  Retford)  only  acquired  partial  favour  in  the 
Lower  House.  It  was  deferred  for  a  session,  East  Retford  remaining 
for  a  time  without  a  representative. 

In  the  discussions  upon  the  East  Retford  Bill,  a  circumstance  oc- 
curred which,  bearing  particularly  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  min- 
isterial career,  demands  special  mention. 

Amongst  the  "  Canningites"  who  had  remained  with  the  Duke  was 
Mr.  Huskisson,  a  man  of  talent,  attached  to  office,  whose  political  opin- 
ions hung  rather  loosely  about  him.  The  Government  opposed  the 
East  Retford  Bill.  Mr.  Huskisson,  however,  had  upon  a  previous 
occasion,  given  a  pledge  to  the  House  of  Commons  that  he  should, 
when  any  one  borough  became  disfranchised,  vote  for  the  transfer  of 
the  franchise  to  Birmingham  or  Manchester.  He  now  considered  him- 
self bound  to  redeem  this  pledge  ;  and  when  the  matter  came  to  an 
issue  he  divided  against  his  colleagues  in  the  ministry.  Considering 
that  this  act  compromised  him  with  the  Premier,  he  sat  down  upon 
his  return  home,  and  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  wrote  the  follow- 
ing letter  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  : — 


"Downing  Street,  Tuesday  morning,  2  a.  m.,  May  Wth. 

"  My  dear  Duke, 

"  After  the  vote  which,  in  regard  to  my  own  consistency 
and  personal  character,  I  have  found  myself,  from  the  course  of  this 
evening's  debate,  compelled  to  give  on  the  East  Retford  question,  I 
owe  it  to  you,  as  the  head  of  the  Administration,  and  to  Mr.  Peel,  as 

mind  and  resolute  purpose,  he  had,  so  to  speak,  educated  himself,  and  many  years  previously 
had  started  periodicals  called  "  The  Gridiron,"  and  "  The  Register,"  in  all  of  which  he  main- 
tamed  opinions  of  an  almost  democratic  hue — assailing  placemen,  pensioners.  Corn  Laws,  &c. 
This  had  given  him  a  large  popularity.  Hunt  was  a  vender  of  blacking,  and  disseminated  bis 
doctrines  (corresponding  with  Cobbett's)  in  mob  harangues.  Both  were  clever,  unscrupulous 
men. 


128  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  1828.] 

the  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to  lose  no  time  in  affording  you 
an  opportunity  of  placing  my  office  in  other  hands,  as  the  only  means 
in  my  power  of  preventing  the  injury  to  the  King's  service  which 
may  ensue  from  the  appearance  of  disunion  in  his  Majesty's  councils, 
however  unfounded  in  reality,  or  however  unimportant  in  itself  the 
question  which  has  given  rise  to  that  appearance." 

The  Duke  replied  the  next  day  : — 

"  My  dear  Huskisson, 

"  Your  letter  of  this  morning,  which  I  received  at  ten,  has 
surprised  me  much,  and  has  given  me  great  concern.  I  have  consid- 
ered it  my  duty  to  lay  it  before  the  King." 

Mr.  Huskisson  was  not  prepared  for  such  promptitude  of  action. 
He  did  not  know  that  the  Duke  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  getting 
rid  of  a  colleague  of  unstable  principles,  or,  at  least,  of  men  addicted 
to  free-trade  tendencies.  He  immediately  induced  two  of  his  friends 
to  go  to  the  Duke,  and  upon  their  return  he  thus  rejoined  : — 

"Downing  Street,  May  UOrA,  1828,  half-past  Cp. m. 

^'  My  dear  Duke, 

"  Having  understood  from  Lord  Dudley  and  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  that  you  had  laid  my  letter  of  last  night  before  the  King,  under 
a  different  impression  from  that  which  it  was  intended  to  convey,  I 
feel  it  due  both  to  you  and  to  myself  to  say,  that  my  object  in  writing 
that  letter  was,  not  to  express  any  intention  of  my  own,  but  to  relieve 
you  from  any  delicacy  which  you  might  feel  towards  me,  if  you  should 
think  that  the  interests  of  his  Majesty's  service  would  be  prejudiced 
by  my  remaining  in  office,  after  giving  a  vote,  in  respect  to  which,  from 
the  turn  which  the  latter  part  of  the  debate  had  taken,  a  sense  of  per- 
sonal honour  left  me  no  alternative." 

The  Duke's  resolve  was  not  to  be  shaken  by  this  affectation  of  deli- 
cacy. He  had  looked  upon  the  resignation  as  bond  fide^  and  in  that 
sense  he  was  determined  that  it  should  be  understood  and  accepted. 
His  Grace,  however,  again  wrote  : — 

"  My  dear  Huskisson, 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  evening.  I  certainly 
did  not  understand  your  letter  of  two  this  morning  as  offering  me 
any  option  ;  nor  do  I  understand  the  one  of  this  evening  as  leaving 


1828.J  MR.  HUSKISSOTS  RESIGNATION.  129 

me  any,  except  that  of  submitting  myself  and  his  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment to  the  necessity  of  soliciting  you  to  remain  in  your  office,  or  of 
incurring  the  loss  of  your  valuable  assistance  to  his  Majesty's  service. 
However  sensible  I  may  be  of  this  loss,  I  am  convinced  that,  in  these 
times,  any  loss  is  better  than  that  of  character,  which  is  the  founda- 
tion of  public  confidence. 

"  In  this  view  of  the  case,  I  have  put  out  of  it  altogether  every 
consideration  of  the  discredit  resulting  from  the  scene  of  last  night  of 
the  extent  of  which  you  could  not  have  been  but  sensible  when  you 
thought  proper,  as  a  remedy  for  it,  to  send  me  the  offer  of  '  placing 
the  office  in  other  hands.' " 

Mr.  Huskisson  now  beginning  to  perceive  that  the  revocare  gradmn 
was  placed  beyond  possibility,  and  anticipating  the  publicity  of  a  cor- 
respondence which  had  commenced  in  a  "private  and  confidential" 
form,  once  more  addressed  the  Duke. 

"Colonial  Office,  May  21s<,  1828, 

"  My  DEAR  Duke, 

"  In  justice  to  myself,  I  cannot  acquiesce  for  a  moment  in 
the  construction  which  your  letter  of  last  night  puts  upon  my 
conduct. 

"  You  cannot  refuse  to  me  the  right  of  knowing  the  motives  of  my 
own  actions ;  and  I  solemnly  declare  that,  in  both  my  letters,  I  was 
actuated  by  one  and  the  same  feeling.  It  was  simply  this : — That  it 
was  not  for  me,  but  for  you,  as  head  of  the  Government,  to  decide  how 
far  my  vote  made  it  expedient  to  remove  me  from  his  Majesty's 
service.  I  felt  that  I  had  no  alternative,  consistently  with  personal 
honour  (in  a  difficulty  not  of  my  own  seeking  or  creating),  but  to  give 
that  vote  ;  that  the  question,  in  itself,  was  one  of  minor  importance  ; 
that  the  disunion  was  more  in  appearance  than  in  reality ;  but  I  also 
felt  that,  possibly,  you  might  take  a  different  view  of  it,  and  that,  in 
case  you  should,  I  ought  (as  I  had  done  on  a  similar  occasion  with 
Lord  Liverpool)  to  relieve  you  from  any  difficulty  arising  out  of  per- 
sonal consideration  towards  me,  in  deciding  upon  a  step  to  which  you 
might  find  it  your  public  duty  to  resort  on  the  occasion. 

"  It  was  under  this  impression  alone  that  I  wrote  to  you  immediate- 
ly upon  my  return  from  the  House  of  Commons. 

"  If  you  had  not  misconceived  that  impression,  as  well  as  the 
purport  of  my  second  letter,  I  am  persuaded  that  you  could  not 
suppose  me  guilty  of  the  arrogance  of  expecting  that  you  and  his 
Majesty's  Government  should  submit  yourselves  to  the  necessity  of 

VOL.  u.  2  L 


130 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1828. 


soliciting  me  to  remain  in  my  office,'  or  do  me  the  injustice  of 
believing  that  I  could  be  capable  of  placing  you  in  the  alternative  of 
choosing  between  the  continuance  of  my  services,  such  as  they  are,  and 
the  loss  to  your  administration  of  one  particle  of  character,  which,  I 
agree  with  you,  is  the  foundation  of  confidence. 

"  If,  understanding  my  communication  as  I  intended  it  to  be 
understood,  you  had  in  any  way  intimated  to  me  either  that  the 
occurrence,  however  unfortunate,  was  not  one  of  sufficient  moment 
to  render  it  necessary  for  you,  on  public  grounds,  to  act  in  the 
manner  in  which  I  had  assumed  that  you  possibly  might  think  it 
necessary,  or  that  you  were  under  that  necessity,  in  either  case  there 
would  have  been  an  end  of  the  matter.  In  the  first  supposition,  I 
should  have  felt  that  I  had  done  what  in  honour  and  fairness  towards 


W.    HCSEISSON. 


you  I  was  bound  to  do  ;  but  it  never  would  have  entered  my  imagina* 
tion  that  I  had  claimed  or  received  any  sacrifice  whatever  from  you 
or  any  member  of  his  Majesty's  Government. 


1828.]  MR.   HUSKISSON'S   RESIGNATION.  131 

"  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  can  be  further  from  my  intention  than 
to  express  an  opinion  that  the  occasion  was  not  one  in  which  you  might 
fairly  consider  it  your  duty  to  advise  his  Majesty  to  withdraw  from 
me  the  seals  of  office  on  the  ground  of  this  vote.  I  do  not,  therefore, 
complain  ;  but  I  cannot  allow  that  my  removal  shall  be  placed  on  any 
other  ground.  I  cannot  allow  that  it  was  my  own  act,  still  less  can  I 
admit  that  when  I  had  no  other  intention  than  to  relieve  the  question 
on  which  you  had  to  decide  from  any  personal  embarrassment,  this 
step,  on  my  part,  should  be  ascribed  to  feelings  the  very  reverse  of 
those  by  which  alone  I  was  actuated,  either  towards  you  or  his  Ma- 
jesty's Government." 

Many  men  would  have  preferred  allowing  the  world  to  suppose  that 
they  had  resigned,  rather  than  endure  the  odium  of  having  been  dis- 
carded. Mr.  Huskisson's  tenacious  love  of  place  rendered  him  for  the 
moment  oblivious  of  what  was  due  to  his  own  personal  consequence, 
or  he  would  scarcely  have  penned  the  foregoing  letter.  As  will  ba 
seen  from  what  follows,  the  explanation  made  no  impression  on  the 
impenetrable  Duke  : — 

"London,  May  21st,  1828. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Huskisson, 

"  In  consequence  of  your  last  letter,  I  feel  it  to  be  necessary 
to  recall  to  your  recollection  the  circumstances  under  which  I  received 
your  letter  of  Tuesday  morning. 

"  It  is  addressed  to  me  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  immediately 
after  a  debate  and  division  in  the  House  of  Commons.  It  informs 
me  that  you  lose  no  time  in  afifording  me  an  opportunity  of  placing 
your  office  in  other  hands,  as  the  only  means  in  your  power  of  pre- 
venting an  injury  to  the  King's  service,  which  you  describe.  It 
concludes  by  regretting  the  necessity  for  troubling  me  with  this  com- 
munication. 

"  Could  I  consider  this  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  formal  tender 
of  the  resignation  of  your  office,  or  that  I  had  any  alternative  but 
either  to  solicit  you  to  remain  in  office  contrary  to  your  sense  of  duty, 
or  to  submit  your  letter  to  the  King  1 

"  If  you  had  called  on  me  the  next  morning  after  your  vote,  and 
had  explained  to  me  in  conversation  what  had  passed  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  character  of  the  communication  would  have  been  quite 
different,  and  I  might  have  felt  myself  at  liberty  to  discuss  the  whole 
subject  with  you,  and  freely  to  give  an  opinion  upon  any  point  con- 
nected. But  I  must  still  think  that  if  I  had  not  considered  a  letter, 
couched  in  the  terms  in  which  that  letter  is  couched,  and  received 


132  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1828. 

under  the  circumstances  under  which  I  received  it,  as  a  tender  of  re- 
signation, and  had  not  laid  it  before  the  King,  I  should  have  exposed 
the  King's  Government  and  myself  to  very  painful  misconstruc- 
tions. My  answer  to  your  letter  will  have  informed  you  that  it  sur- 
prised me  much,  and  that  it  gave  me  great  concern.  I  must  consider, 
therefore,  the  resignation  of  your  oflSce  as  your  own  act,  and  not 
as  mine." 

Nothing  can  more  strongly  mark  the  resolution  of  the  Duke  to 
shake  oflF  the  Ministerial  connection  with  Mr.  Huskisson  than  this 
communication.  Had  he  desired  sincerely  to  retain  the  services  of 
the  "  Canningite,"  he  would  gladly  have  accepted  the  explanations 
offered,  whether  they  originated  in  a  desire  to  remain  in  charge  of  the 
seals  of  the  Colonial  Office,  or  a  sense  of  delicacy  towards  the  Duke 
himself  Mr.  Huskisson  now  sought  to  excuse  himself  to  the  King, 
and  we  have  here  the  result  of  bia  endeavour  to  obtain  an  interview 
with  his  Majesty  :- 

"Downing  Street,  May  25/A,  1828, 

"  My  dear  Duke, 

"  On  Tuesday  last  I  wrote  to  the  King,  to  solicit  an 
audience.  His  Majesty  has  not  yet  been  pleased  to  grant  me  this 
honour. 

"  In  the  expectation  (not  unnatural  for  me  to  entertain  in  the 
situation  which  I  hold)  of  being  afforded  an  opportunity  of  waiting 
upon  his  Majesty,  I  have  deferred  acknowledging  your  letter  of  the 
21st,  which,  passing  by  altogether  all  that  is  stated  in  mine  of  the 
same  date,  you  conclude  in  the  following  words : — '  I  must,  therefore, 
consider  the  resignation  of  your  office  as  your  own  act,  and  not  as 
mine.' 

"  I  will  not  revert  to  the  full  explanation  which  I  have  already 
given  you  on  this  subject.  Not  denying  that  my  first  letter  might  be 
capable  of  the  construction  which  you  put  upon  it,  I  would  ask  you 
whether  it  be  usual,  after  a  construction  has  been  from  the  first 
moment  explicitly  disavowed,  to  persist  that  it  is  the  right  one?  It 
being,  however,  the  construction  to  which  you  adhere,  I  must  assume, 
as  you  laid  the  letter  before  his  Majesty,  that  you  advised  his  Majesty 
upon  it,  and  that  his  Majesty  is,  therefore,  under  the  same  misappre- 
hension as  yourself  of  what  I  meant ;  the  more  especially  as  I  have 
no  means  of  knowing  whether  any  subsequent  letters  have  been  laid 
before  his  Majesty. 

"  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  setting  right  any  erroneous  impression 


1828.]  MR.  HUSKISSON'S  RESIGNATION.  193 

in  the  royal  mind  that  I  sought  to  be  admitted  as  soon  as  possible  into 
his  Majesty's  presence. 

"  I  was  then,  as  I  am  still,  most  anxious  to  assure  his  Majesty  that 
nothing  could  have  been  further  from  my  intention  than  that  the  letter 
in  question  should  have  been  at  all  submitted  to  his  Majesty, — to 
make  known  to  his  Majesty  the  circumstances  and  feelings  under 
which  it  had  been  written, — to  point  out  to  him  that  I  had  taken  the 
precaution  (usual  between  Ministers  in  matters  of  a  delicate  and  confi- 
dential nature,  when  it  is  wished  to  keep  the  subject  as  much  as  possi- 
ble confined  to  the  respective  parties)  of  making  the  letter,  '  private 
and  confidential,' — that  I  understood  that  this  letter,  so  marked 
specially  to  guard  its  object,  had  been,  without  previous  communica- 
tion of  any  sort  with  me — in  respect  to  the  transaction  referred  to, 
but  not  explained  in  the  letter  itself — laid  before  his  Majesty,  as  con- 
veying to  the  foot  of  the  throne  my  positive  resignation. 

"  I  should  further  have  had  to  state  to  his  Majesty  the  great  pain 
and  concern  which  I  felt  at  finding  that  a  paper  should  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  his  Majesty,  and  described  to  him  as  conveying  my  resig- 
nation of  the  seals  in  a  form  so  unusual,  and  with  a  restriction  so 
unbecoming  towards  my  Sovereign,  as  is  implied  in  the  words  '  private 
and  confidential;'  that  in  a  necessity  so  painful  (had  I  felt  such  a 
necessity)  as  that  of  asking  his  Majesty's  permission  to  withdraw 
from  his  service,  my  first  anxiety  would  have  been  to  lay  my  reasons, 
in  a  respectful  but  direct  communication  from  myself,  at  his 
Majesty's  feet;  but  that,  most  certainly,  in  whatever  mode  con- 
veyed, the  uppermost  feeling  of  my  heart  would  have  been  to  have 
accompanied  it  with  those  expressions  of  dutiful  attachment  and 
respectful  gratitude  which  I  owe  his  Majesty,  for  the  many  and 
uniform  proofs  of  confidence  and  kindness  with  which  he  has  been 
graciously  pleased  to  honour  me  since  I  have  held  the  seals  of  the 
Colonial  department. 

"  If  I  had  been  afforded  an  opportunity  of  thus  relieving  myself 
from  the  painful  position  in  which  I  stand  towards  his  Majesty,  I 
should  then  have  entreated  of  his  Majesty's  goodness  and  sense  of 
justice  to  permit  a  letter,  so  improper  for  me  to  have  written  (if  it 
could  have  been  in  my  contemplation  that  it  would  have  been  laid 
before  his  Majesty  as  an  act  of  resignation),  to  be  withdrawn. 
Neither  should  I  have  concealed  from  his  Majesty  my  regret,  con- 
sidering the  trouble  which  has  unfortunately  occurred,  both  to  his 
Majesty  and  his  Government,  that  I  had  not  taken  a  different  mode 
of  doing  what,  for  the  reasons  fully  stated  in  my  letter  of  the  21st,  I 
found  myself  bound  in  honour  to  do,  so  as  to  have  prevented,  perhaps. 


134  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1828. 

the  misconception  arising  out  of  my  letter,  written  immediately  after 
the  debate. 

"  I  have  now  stated  to  you  frankly,  and  without  reserve,  the  sub- 
stance of  all  that  I  was  anxious  to  submit  to  the  King.  I  have  done 
so  in  the  full  confidence  that  you  will  do  me  the  favour  to  lay  this 
statement  before  his  Majesty ;  and  that  I  may  be  allowed  to  implore 
of  his  Majesty  that  he  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that,  of  all 
who  have  a  right  to  prefer  a  claim  to  be  admitted  to  his  royal 
presence,  I  am  the  last  who,  in  a  matter  relating  to  myself,  would 
press  that  claim  in  a  manner  unpleasant  to  his  Majesty's  wishes  or 
inclinations, — I  bow  to  them  with  respectful  deference,  still  retaining, 
however,  a  confidence  founded  on  the  rectitude  of  my  intentions, 
that,  in  being  removed  from  his  Majesty's  service,  I  may  be  allowed 
the  consolation  of  knowing  that  I  have  not  been  debarred  from  the 
privilege  of  my  office  in  consequence  of  my  having  incurred  his  Ma- 
jesty's personal  displeasure." 

Mr.  Huskisson  must  have  been  but  imperfectly  informed  of  the 
influence  of  the  Duke  in  the  royal  Cabinet,  and  still  less  of  the 
implacable  character  of  the  Premier's  resolution,  if  he  expected  that 
any  other  reply  to  the  foregoing  letter  could  have  been  sent  him  than 
the  following : — 

"  London,  May  '25tk  1828. 

"  My  dear  Huskisson, 

"  It  is  with  great  concern  that  I  inform  you  that  I  have  at 
last  attended  his  Majesty,  and  have  received  his  instructions  respect- 
ing an  arrangement  to  fill  your  office. 

"  I  sincerely  regret  the  loss  of  your  valuable  assistance  in  the 
arduous  task  in  which  I  am  engaged.'" 

The  "concern"  and  the  "sincere  regret"  of  the  Duke  must  be 
accepted  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  unmeaning  courtesy.  The  Duke 
could  not  have  meant  that  he  had  attended  the  King  with  "  great 
concern,"  because  there  was  really  no  earthly  occasion  for  his  doing 
his  feelings  a  violence  if  he  had  wished  to  continue  Mr.  Huskisson  in 
the  Cabinet ;  nor  can  he  be  allowed  the  credit  of  "  sincerely  regretting" 
a  "  loss  "  he  might  have  spared  himself,  had  he  wished  to  do  so.  Not 
to  be  outdone,  however,  in  empty  courtesy,  and  desiring  to  stand 
well  with  the  King,  Mr.  Huskisson  returned  the  following  reply  ; — 


1828.]  MR.  HUSKISSON'S  LAST  LETTER.  135 

"Downing  Street,  9|p.  m.  May  ^t/i,  1828. 

"  My  dear.  Dukte, 

"  Lord  Dudley  has  just  sent  to  me,  unopened,  my  letter  to 
you,  which  I  forwarded  to  Aspley  House  about  five  o'clock  this  after- 
noon. 

"  This  letter  was  written  as  soon  as  I  was  given  to  understand  by 
Lord  Dudley,  who  called  here  after  an  interview  with  you  this  morn- 
ing, that  his  Majesty  had  not  signified  any  intention  of  granting  me 
the  honour  of  an  audience. 

"  No  other  mode,  therefore,  remaining  open  to  me  of  conveying  my 
sentiments  to  the  King,  I  address  myself  to  you  for  the  purpose  of 
bringing  before  his  Majesty,  in  the  shape  of  a  written  communication, 
what  I  am  prevented  from  stating  to  his  Majesty  in  person. 

"  I  feel  confident  that  you  will  not  deny  me  this  favour  ;  and  you 
will  be  satisfied,  by  the  contents  of  my  letter  (which  I  now  return), 
that  in  writing  it  nothing  was  further  from  my  intention  than  to 
intrude  myself  between  you  and  the  arrangements  which,  upon  my 
removal  from  office  (for  such  I  have  considered  the  result  of  our  cor- 
respondence since  your  letter  of  the  21st),  you  have  received  his 
Majesty's  instructions  to  make. 

"  Your  letter,  communicating  this  fact,  reached  me  about  half-past 
seven  this  evening.  I  thank  you  for  the  information,  and  for  the 
kind  manner  in  which  you  advert  to  any  feeble  assistance  which  I 
may  have  been  able  to  give  to  your  administration,  as  well  as  for  the 
expression  of  the  concern  with  which  you  have  advised  his  Majesty 
to  place  my  office  in  other  hands." 

The  subjoined  communication  closed  the  correspondence  : — 

«  London,  May  26th,  1823. 

"  My  deak  Huskisson, 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  yesterday,  accompanied  by 
another  letter  from  you,  dated  also  yesterday,  which  I  had  returned 
to  Lord  Dudley,  under  the  impression  that  I  ought  not  to  open  it 
without  your  previous  consent,  under  the  circumstances  that  existed 
at  the  time  I  received  it. 

"I  have  laid  both  before  the  King.  In  answer  I  have  only  to 
repeat  that  I  considered  your  letter  of  the  20th  as  a  formal  tender  of 
the  resignation  of  your  office  ;  and  that  the  circumstance  of  its  being 
marked  '  private  and  confidential '  did  not  alter  the  character  of  the 
letter,  or  relieve  me  from  the  painful  duty  of  communicating  its 
contents  to  his  Majesty,  as  I  did,  in  person. 


136  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1828. 

'•  Your  subsequent  letters  did  not,  according  to  my  understanding 
of  them,  convey  any  disavowal  of  your  intention  to  tender  your  resig- 
nation. I  laid  them  before  his  Majesty,  and  ray  answers  to  them, 
and  communicated  to  Lord  Dudley  that  I  had  done  so. 

"  The  King  informed  me — I  think  on  Wednesday,  the  21st — that 
you  had  desired  to  have  an  audience  of  his  Majesty  ;  and  that  he 
intended  to  receive  you  on  the  day  but  one  after.  I  did  not  consider 
it  my  duty  to  advise  his  Majesty  to  receive  you  at  an  earlier  period. 

"  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  observe,  that  your  letter  to  me. 
of  the  20th  was  entirely  your  own  act,  and  wholly  unexpected  by  me 
If  the  letter  was  written  hastily  and  inconsiderately,  surely  the 
natural  course  was  for  you  to  withdraw  it  altogether,  and  thus  relieve 
me  from  the  position  in  which,  without  any  fault  of  mine,  it  had 
placed  me — compelling  me  either  to  accept  the  resignation  which  it 
tendered,  or  to  solicit  you  to  continue  to  hold  your  office. 

"  This  latter  step  was,  in  my  opinion,  calculated  to  do  me  person- 
ally, and  the  King's  Government,  great  dis-service  ;  and  it  appeared 
to  me  that  the  only  mode  by  which  we  could  be  extricated  from  the 
difficulty  in  which  your  letter  had  placed  us  was,  that  the  withdrawal 
of  your  letter  should  be  your  spontaneous  act,  and  that  it  should  be 
adopted  without  delay. 

"  The  interference  of  his  Majesty,  pending  our  correspondence, 
would  not  only  have  placed  his  Majesty  in  a  situation  in  which  he 
ought  not  to  be  placed  in  such  a  question,  but  it  would  have  subjected 
me  to  the  imputation  that  that  interference  had  taken  place  on  my 
suggestion,  or  with  my  connivance. 

"  I  did  not  consider  it  my  duty  to  advise  his  Majesty  to  interfere  in 
any  manner  whatever. 

"  His  Majesty  informed  me  this  day  that  he  had  written  to  you 
this  morning,  appointing  an  audience  in  the  course  of  the  day." 

Besides  the  endeavours  made  by  Mr.  Huskisson,  in  his  letters  to 
the  Duke,  to  retract  the  resignation,  personal  exertions  were  employed 
by  Lords  Palmerston  and  Dudley  and  Ward  to  induce  his  Grrace  to 
cancel  his  acceptance  of  the  renunciation  of  office.  The  Duke  was 
obdurate.  To  an  assurance  that  it  was  all  a  mistake,  he  answered 
emphatically,  "  It  was  no  mistake — could  be  no  mistake — and  should 
be  no  mistake." 

Reviewing  the  whole  correspondence  and  interviews,  and  looking 
at  the  evident  predisposition  of  tlie  Duke,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
he  did  not  in  the  first  instance  take  more  dignified  ground,  and  pre- 
serve his   character  from  the  taint  of  insincerity.     It    might   have 


IS28.]  THE   MILITARY   GOVERNMENT.  13" 

been  expected  of  liis  ordinary  frankness,  and  his  notions  of  the 
importance  of  agreement  in  the  Cabinet,  that  he  would  have 
replied  at  once :  "  I  will  advise  the  King  to  accept  your  resignation, 
because  no  chance  must  be  allowed  to  exist  of  the  country  being 
again  disturbed  by  the  appearance  of  division  in  the  Councils  of  the 
King,  on  a  subject  of  so  much  moment  as  Parliamentary  Reform." 
Perhaps  the  Duke  more  than  once  regretted  in  after-life  that  he  had 
not  taken  this  decided  step. 

Mr.  Huskisson's  expulsion — for  it  can  be  called  nothing  else — led 
to  the  immediate  resignation  of  Lords  Palmerston  and  Dudley  and 
Ward,  and  Mr.  Charles  Grant. 

Thus  weeded  of  every  vestige  of  the  moderate  Liberalism  which  per- 
tained to  the  Canning  portion  of  the  Ministry  (with  the  exception  of 
Lord  Lyndhurst,  who  had  become  Lord  Chancellor  when  Lord  Eldon 
seceded),  the  Duke's  Cabinet  immediately  became  the  representative 
of  strong  opinions  ;  for  he  called  into  office  Sir  George  Murray,  Sir 
Henry  Hardinge,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  and  BIr.  Vesey  Fitzgerald. 
The  two  former  were  Peninsula  soldiers,  in  whose  business  habits  the 
Duke  had  great  confidence,  and  on  whose  co-operation,  not  to  say  obe- 
dience, he  could  rely. 

Much  alarm  was  felt  by  the  liberals  at  this  infusion  of  military 
men.  There  was  already  a  General  Officer  at  the  head  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Ireland  (the  Marquis  of  Anglesey).  Four  aiguillettes  thus 
distinguished  the  Council  Board,  and  "  strong"  measures  were  expect- 
ed as  the  result  of  such  a  combination  of  men  of  camp  habits,  under 
the  dominion  of  one  powerful  and  somewhat  despotic  will. 

A  fortnight  had  scarcely  elapsed  after  the  construction  of  the 
Cabinet,  when  the  question  of  Roman  Catholic  emancipation  came 
before  the  House  of  Lords,  in  the  distinct  form  of  a  resolution  of 
the  House  of  Commons  to  go  into  a  committee  upon  the  subject  of 
the  laws  affecting  the  Roman  Catholics.  A  conference  with  the 
Lords  was  proposed  and  agreed  to  ;  and  after  it  had  taken  place,  the 
resolution  of  the  Commons  was  debated  in  a  full  House  for  two 
days.  Upon  this  occasion  the  Duke  of  Wellington  thus  expressed 
himself : — 

"  He  considered  the  question,  he  said,  merely  as  one  of  expediency, 
and  he  grounded  his  opposition  to  the  motion,  not  on  any  doctrinal 
points,  but  on  the  Church  government  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
Nobody  could  have  witnessed  the  transactions  which  had  been  going 
on  in  Ireland,  during  the  last  thirt3^-five  years,  without  being  con- 
vinced  that  there  was  a  combination  between  the  laity  and  the  clergy, 
which  was  daily  gaining  ground.     Hence  sprung  the  confusion  that 


138  LIFE   OF   THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1828. 

diotinguished  Ireland.  If  the  aristocracy  had  been  rendered  power- 
less, and  political  authority  transferred  to  the  people,  who,  again,  were 
the  creatures  of  the  priest,  it  was  to  this  combination  that  it  was 
owing.  Emancipation,  they  had  been  told,  would  cure  all  these  evils. 
But,  in  a/idition  to  emancipation,  they  would  also  be  obliged  to  give 
to  the  Catholic  Church  the  whole  establishment  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  after  which  the  country  would  be  exposed  to  the  same  evils 
which  now  prevailed.  On  all  former  occasions,  too,  it  had  been  pro- 
posed to  grant  political  power  only  in  connection  with  eifcctual  securi- 
ties for  the  Protestant  constitution  in  church  and  state :  but  now,  se- 
curities were  not  even  hinted  at.  He  wished  to  see  real  distinct 
securities  proposed,  before  he  would  consent  to  give  any  vote  in  favour 
of  these  claims.  Ue  denied  that  any  inference  could  be  drawn  from 
the  example  of  other  countries,  except  this,  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  in  its  natural  state,  was  not  a  religion  favourable  to  good 
government  in  any  country. 

"  He  begged  their  lordships  to  observe,  that,  in  the  very  countries 
of  Europe  where  the  sovereigns  possessed  great  power,  the  govern- 
ments were  under  the  necessity  of  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  Pope  to 
govern  their  subjects,  either  through  the  means  of  a  concordat,  or 
some  treaty  granted  by  His  Holiness,  by  which  they  obtained  that 
authority  which  it  was  necessary  for  a  government  to  possess  over 
the  clergy  of  the  country.  Now,  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  the 
government  of  this  country  to  enter  into  any  arrangement  of 
that  kind. 

"  He  did  not  mean  to  say  that  there  was  no  other  arrangement  by 
which  his  Majesty  might  have  the  power  of  appointing  the  bishops 
in  Ireland,  and  of  controlling  and  superintending  the  intercourse 
betweeen  them  and  the  see  of  Rome ;  but  in  his  opinion  it  was 
utterly  impossible,  under  the  present  constitution  of  the  country,  to 
make  any  arrangement  with  the  Pope  as  prevailed  in  foreign  states. 
The  discussion  of  the  question,  he  thought,  would  lead  to  no  practical 
result,  and  would  tend  only  to  disturb  the  public  mind. 

"From  1781  to  1791,  although  many  momentous  questions  had 
been  agitated  in  Ireland,  the  Roman  Catholic  question  was  never 
heard  of  So  little  indeed  had  it  been  heard  of,  that  his  noble 
friend,  who  sat  near  him,  had  brought  into  the  House  of  Commons  a 
bill  respecting  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  it  was  a  fact  that  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland  was  never  consulted  respecting  it,  and  indeed 
knew  nothing  of  it,  till  it  was  before  the  House,  so  little  did  the 
Catholic  question  at  that  time  disturb  the  public  mind.  He  did  not, 
however,  expect  that  such  a  state  of  tranquillity  would  again  occur. 


1828.J 


THE  CATHOLIC  QUESTION 


139 


but  it  would  be  well  to  allow  the  public  mind  to  rest,  and  in  the  end 
it  might  be  possible  to  do  something,  for  he  was  most  desirous  of 
seeing  the  subject  brought  to  an  amicable  conclusion." 

The  motion  was  lost,  but  from  the  "  conciliatory  tone"  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  the  friends  of  emancipation  inferred  that  their  wishes 
in  future  would  not  receive  so  uncompromising  an  opposition  as  they 
bad  hitherto  sustained. 


COLUMN    IN   TAE    PHCSNIX   PAEK,    DUBLIN. 


140 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON. 


[1829. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

the  Catholic  question— The  Duke  and  Dr.  Curtis— The  Duke  urges  Emancipation  upon  the 
King— The  Catholic  Emancipation  Bill  brought  forward  in  the  House  of  Lords— Carried— 
The  Duke's  Duel  with  the  Earl  of  Winchelsea- Death  of  the  Earl  of  Liverpool— Appoint- 
ment of  the  Duke  to  be  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Porta. 


LTHOUGH  ambiguity  of  ex- 
pression is  common  to  di- 
plomatists and  statesmen, 
because  while  it  is  supposed 
to  pledge  them  to  nothing,  it 
yet  opens  a  door  to  inferences 
in  their  favour,  according  to 
the  degree  in  which  their  sup- 
posed sentiments  correspond 
with  those  of  the  public,  there 
is  often  nothing  more  unfor- 
tunate in  its  results  than 
equivocation — tampering  with  a  great  question  in  a  double  sense. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  probably  obtained  a  slight  accession 
of  popularity  by  his  conciliatory  speech  in  the  early  part  of  the 
session  of  1828;  but  this  very  circumstance  only  contributed  to 
embarrass  his  position,  and  to  render  a  regression  unavoidable. 

The  Irish  Roman  Catholics  formed  into  an  "  Association"  under 
Daniel  O'Connell,  an  olo(|uent  barrister  of  the  Romish  persuasion,  an 
unscrupulous  but  uncompromising  "  patriot,"  was  acquiring  every 
day  great  strength.  Daring  in  its  demands  at  all  times,  it  now,  upon 
the  faith  of  the  Premier's  speech,  exceeded  its  previous  audacity, 
and  was  raising  up  in  Ireland  a  power  which  threatened  to  imperil 
the  peace  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Indeed,  a  revolution  seemed 
inevitable.  Emancipation  was  declared  by  Dr.  Curtis,  the  titular 
Catholic  Primate  of  Ireland,  to  afford  the  only  means  of  establishing 


1829.]  THE  CATHOLIC  QUESTION.  HI 

concord  ;  and  as  the  Doctor  had  held  a  high  office  in  the  University 
of  Salamanca  when  the  Duke  commanded  in  Spain,  and  was  supposed 
to  have  rendered  important  services  to  the  army,  he  availed  himself 
of  the  intimacy  established  between  the  Duke  and  himself  to  write  to 
the  Duke  upon  the  subject.     The  Duke's  answer  was  as  follows  : — 

"  My  DEAR  Sir, 

"  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  4th  instant,  and  I  assure 
you  that  you  do  me  justice  in  believing  that  I  am  sincerely  anxious 
to  witness  the  settlement  of  the  Roman  Catholic  question,  which,  by 
benefiting  the  State,  would  confer  a  benefit  on  every  individual 
belonging  to  it.  But  I  confess  that  I  see  no  prospect  of  such  a 
settlement.  Party  has  been  mixed  up  with  the  consideration  of  the 
question  to  such  a  degree,  and  such  violence  pervades  every  discussion 
of  it,  that  it  is  impossible  to  expect  to  prevail  upon  men  to  consider 
it  dispassionately.  If  we  could  bury  it  in  oblivion  for  a  short  time, 
and  employ  that  time  diligently  in  the  consideration  of  its  difficulties 
on  all  sides  (for  they  are  very  great),  I  should  not  despair  of  seeing 
a  satisfactory  remedy." 

Dr.  Curtis  considered  this  letter — in  the  face  of  its  plain  language 
— to  involve  an  admission  that  the  Duke  was  favourable  to  the 
Catholic  claims.  The  Catholic  Association  adopted  the  same  view  ; 
and  Dr.  Curtis,  after  replying  to  the  Duke,  and  declaring  it  to  be  per- 
fectly impossible  to  bury  the  question  in  oblivion,  sent  a  copy  of  the 
document  to  the  Marquis  of  Anglesey,  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland. 
Lord  Anglesey,  taking  the  same  view  with  the  Catholic  Association 
and  Dr.  Curtis,  wrote  an  answer  to  Dr.  Curtis  expressing  sentiments 
so  decidedly  favourable  to  the  Catholics  and  to  agitation,  that  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  immediately  recommended  the  King  to  remove 
him  from  his  office. 

The  recall  of  Lord  Anglesey  increased  the  irritation  of  the  Roman 
Catholics.  It  was  denounced  by  the  Association  as  "  monstrously 
absurd ;"  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  termed  a  '•  self-convicted 
madman,"  and  the  "  insane  pilot  who  continued  to  direct  our  almost 
tottering  State."  Its  effi3Ct  upon  the  Tories  was  to  inspire  them  with 
the  most  complete  confidence  in  the  Duke  as  the  champion  of  Protest- 
antism. 

With  the  close  of  the  session  of  Parliament,  the  discussions  regard- 
ing Catholic  Emancipation  lulled,  and  the  general  impression  seemed 
to  be  that  whenever  the  subject  should  again  be  forced  upon  the  legis- 


142  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1829 

lature,  the  Government  would  be  found  inflexible  in  its  determination 
to  oppose  the  claims  of  the  Papists. 

It  needeth  not  to  tell  the  reader  that  the  leading  feature  in  the 
military  policy  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  the  profound  secresy 
with  which  he  matured  his  plans  and  combinations,  and  the  prompti- 
tude with  which  he  carried  them  into  execution  when  all  the  necessary 
preparations  were  complete.  Oporto.  Torres  Vedras,  Burgos,  and 
Vittoria  are  identified  with  this  peculiar  system  of  secresy  of  arrange- 
ment and  rapidity  of  consummation.  The  British  public  were  now 
to  be  astounded  with  the  operation  of  this  system  in  civil  polity,  and 
to  witness,  in  one  who  was  regarded  as  the  impersonation  of  firmness 
and  fixity  of  opinion,  a  complete  abandonment  of  his  supposed  prin- 
ciples upon  the  most  exciting  question  of  modern  times.  Some  appre- 
hension had  been  raised  by  a  speech  from  Mr.  Dawson,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Peel,  who,  at  a  public  dinner  in  Ireland,  talked  in  a  way  to 
justify  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of  the  Roman  Catholics.  Not  long 
afterwards  Mr.  Peel  himself  resigned  the  representation  of  Oxford 
University.  In  the  meanwhile  it  seems  that  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton and  Mr.  Peel — the  latter  probably  influenced  by  the  former — 
had  addressed  themselves  to  the  King,  representing  that  Ireland  was 
on  the  verge  of  civil  war,'  agitated  as  that  country  was  by  the  Catholic 
Association,  and  that  the  only  chance  of  averting  so  direful  a  calamity 
lay  in  "  emancipation."  The  King  is  understood  to  have  been  at 
first  exceedingly  averse  to  yield  an  inch — he  pleaded  his  coronation- 
oath — and  the  Chancellor,  the  keeper  of  the  royal  conscience,  could 

I  There  are  no  class  of  men  who  entertain  so  great  an  abhorrence  of  war  of  any  kind,  as 
those  who  have  seen  it  under  its  most  frightful  forms.  For  this  reason,  militar)-  governors 
and  statesmen  have  always  been  remarkable  for  a  pacific  policy.  The  Duke  of  Wellington, 
imrivalled  in  the  field,  confident  in  himself  and  his  armies,  would  at  all  times  have  strained  a 
point  to  avert  hostilities  with  other  nations.  But,  of  all  wars,  he  most  dreaded  a  civil  war, 
such  as  at  this  time  threatened  the  country.  Speaking  on  this  very  subject,  at  a  later  period,  he 
said: — 

"  I  am  one  of  those  who  have,  probably,  passed  a  longer  period  of  my  life  engaged  in  war, 
than  most  men,  and  principally  in  civil  war ;  and  I  must  say  this,  that  if  I  could  avoid,  by  any 
sacrifice  whatever,  even  one  month  of  civil  war  in  the  country  to  which  I  was  attached,  I  would 
B.acrifice  my  life  in  order  to  do  it.  I  say,  there  is  nothing  which  destroys  property,  eats  up  pros- 
perity by  the  roots,  and  tlemoraliscs  the  character,  to  the  degree  that  civil  war  does.  In  such  a 
crisis,  the  hand  of  man  is  raised  against  his  neighbour,  against  his  brother,  and  against  his  fattier . 
servant  betrays  master,  and  the  whole  scene  ends  in  confusion  and  devastation.  Yet,  my  Lords, 
this  is  the  resource  to  wliich  we  must  have  looked — ihcso  are  the  means  which  we  must  have" 
applied — to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  things,  if  we  had  not  made  tlje  option  of  bringing  forward 
the  me.isures  for  which,  I  say,  I  am  responsible.  But  let  us  look  a  little  further.  If  civil  war 
is  BO  bad,  when  it  is  occa.sioned  by  resistance  to  the  Government — if  it  is  eo  bad  in  the  case  I 
have  stated,  and  so  much  to  be  avoided — how  much  more  is  it  to  be  avoided  when  we  arc  to 
arm  the  people,  in  order  thai  wo  may  conquer  one  part  of  them  by  exciting  the  other  part 
kgaingt  them  ?" 


1829.1  CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  143 

not  show  his  Majesty  a  pathway  out  of  his  difl&culty.  At  length, 
after  repeated  interviews,  in  which  the  Duke  exhibited  a  characteristic 
obstinacy,  the  Duke  and  Mr.  Peel  tendered  their  resignations.  The 
King's  scruples  at  once  vanished.  Growing  prematurely  old  and 
indolent,  George  IV.  could  not  look  forward  to  the  worry  and 
vexation  which  would  inevitably  follow,  upon  a  recall  of  the  Whigs, 
without  horror  ; — he  was  equally  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  a  rebellion 
from  the  inflexibility  of  the  ultra  Tories  ;  further,  he  believed  that 
the  danger  must  be  imminent  which  led  the  Duke  and  the  illus- 
trious commoner  to  push  matters  to  the  extremity  of  a  menaced 
resignation. 

"  The  speech  from  the  throne,  on  the  re-assembling  of  Parliament 
on  the  4th  of  February,  1829,  contained  the  first  authoritative 
announcement  of  the  forthcoming  measure.  It  recommended  the 
subject  for  consideration.  In  the  course  of  the  debate  on  the  Address, 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  announced  that  the  Government  were  pre- 
pared to  propose  a  measure  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics  ; 
an  announcement  which  could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  taken  either 
the  Parliament  or  the  public  by  surprise,  but  the  truth  of  which 
could  scarcely  be  believed  till  it  issued  from  the  lips  of  one  who 
seldom  spoke  in  vain.  Its  effect  on  the  Tory  section  of  both  Houses 
was  maddening.  Men  in  whom  a  few  fixed  ideas  had  superseded 
even  the  faculty  of  reasoning,  looked  upon  the  proposed  act  of  grace 
as  a  positive  injury  to  themselves.  Not  only  did  it  '  undermine  the 
bulwarks  of  Protestantism  ;'  it  also  robbed  them  of  their  own 
peculiar  objects  of  hatred  and  vengeance.  With  politicians  of  the 
Perceval  and  Eldon  school,  persecution  or  reprobation  of  the  Ptoman 
Catholics  was  the  be-all  and  the  end-all  of  their  thoughts  and  of  their 
political  system  ;  take  away  the  power  of  doing  so,  and  they  lost  the 
sole  object  of  their  mundane  existence.  That  the  measure  must  be 
carried,  all  men  at  once  perceived.  The  King  sanctioned  it ;  the 
'  great  Captain  '  proposed  it ;  the  leading  civilian  of  the  Tory  party 
in  the  Lower  House  was  prepared  to  endorse  it ;  the  Whigs,  how- 
ever anxious  to  see  their  rivals  out  of  power,  could  not  but  accept  it. 
Thus,  in  the  eyes  of  the  political  heirs  of  Spencer  Perceval,  the 
Constitution  was  gone  for  ever.^     There  still  remained,  however,  one 

1  The  perpetual  cry  that  the  Conatitution  was  gone  was  always  a  source  of  amusement  to 
George  Canning,  when  it  was  urged  by  the  enemies  of  Emancipation.  On  one  occasion  he  com- 
pared the  vitality  of  the  British  Ck)nstitution  to  that  of  the  dog  of  old  Mother  Hubbard  in  the 
nursery  tale:— 

"  She  went  to  the  baker's 
To  buy  him  some  bread. 


144  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTON.  [1829 

sweet  revenge.  They  could  attack  and  vilify  the  men  who  were  thus 
making  a  sacrifice  of  their  most  cherished  opinions  and  associations, 
in  order  to  save  the  State  from  threatened  convulsion.  And  this 
part  of  their  public  duty  they  performed  to  admiration.  Never  was 
Minister  so  assailed  in  this  country.  As  for  the  Duke,  it  had  been 
better  for  him  that  he  were  Bonaparte  himself ;  for  the  vocabulary  of 
abuse  against  that  provoking  personage  was  comparatively  limited. 
The  pens  and  tongues  that  for  fourteen  years  and  more  had  been 
employed  in  lauding  him  as  the  hero  of  heroes,  were  now  with  as 
much  activity  and  a  fresher  motive  engaged  in  heaping  on  the  illus- 
trious saviour  of  his  country  every  epithet  of  contumely  which 
insulted  honour  and  virtue  can  apply  to  the  traitor.  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  on  a  tripod  of  which  each  support  was  a  treachery. 
He  was  a  traitor  to  the  Protestant  cause ;  a  traitor,  and  a  furtive  one 
to  boot,  to  the  Whigs,  who  had  been  working  at  this  question  with 
exemplary  Quixotism  and  great  political  fame  for  near  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  and  who  now  saw  the  Duke's  sword  wreathed  with  their 
coveted  laurels  ;  a  traitor,  above  all,  to  the  memory  of  Canning,  who 
had  been  '  hunted  to  death,'  only  a  year  or  so  before,  because  lie  had 
wished  to  free  the  Catholics,  and  the  Duke  had  passed  the  mot  cV  ordre 
that  the  work,  at  all  events,  should  not  be  done  by  him  who  had  bis 
heart  in  it,  but,  if  done  at  all,  be  effected  by  a  cold  State  policy  and 
a  calculating  expediency.  There  were  the  two  devoted  statesmen, 
the  heath  on  fire  all  around  them  ;  and,  not  only  the  prey  of  their 
enraged  associates  here,  but  assured,  on  the  very  highest  clerical 
authority,  that  their  fate  was  a  matter  of  certainty  hereafter.  The 
Duke  bore  it  all  with  his  constitutional  imperturbability,  so  long  as 
the  attacks  were  of  a  purely  public  and  political  nature.  Perhaps 
bis  chief  annoyance  arose  from  the  pertinacity  with  which  his 
opponents  forced  him,  night  after  night,  to  make  premature 
Bpeeches  on  the  proposed  measure,  ere  it  came  in  a  formal  way  before 
the  House  ;  for  this  guerilla  warfare  interfered  with  his  ideas  of 
regularity  and  discipline  ;  but  all  the  rest  he  despised,  as  indeed  he 
could  well  afford  to  do,  being  sure  of  the  rectitude  of  his  own 
motives. 

And  when  she  came  back 
/  The  dog  was  dead ! 

She  went  to  the  undertakor'a 

To  buy  him  a  coflln. 

And  when  she  came  back 

The  dog  was  laughing  1" 
Such,   said   Canning,   would   be   Iho  fate  of  our  Conslilulion.    Catholic   Emancipation  or  any 
Other   popular    measure   might  kill   It,   but  aa  sure   aa  late  the  next  day  we  should  find  it 
'  laughing." 


1829.]  THE  CATHOLIC  BILL.  145 

"  At  length,  the  Catholic  Association  having  dissolved  itself,  the 
better  to  facilitate  the  purpose  of  Ministers,  and  the  bill  having  come 
up  to  the  Lords,  it  fell  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  propose  it  to 
that  assembly.  His  speech  on  the  occasion,  as  well  as  some  previous 
ones,  was  masterly  as  a  clear  and  unvarnished  exposition  of  the 
reasons  of  State  which  had  led  to  the  conduct  of  the  Grovernment, 
and  which  justified  it.  Every  argument  that  could  be  advanced,  or 
that  had  been  advanced,  short  of  mere  fanaticism,  was  thoroughly 
canvassed  and  met ;  in  short,  the  Duke  now  came  out  in  quite  a  new 
light.  An  orator,  in  the  popular  sense  of  the  term,  he  never  was  and 
never  could  have  been  ;  but  as  an  exponent,  in  language  clear  and 
forcible  '  to  the  meanest  capacity,'  of  the  plain  common  sense  view 
he  himself  took  of  the  question,  he  stood  alone.  In  this  respect, 
indeed,  his  public  speaking  was  unique.  In  fact  he  had  but  one 
thing  to  impress  on  his  auditory  and  the  public — the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  a  concession  which  could  not  longer  be  delayed,  and  for  which 
there  appeared  to  be  no  substitute."  ' 

From  the  very  many  speeches  made  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
in  the  course  of  the  passage  of  the  Catholic  Bill  through  its 
various  stages,  in  some  of  which  speeches  he  defended  the  measure 
and  in  others  himself,  it  is  not  necessary  to  quote  more  than  the 
following  extracts : — In  reference  to  his  own  conduct,  he  said,  on  the 
10th  cf  February,  1829,— 

"  I  have  repeatedly  declared  my  earnest  wish  to  see  the  Roman 
Catholic  question  settled.  I  believe  nothing  could  ever  have  been 
more  distinct  or  explicit  than  my  expression  of  that  wish ;  and  is  it 
a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  person  entertaining  it  should  avail  him- 
self of  the  first  opportunity  of  proposing  the  adoption  of  that  which, 
over  and  over  again,  he  declared  himself  anxiously  to  wish  ?  On  this 
particular  question,  I  had  long  ago  made  up  my  mind,  as  a  member 
of  this  house,  to  take  a  particular  course.  It  may  be  thought 
peculiar  as  a  matter  of  taste  ;  but,  for  many  years,  I  have  acted  upon 
the  determination  never  to  vote  for  the  affirmation  of  this  question 
until  the  Government,  acting  as  a  Government,  should  propose  it  to 
the  legislature.  My  noble  relation  (Lord  Longford)  knows,  that 
ever  since  the  year  1810,  the  several  successive  governments  of  this 
country  have  been  formed  upon  a  principle  which  prevented  their 
ever  proposing,  as  a  Government,  the  adoption  of  any  measure  of 
relief  in  regard  to  the  Catholics,  In  order  to  the  formation  of  a 
cabinet  which,  acting  as  a  Government,  could  propose  this  measure, 
it  was,  in  the  first  place,  necessary  to  obtain  the  consent  of  that 

I  "Illustrated  London  News." 
VOL,  11.  2  M 


146  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1829 

individual,  the  most  interested  by  his  station,  his  duty,  and  the  most 
sacred  of  all  obligations,  of  any  individual  in  the  dmpire.  It  was 
necessary,  I  say,  that  I  should  obtain  the  consent  of  that  individual, 
before  the  members  of  the  Government  could  consider  the  question 
as  a  Gover-nment  one.  Now,  under  such  circumstances  as  these, 
would  it  have  been  proper  in  me  to  have  breathed  a  syllable  on  the 
subject  until  I  had  obtained  the  consent  of  the  illustrious  personage 
to  whom  I  Iiave  alluded?'  I  call  upon  my  noble  relative  to  answer 
this  question,  if  he  can,  in  the  negative.  I  beg  of  my  noble  relative 
to  ask  himself  this  question,  whether  I  was  wrong  in  having  kept 
secret  my  views,  since  the  month  of  July  or  August,  not  talking  to 
any  man  upon  the  subject,  until  I  had  the  consent  of  that  exalted 
personage,  to  form  a  goverment  upon  the  principle  of  taking  the 
question  to  which  I  have  alluded  into  consideration?  My  noble 
relative  ought  to  place  himself  in  my  situation — he  ought  to  see 
what  was  expected  of  me ;  and  then,  instead  of  blaming  me  for  acting 
as  I  have  done,  he  would  see  that  if  I  had  acted  otherwise,  I  should 
have  been  highly  blameable. 

"  When  the  question  had  been  decided — when  I  received  the  per- 
mission, so  as  to  be  enabled  to  make  the  declaration — on  not  having 
made  which,  alone  the  accusation  of  surprise  can  be  founded — the 
opening  of  the  session  was  so  near  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  known 
what  had  occurred  earlier,  or  in  any  other  manner  than  by  the  speech 
from  the  tlirone." 

And  upon  the  4th  of  April,  1829,  the  Duke,  in  allusion  to  the 
imputed  danger  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  conceding  the  Catholic 
claims,  said : 

"  It  has  been  repeatedly  assumed  by  many  of  your  lordships,  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion,  but  particularly  by  the  right  reverend  pre- 
lates who  have  spoken,  that  the  Church  of  Ireland  (or,  as  I  have 
recently  been  reminded,  the  Church  of  England  in  Ireland)  is  in 
danger.  I  call  on  those  who  apprehend  that  danger  to  state  clearly 
whetlier  that  danger,  on  this  particular  occasion,  is  more  to  be 
expected  as  resulting  from  legislation  or  from  violence.  If  they  say 
it  is  resulting  from  legislation,  I  answer  that  their  apprehensions  are 
puerile.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  a  small  number  of  persons 
admitted  into  this  house,  and  a  small  number  admitted  into  the  other 
house,  while  we  have  a  Protestant  Sovereign  upon  the  throne,  should 
be  productive  of  legislative  danger  to  the  Church  of  England  in 
Ireland.  I  beg  to  observe,  with  respect  to  the  point  relating  to  the 
union  of  the  two  countries,  that  a  fundamental  article  of  the  Union 

1  Lord  Longford  bad  accused  him  of  concealmcDt. 


1829.] 


PERSONAL  HOSTILITIES. 


147 


is  the  junction  of  the  two  churches,  called  the  United  Churches  of 
England  and  Ireland.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  any  mischief 
can  occur  to  the  Church  of  Ireland  without  a  breach  in  the  union  of 
the  two  countries.  There  is  another  point  to  which  I  beg  leave  to 
advert  for  a  moment.  Although  it  is  true  that  we  do  adi^it  into 
Parliament  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion,  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  by  another  measure  brought  forward  with  it,  and  on  which 
we  equally  rely,  we  propose  regulations  which  will  have  the  effect 
of  destroying  the  influence  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  in  the  election 
of  members  of  Parliament.  We  have  carefully  examined  the  measure, 
and  do  expect  that  it  will  give  additional  security  to  all  the  interests 
of  the  State." 

Few  public  measures,  perhaps,  have  been  more  productive  of  per- 
sonal hostilities  than  was  the  bill  for  the  removal  of  the  Catholic 


LORD   WINCHELSEA. 


til  abilities.  The  Duke  met  every  opposition  in  the  most  uncompro- 
mising form.  He  dismissed  the  Attorney-General,  Sir  Charles 
Wetherall.  He  told  Marshal  Beresford,  who  wished  to  be  excused 
voting  on  the  question,  that  he  was  at  perfect  liberty  to  maintain  his 


148  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1859 

own  opinion,  but  that,  as  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance,  he  must 
support  his  Majesty's  Government.  Lord  Winchelsea  having  said 
that  the  Duke,  '•  under  the  cloak  of  some  coloured  show  of  zeal  for  the 
Protestant  religion,  carried  on  insidious  designs  for  the  infringement 
of  our  liberties  and  the  introduction  of  Popery  into  every  department 
of  the  State,"  the  Duke  called  him  out.  His  Grace  was  attended  by 
Sir  Henry  Hardinge,  and  Lord  Winchelsea  by  the  Earl  of  Falmouth. 
The  Duke  fired  and  missed  his  adversary — Lord  "Winchelsea  fired  in 
the  air,  and  then  withdrew  his  insulting  language.' 

The  bill  was  read  a  third  time  on  the  10th  of  April,  and  received 
the  royal  assent  on  the  13th  of  the  same  month.  It  was  a  strong 
proof  of  the  immense  personal  influence  of  the  Duke  in  the  House  of 
Peers,  that,  in  the  summer  of  1828,  that  House  had  declared  by  a 
majority  of  45  that  emancipation  was  too  manifestly  a  breach  of  the 
Constitution  to  be  even  discussed;  and  in  the  spring  of  1829  it  de- 
clared by  a  majority  of  105  that  the  Bill  was  altogether  consistent 
with  the  Constitution,  and  if  it  did  no  good,  would  at  least  do  no  harm 
to  the  Protestant  Church  I 

The  Earl  of  Liverpool,  after  a  lingering  illness,  died  on  the  4tb  of 
December,  1828.  On  the  1st  of  January,  the  King  conferred  the 
office  of  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  upon  the  Duke  of 
Wellington. 

The  nature  and  duties  of  this  office  are  very  little  known.  When  the 
newspapers  occasionally  spoke  of  the  Duke  having  gone  to  Walmer 
on  business  connected  with  his  office,  the  natural  impression  was  that 
he  was  merely  obliged  to  go  through  some  form  or  other  that  was  neces- 
eary  to  his  enjoyment  of  a  sinecure.  This  was  not  the  case,  the  duties 
attaching  to  the  office  being  very  onerous  and  varied  in  their  nature. 

1  In  an  imaginary  conversation,  in  the  "United  Service  Magazine"  of  tlie  time,  the  following 
anecdote  ia  related  : — 

"  Hector.  Apropos  of  pistols — what  do  you  think?  Our  warlike  Premier  and  bis  Secrctary-at- 
War  could  not  muster  a  case  of  pistols  between  thera.  Sir  II.  was  at  length  accommodated  with 
a  pair  by  a  high  militar)-  official,  himself  the  last  man  in  England  to  use  thera  wantonly. 

^ Miles.  More  ominous  of  peace  than  pugnacity,  another  proof  that  our  "occupation's 
gone." 

"  Hector.  I  understand  an  amusing  episode  occurred,  to  vary  the  tragical  tendency  of  the 
rencontre.  Dr.  Hume  was  privately  engaged  by  Sir  Henry  Hardinge  to  attend  him  to  the  field. 
The  Doctor  felt  uneasy,  and,  with  a  very  laudable  feeling,  secretly  informed  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton that  Sir  Henry  was  going  to  fight  a  duel.  Ilia  Grace  kept  liis  countenance  and  hia  counsel, 
and  Dr.  II.  was  much  edifled  on  seeing  the  Duke  himself  take  his  ground,  as  Premier  in  both 
senses ! 

** Bruce.   Ha, ha!    Excellent! 

"  Miles.  Happily,  the  affair  has  terminated  without  serious  consoquences ;  but  the  Duke  amids'. 
hia  schomea  of  financial  economy,  must  not  overlook  in  hia  own  person,  and  as  a  public  duty,  th« 
economy  of  life  ;  enough  that  the  nation  needs  no  further  proof  of  his  double  qualification,  tjm 
Marti  juam  Mercurio.^  " 


1829]  LORD   WARDEN   OF   THE   CINQUE  PORTS.  149 

As  originally  constituted,  the  Lord  Wardensbip  of  the  Cinque 
Ports  was  a  kind  of  inijjerium  in  imperio.  Originally  established  by 
the  Conqueror  for  the  consolidation  of  his  power  on  the  coast,  the 
privileges  and  powers  of  the  office  have  become  modified,  to  suit  the 
altered  state  of  society  and  of  government.  The  jurisdiction  of  this 
officer  extends  over  a  wide  range  of  coast ;  from  beyond  Margate,  in 
Kent,  to  Seaford,  in  Sussex,  and  the  portion  embraced  by  it  is  that 
at  which  a  foreign  enemy  might  be  expected  to  attempt  a  landing. 
Anciently  the  Lord  Warden  combined  various  offices,  of  which  the 
remains  are  to  be  traced  in  the  duties  of  the  modern  functionary. 
He  was,  for  the  district  he  commanded,  similar  to  a  sheriff  of  a 
county,  a  lord-lieutenant  of  a  county,  a  Custos  Rotulorum,  and  an 
admiral,  but  with  an  authority  greater  than  that  wielded  by  any 
admiral  of  the  fleet  of  the  present  day,  because  more  irresponsible 
and  self-dependent.  The  modern  Lord  Warden  retains  many  of  the 
powers  and  privileges  of  his  predecessors,  but  shorn  of  their  formidable 
character.  The  Lord  Warden,  as  Constable  of  Dover  Castle,  is  the 
person  to  whom  writs  are  directed  from  the  superior  courts  touching 
persons  living  within  his  jurisdiction.  He  is,  thus,  a  kind  of  sheriff. 
On  receiving  these  writs,  he  makes  out  his  warrant,  which  is  executed 
by  an  officer  called  a  "  bodar,"  who,  by  the  way,  is  (or  till  recently 
was)  also  the  person  to  execute  writs  out  of  the  local  or  district 
court  of  Hastings.  The  Lord  Warden's  under-sheriff  is  the  clerk  of 
Dover  Castle,  where  there  is  a  prison  for  debtors,  in  the  custody  of 
the  constable.  In  former  days  there  were  held  sundry  courts  of 
adjudication,  at  which  the  Lord  Warden  pi'esided,  the  rest  of  the 
court  being  composed  of  the  mayors  of  the  towns  included  in  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  the  bailiffs,  and  sundry  inhabitants 
summoned  as  "jurats."  In  modern  days  the  number  of  these  courts 
is  reduced,  but  there  still  remains  the  "  Court  of  Brotherhood"  and 
the  "  Court  of  Guestling,"  which,  however,  are  only  rarely  held. 
The  same  functionaries  constitute  the  court  in  each  case ;  so  that 
the  administration  of  justice  becomes  as  close  and  compact  an  affair 
as  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts  themselves.  The  object  of  assembling 
these  courts  was  to  fulfil  a  part  of  the  duties  imposed  by  the  original 
charter,  that  of  furnishing  ships  to  the  crown.  This,  of  course,  has 
long  since  become  obsolete ;  but  the  Courts  of  "  Brotherhood"  and 
of  "  Guestling"  are  held  prior  to  each  coronation,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  arrangements  as  to  the  "Barons"  of  the  Cinque  ports,  in 
respect  of  their  right  to  hold  the  canopy  over  the  King's  head  on 
occasion  of  that  ceremony.  It  fell  twice  to  the  lot  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  to  preside  at  these  courts  called  for  coronation  purposes 


150 


LIFE   OF   THE    DUKE   OF   WELLINGTOX. 


[1829 


first  on  occasion  of  the  coronation  of  William  IV.,  and  the  second 
time  on  that  of  our  most  gracious  Sovereign. 

Of  course  the  functions  and  jurisdiction  of  the  Lord  Warden,  and 
the  special  privileges  of  the  Cinque  Ports  have  been  much  abridged, 
more  especially  by  the  Municipal  Corporation  Reform  Act ;  the 
object  being  to  assimilate  those  privileges  with  the  general  municipal 
constitution  of  the  empire.  But  no  attempt  was  made  to  interfere 
with  what  remained  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Lord  Warden  as  Admi- 
ral of  the  Coast.  This  jurisdiction  embraces  many  subjects  usually 
confided  to  the  municipality ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mayors  of 
some  of  the  towns  are  ex  officio  members  of  the  courts  held  for  the 
purpose  of  performing  these  functions.  The  principal  is  the  "  Court 
of  Lode  Manage,"  at  which  pilots  are  licensed,  and  all  complaints 
heard  of  misconduct  or  inefiiciency ;  and  other  duties  are  performed 
connected  with  the  local  government  of  those  ports  in  all  that  relates 
to  their  ancient  character  or  their  maritime  afi"airs. 

Attached  to  the  office  of  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  is 
Wulnier  Castle,  an  ancient  building  which  holds  a  middle  place  be- 
tween the  ancient  and  modern  fortifications.  It  is  coeval  with  Deal 
Castle  of  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  :  with  Sandown  Castle  they  form 
a  defence  for  the  Kentish  coast  between  Sandwich  and  Dover. 


W.M.MKll    CA^ri.K MUUT-WAIUU. 


1830.1 


THE  CORN-LAW  QUESTION. 


151 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Duke  and  the  Press— Parliamentary  Session  of  1830— The  National  Distress— The  Duke  on 
the  Ck)rn  Laws,  Currency,  &c.— Death  of  George  IV.— Succession  of  William  IV. — Revolu- 
tion in  France,  Belgium,  and  Poland — The  Regency  Question  in  England — The  Civil  List — 
Resignation  of  Ministers, 


UPPORTED  by  the  Commons,  and 
governing  the  Lords  Spiritual  and 
the  Lords  Temporal,  the  Duke  had 
three  estates  of  the  realm  at 
his  command.  If  the  old  Tories 
had  forsaken  the  "  traitor,"  the 
Whigs  had  given  him  their  adhe- 
sion, and  he  thus  stood  in  a  position 
scarcely  less  commanding  than  that 
enjoyed  by  William  Pitt  in  his 
palmiest  days.  But  there  was 
another  "  estate  "  which  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  had  not  yet  bent 
to  his  will.  The  "  fourth  "—the 
mighty  press — disallowed  his  strength.  The  ardent  friends  of  liberty 
extenuated  his  apparent  apostasy  from  his  own  party,  because  it  had 
served  the  cause  of  religious  toleration,  and  because  they  hoped  that 
he  would  extend  the  principle  of  tergiversation  and  become  a  convert 
to  all  the  views  of  Whigs  and  Radicals ;  '  but  the  advocates  of  the 
interests  of  the  Protestant  Church — or  rather  the  representatives  of 
the  High    Church  Party — w5re    beyond   measure    indignant   at   his 


1  Radical,  a  term  first  applied  to  Himf,  and  other  Reformers,  who  sought  to  uproot  the  system 
of  Parliamentary  Representation.  Of  late  years,  the  word  has  been  erroneously  applied  to 
the  members  of  the  Free-trade  party,  the  financial  economists,  and  others,  who  oppose  them- 
selves to  those  enactments  of  the  Legislature  which  promote  taxation  and  curtail  popular  freedom. 
The  term  is  now  aa  ill  used  as  those  of  Whig  and  Tory. 


162  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTOX.  [1830 

desertion  of  their  cause.  The  Morning  Journal^  a  paper  of  uncora- 
promising  hostility  to  the  Catholics,  expressed  the  anger  of  the  Tories 
in  the  most  violent  language.  It  charged'  the  Duke  with  •■  despicable 
cant  and  affected  moderation" —with  a  want  of  mercy,  compassion, 
and  of  those  more  kindly  and  tender  sympathies  which  distinguish 
the  heart  of  a  man  from  that  of  a  proud  dictator  and  tyrant.  It 
imputed  to  him  gross  treachery,  or  arrant  cowardice  and  artifice 
united. 

The  Duke  had  never  held  the  newspaper  press  in  much  respect 
The  information  which  it  conveyed  to  the  public  during  the  Peninsu- 
lar War,  although  of  the  deepest  interest  to  the  British  community, 
was  offensive  to  him,  because  the  same  information  reached  the  enemy 
whom  it  was  of  importance  to  keep  in  ignorance  of  the  operations  of 
the  English  camp  and  the  disposition  of  the  troops.  Moreover,  the 
press  libelled  him  without  mercy,  giving  publication  to  the  grossest 
falsehoods,  and  assigning  the  worst  motives  to  those  acts  which  proved 
to  be  the  result  of  the  most  consummate  judgment,  the  most  profound 
forethought,  and  the  purest  patriotism.  But  he  took  no  steps  to  pro- 
cure the  punishment  of  the  libellers.  He  despised,  or  affected  to  de- 
spise them — he  found  a  safety-valve  for  his  wrath  in  calling  them 
"  rascally,"  "  licentious,"  and  so  forth ;  and  upon  one  occasion  he  wrote 
to  Sir  Henry  Wellesley,  "  What  can  be  done  with  such  libels  and  such 
people,  excepting  to  despise  them,  and  continuing  one's  road  without 
noticing  them  ?"  It  had  been  well  for  his  renown  if  he  had  continued 
this  lofty  policy,  leaving  to  time  the  assertion  of  truth  and  the  con- 
fusion of  his  maligners. 

AVhether  yielding  to  the  advice  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Cabinet  and 
the  law  officers  of  the  Crown,  or  acting  from  his  own  spontaneous  will, 
the  Duke  caused  Mr.  Alexander,  the  editor  of  the  Morning  Journal, 
to  be  prosecuted  for  his  libels,  and  the  result  was  the  punishment  of 
that  gentleman  with  fines  and  imprisonment. 

These  prosecutions  created  a  strong  feeling  of  disgust  and  dislike 
throughout  the  country.  They  aggravated  the  hostility  of  the  Torie? 
and  did  not  please  the  Liberals ;  Sir  James  Scarlett,  the  Attorney- 
General,  was  a  Whig,  and  lost  ground  with  his  friends  and  the  public 
for  acting  "under  a  Tory  ministry  governing  on  Whig  principles." 
Much  discussion  arose  in  Parliament  respecting  the  prosecutions, 
and  Sir  Charles  Wethcrall,  who  had  refused  to  defend  Mr.  Alexande:- 
on  the  score  of  the  excited  state  of  his  own  feelings  against  the  Gov- 
ernment, moved  for  copies  of  the  proceedings  on  the  ex  officio  in- 
formations against  Mr.  Alexander,  as  a  peg  whereon  to  hang  severe 
animadversions  on  the  tyrannical  conduct  of  the  Duke.     Sir  Charles 


18-30.]  NATIONAL   DISTRESS.  153 

denounced  him  as  an  imperious  and  ambitious  minister,  and  declared 
that  nothing  so  odious  and  impressive  had  been  heard  of  since  the 
days  of  the  Stir  Chamber.  But  these  parliamentary  discussions  did 
not  disturb  the  imperturbability  of  the  noble  Duke.  He  allowed 
them  to  pass  as  "  the  idle  wind  "  which  he  ''  respected  not." 

A  busy  and  a  fertile  session  was  that  of  1830.  The  distresses 
of  the  country  ;  the  Corn-laws  ;  the  expense  of  public  (and  especially 
military)  establishments ;  the  shipping  interest ;  the  state  of  the 
law  as  regarded  capital  punishment  in  cases  of  forgery,  and  the  punish- 
ment of  libel ;  the  civil  disabilities  of  the  Jews,  and  parliamentary 
reform — were  the  subjects  of  numerous  motions,  bills,  and  debates.  To 
several  of  these  the  Duke  of  "Wellington  was  compelled  by  his  position 
to  speak — the  rather  that  he  was  continually,  by  implication,  placed 
upon  his  defence.  Upon  the  subject  of  the  manufacturing  distress  he 
spoke  at  great  length.  To  the  arguments  in  favour  of  an  extended  cui*- 
rency,  he  replied  that  the  sole  object  of  that  expedient  was  to  cause 
an  unlimited  creation  of  paper  currency'  by  individuals — and  thus  to 
give  them  the  means  of  lending  capital  to  speculators  and  bringing  the 
country  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  (so  called) 
equitable  adjustments  would  soon  annul  the  advantage  obtained  from 
an  adherence  to  the  principles  of  justice  and  good  faith.  He  ascribed 
to  the  competition  of  machinery  and  the  universal  application  of  steam 
the  decrease  in  the  demand  for  labour,  and  finall}'  he  showed  that  the 
reports  of  national  distress  had  been  exaggerated.  This  last  obser- 
vation entailed  upon  the  Duke  some  severe  strictures,  which,  at  a  later 
period  (February  25,  1830),  he  thus  met: — 

"  Among  other  topics  of  accusation,  I  have  been  arraigned  for  my 
assertion  on  the  first  day  of  the  session,  that  the  distress  of  the 
country  was  not  of  that  magnitude  which  some  persons  have  affirmed. 
The  noble  lord  (Stanhope)  is  quite  at  liberty  to  indulge  in  such  in- 
vectives if  it  pleases  him  to  do  so,  but  if  he  supposes  I  do  not  feel  for 
the  distresses  of  the  people,  he  is  utterly  mistaken,  as  I  can  sincerely 
aver  that  I  have  as  strong  sympathies  on  the  subject  as  any  noble 
member  of  this  house.  But  I  am  resolved  to  tell  plainly  and  honestly 
■what  I  think,  quite  regardless  of  the  odium  I  may  incur  from  those 
iwhose  prejudices  my  candour  and  sincerity  may  offend.  I  am  here 
to  spea,k  the  truth,  and  not  to  flatter  the  prejudices  and  prepossessions 

1  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  like  many  other  men,  believed  that  his  forte  lay  in  the  manage- 
ment of  public  finances.  He  considered  that  he  hud  attained  a  sufficient  mastery  of  the  subject 
to  qualify  him  peculiarly  for  the  office  of  Chancellor  of  the  E.\chequer.  In  May,  1829,  he  made 
a  speech  (for  which  see  Appendix)  on  the  subject  of  a  metallic  currency,  which  showed,  at  least, 
that  he  had  carefully  studied  the  subject. 


154  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1830 

of  any  man.     In  speaking  the  truth,  I  shall  utter  it  in  the  language 
that  truth  itself  most  naturally  suggests. 

"  I  request  your  lordships  to  look  at  the  state  of  the  savings  banks. 
A  measure  was  some  time  back  adopted  to  prevent  the  investment  of 
money  in  those  banks  beyond  a  certain  amount  for  each  person,  in 
order  that  the  parties  not  entitled  to  it  should  not  derive  the  advan- 
tage which  is  intended  for  the  poorer  classes.  Large  suras  were 
drawn  out  of  those  banks  soon  after ;  but  they  have  since  revived  in 
some  degree.  Whence  has  the  money  come  ?  From  the  lower 
classes.  This  cannot  be  considered  as  a  proof  of  general  distress. 
Your  lordships  ought  likewise  not  to  omit  from  your  consideration 
the  increased  traffic  carried  on  on  the  railroads  and  canals  in  the 
country.  The  noble  Earl  (Roseberry)  has  told  your  lordships  that  I 
have  availed  myself  of  the  increased  traffic  upon  the  roads  and  canals 
by  merchants  and  manufacturers — in  despair  seeking  a  market — in 
order  to  represent  the  country  in  a  state  of  prosperity ;  whereas  it  is 
an  additional  symptom  of  distress.  My  Lords,  I  said  that  this  traffic 
has  been  increasing  for  years ;  and  that  it  had,  in  some  cases, 
doubled  in  ten  years.  In  one  of  the  recent  discussions  in  the  House, 
upon  the  currency,  the  noble  marquis  opposite  (the  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne)  very  truly  remarked,  that'  a  large  quantity  of  currency 
might  be  found  in  a  country  in  which  there  should  be  little  riches 
and  prosperity  ;  and  that  the  facility  and  rapidity  of  the  circulation  of 
the  currency  were  signs  of  the  prosperity  of  a  country  rather  than 
the  quantity  of  that  currency.  I  entirely  concur  in  the  truth  and 
justice  of  this  observation.  But  I  would  beg  to  ask  the  noble 
marquis  whether  it  is  possible  that  transactions  can  increase  and 
multiply  as  they  have  done  in  this  country,  in  the  last  few  years, 
without  giving  fresh  scope  for  the  circulation  of  the  currency  of  the 
country,  fresh  employment  for  labour,  and  occasioning,  in  some  degree, 
the  augmentation  of  general  prosperity  ?  " 

In  the  same  speech,  the  Duke  said  of  the  Corn  Laws  that  they 
'•  worked  well, "  and  '•'  he  was  convinced  that  they  could  not  be  repealed 
without  injury  to  the  country  " — a  statement  td  be  forgotten  by 
those  who  venerate  consistency  and  admire  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ; 
because,  like  others,  upon  other  subjects,  the  assertion  only  tended 
to  show  that  his  political  opinions  were  inconsiderately  adopted,  to 
be  easily  abandoned  if  circumstances  favoured  a  change  in  the  law. 

The  endeavours  of  the  advocates  of  cheap  government  and  light 
taxation  to  reduce  the  public  expenditure  were  repelled  by  the  Duke, 
on  the  ground  of  the  reduction  of  our  military  establishments  having 


1830.] 


DEATH  OF   GEORGE  THE  FOURTH. 


155 


been  carried  to  the  utmost  lengths  consistent  with  the  national  safety. 
The  attempt  to  legislate  for  the  poor,  he  met  by  a  reference  to  the 
state  of  the  country.  His  Grace  contended  that  it  was  an  important 
difficult,  and  complicated  subject,  and  could  not  be  entered  upon 
hastily,  nor  until  the  country  was  restored  to  a  state  of  complete 
prosperity. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1830,  George  IV.  breathed  his  last,  after 
suflfering  much  anguish  for  two  months,  which  appeared  to  have 
arisen  from  ossification  of  the  heart.  He  was  somewhat  lamented  as 
a  Sovereign,  though  little  respected  as  a  man.  His  adherence  to  his 
father's  patriotic  resistance  to  Napoleon,  and  the  grandeur  of  hia 


GEOliGK    TliK    KOLUTU. 


ideas  in  respect  to  matters  of  national  display,  had  given  him  a 
certain  amount  of  popularity,  which  was  not  entirely  neutralised  by 
his  notorious  disregard  of  the  moralities  of  life,  his  severe  habits  of 
exclusion  from  the  sight  of  his  people,  his  conduct  towards  his  wife 
and  his  assent  to  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics.  Even  on  these 
last  points  he  had  defenders.     The  circumstance  of  his  marriage  to  a 


156  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  "WELLINGTOK  [1880. 

woman  he  disliked  from  the  moment  he  looked  upon  her,  naturally 
tainted  his  whole  existence,  and  palliated  the  treatment  to  which  he 
had  subjected  her.  The  retired  life  he  had  led  arose  from  constitu- 
tional indolence,  and  a  reluctance  to  exhibit  his  person,  which,  from 
early  habits  of  dissipation,  had  long  ceased  to  typify  the  "  mould  of 
form."  His  concession  to  the  Catholics  was  excused  by  some 
persons  as  the  result  of  ministerial  coercion,  and  accepted  by  others 
as  the  fruit  of  an  honest  conviction.  Upon  the  whole,  however,  the 
public  was  not  thrown  into  a  violent  state  of  grief  upon  the  occur- 
rence of  an  event  for  which  frequent  bulletins  and  the  cessation  of 
public  business  by  the  King  had,  in  a  measure  prepared  them. 

It  was  said  at  the  time,  and  has  not  since  been  contradicted,  that 
George  IV.  never  forgave  the  Duke  of  Wellington  for  compelling 
his  assent  to  the  Catholic  Relief  Bill,  and  that  latterly  a  great  deal  of 
coolness  had  marked  the  royal  reception  of  the  warrior  statesman. 
Nevertheless  the  Duke  could  not  fail  to  be  personally  concerned  at 
the  death  of  the  King.  His  Majesty's  bounty,  in  the  conferment  of 
honours,  had  been  "  boundless  as  the  sea."  He  had,  as  Prince 
Regent,  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  the  success  of  the  Duke's 
military  operations,  sustaining  him  at  home  against  a  world  of 
enmity  aud  obloquy,  even  to  the  extent  of  forfeiting  the  support  of 
the  party  (the  Whigs)  to  which  the  Prince  had  been  attached  from 
his  first  entrance  into  public  life,  and  from  which  he  had  derived  great 
assistance  and  sympathy  in  his  quarrels  with  his  father,  the  investi- 
gation of  his  debts,  tfcc.  And  after  the  wars,  the  Prince — and  then 
the  King — had  covered  the  Duke  with  the  highest  marks  of  gratitude 
and  admiration.  The  recollection  of  these  favours  made  its  impress- 
ion upon  his  Grace,  and  accordingly,  when  addressing  the  House  of 
Lords  a  few  days  subsequently,  the  Duke  passed  a  proper  eulogium 
upon  the  deceased  monarch,  carefully  eschewing  all  those  points  upon 
which  any  difference  of  opinion  could  arise.  He  praised  the  high 
attainments  and  polished  manners  of  George  IV.,  his  knowledge 
and  talent,  his  patronage  of  the  arts,  and  his  firm  conduct  during  the 
war  with  France. 

George  IV.  dying  without  surviving  issue,  he  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother  William,  Duke  of  Clarence.  Parliament  was  therefore 
dissolved  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  a  new  Parlaiment  summoned  to 
meet  in  the  beginning  of  November. 

In  the  month  of  July  of  this  year  a  new  Revolution  broke  out  in 
France.  The  government  of  Louis  XVIII.,  restored  in  1815,  had 
been  distinguished  by  all  the  vices  and  follies  of  priestly  Bourbonisra. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  King,  the  Comte  d'Artois  ascended  the  throne 


1830.]  THE   DUKE'S   MINISTRY   RESIGNS.  157 

as  Charles  X.,  and  continued  to  reign,  influenced  by  the  Jesuits,  and 
the  exclusive  policy  of  Monsieur  de  Polignac.  From  one  piece  of 
tyranny  to  another  the  Bourbons  blundered  on,  until,  making  an 
effort  to  trample  upon  the  press,  the  spirit  of  the  Parisians  was 
aroused.  A  violent  insurrection  immediately  broke  out — the  Bour- 
bons Avere  hurled  from  the  throne — and  Louis  Philippe,  the  Due 
d'Orleans,  was  raised  to  the  monarchy  by  the  title  of  the  King  of  the 
French.  This  revolt  was  not  confined  in  its  influence  to  France. 
Belgium,  by  a  similar  effort,  at  once  renounced  the  authority  of 
Holland ;  some  of  the  German  States  endeavoured  to  achieve  an  in- 
dependence, and  Poland  once  more  sought  to  cast  off  the  yoke  of 
Russia. 

The  struggle  of  Continental  Europe  to  emancipate  itself  from  arbi- 
trary government  attracted  attention  in  England,  and  awakened  the 
large  towns  to  a  sense  of  their  unrepresented  condition.  "  Parliament- 
ary Reform"  now  became  the  cry  of  the  people  as  the  only  panacea 
for  all  the  evils  which  afilicted  the  State,  and  as  the  country  was  the 
scene  of  a  general  election,  every  advantage  was  taken  of  the  popular 
excitement  to  procure  the  return  of  Liberal  members.  A  breach  had 
taken  place  between  the  Government  and  the  Whigs  immediately 
before  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  upon  the  subject  of  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Regency  in  case  of  the  demise  of  the  Crown  while  the 
Princess  Victoria,  the  presumptive  heiress,  continued  a  minor.  De- 
prived, therefore,  of  the  Whig  support  which  the  Wellington  ministry 
had  played  off  against  the  Tories,  and  hopelessly  severed  from  the 
latter  by  the  Act  of  Emancipation,  the  Government  had  the  satis- 
faction to  see  their  steady  adherents  ousted  from  very  many  of  the 
seats  they  had  occupied,  by  virtue  of  the  influence  of  opinion  and 
public  approbation.  Nevertheless,  when  the  King  met  the  new 
Parliament  on  the  2nd  of  November,  a  bold  face  was  put  upon  mat- 
ters by  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  It  was  announced  that  the  riots 
which  disturbed  the  country  should  be  put  down  by  the  authority  of 
the  law,  and  all  measures  of  Parliamentary  Reform  resisted  to  the 
utmost. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  the  King  and  Queen  were  to  have  been 
present  at  a  banquet  in  the  City,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  inauguration 
of  the  new  Lord  Mayor.  Information,  however,  having  reached  the 
Ministry  that  large  bodies  of  people  intended  to  assemble  with  the 
intention,  it  was  believed,  of  offering  an  outrage  to  the  person  of 
the  Sovereign  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  latter  advised  the 
King  io  decline  accepting  the  Lord  Mayor's  invitation.  Acting 
upon  this  counsel,  the  King  did  not  go,  and  great  dissatisfaction  and 


168  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1830. 

disappointment  were  the  consequence.  Nothing  more  was  needed  to 
complete  the  unpopularity  of  the  Duke.  He  had  now  lost  another 
ingredient  in  ministerial  strength — the  sympathy  of  "  the  City" — 
and  exposed  himself  to  the  intense  ridicule  of  the  press.  Of  this  the 
Whigs  took  the  fullest  possible  advantage.  When  the  question  of  the 
settlement  of  the  Civil  List  for  the  new  reign  came  before  the  House 
of  Commons,  Sir  Henry  Parnell  moved  that  the  subject  be  referred 
to  a  Select  Committee.  The  motion  was  opposed  by  Ministers,  who 
were  left  in  a  minority  of  29,  several  of  the  old  Tory  party  voting 
against  them.  On  the  same  day — 15th  November — a  proposition 
for  Parliamentary  Keform,  emanating  from  Mr.  Brougham,  was  to  be 
brought  to  a  division,  and,  as  Ministers  expected  a  defeat,  they  at 
once  resigned  their  offices,  and  Earl  Grey  was  sent  for  by  the  King 
to  form  a  Ministry. 

Under  this  Administration  the  Duke  of  Wellington  held  no  office 
The  command  of  the  army  was  given  to  Lord  Hill. 


1831.] 


THE  EEFORM  QUESTION. 


159 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Reform  question— The  Ministerial  Bill  defeated  In  Committee— Parliament  dissolve*— Re-as- 
sembles— New  Bill  introduced — Passes  in  the  Commons — Is  resisted  by  the  Duke  in  the 
House  of  Lords — The  Duke's  speeches. 


ARL  GREY  was  one  of  the  earliest 
and  stoutest  champions  of  Reform  in 
the  Representation.  In  his  youth  he 
had  been  celebrated  as  a  declaimer  in 
the  House  of  Commons  against  close 
boroughs  and  a  limited  franchise ; — 
advanced  in  life,  he  clung  tenaciously 
to  his  early  principles.  He  accepted 
the  office  of  Prime  Minister  upon  the 
understanding  that  "  Reform  "  should 
be  made  a  Cabinet  question,  and  the 
King  assented  to  the  arrangement. 
The  times  were  favourable  to  success. 
and  the  only  difficulty  of  Ministers — 
and  a  great  difficulty  it  was — lay  in  determining  the  extent  of  the 
franchise,  and  settling  the  places  which  should  possess,  or  cease  to 
enjoy,  the  advantage  of  representation.  The  country  was  in  a  state 
of  ferment.  Meetings  were  everywhere  held,  and  encouraged  by  the 
example  of  the  nations  of  the  continent,  they  sought  by  their  resolu- 
tions to  extend  and  strengthen  the  democratic  features  of  the  consti- 
tution. It  was  more  difficult  to  restrain  public  impatience  than  to 
find  an  assent  to  the  general  principles  of  Reform.  Petitions  poured 
in  from  every  part  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  political  associations 
were  formed  under  the  name  of  "  Unions  "  for  the  purpose  of  acting 
on  the  public  mind,  and  pressing  on  the  ministry. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1831,  Lord  John  Russell  brought  forward 
the  ministerial  plan  of  Parliamentary  Reform.  His  lordship  was  not 
in  the  Cabinet,  but  the  duty  was  intrusted  to  him  because  of  the 

2n 


160  LIPE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1831. 

influence  of  his  name  and  character,  and  because  he  had  on  many 
occasions,  made  motions  for  partial  changes  in  the  existing  state  of 
the  representation.  The  proposition  was  warmly  supported  by  the 
Liberal  party,  though  many  did  not  consider  that  it  went  far  enough. 
It  passed  a  first  reading  without  a  division.  Upon  tlie  second 
reading  Ministers  had  a  majority  of  one.  The  next  step  was  to  carry 
the  Bill  into  Committee.  Here  it  was  met  by  an  amendment  from 
General  Gascoyne,  which  placed  Ministers  in  a  minority ;  and  upon 
a  later  day  they  were  defeated  in  an  attempt  to  carry  the  Ordnance 
estimates.  Under  these  circumstances,  Lord  Grey  advised  the  King 
to  dissolve  Parliament,  and  to  take  the  sense  of  the  country  upon  the 
expediency  of  working  out  changes  in  the  representation.  The  King 
yielded — Parliament  dissolved — and  the  new  Parliament  assembled  on 
the  14th  of  June. 

The  dissolution  of  Parliament  was  celebrated  in  London  and  most 
of  the  great  towns  with  illuminations,  and  the  populace  demonstrated 
their  love  of  freedom  of  opinion  by  breaking  the  windows  of  all  those 
peers  and  commoners  who  had  expressed  sentiments  unfavourable  to 
the  Reform  Bill.  Apsley  House  was  peculiarly  favoured  with  the 
wrath  of  the  London  mob.  Almost  every  pane  bore  evidence  of 
the  tyranny  of  the  multitude.  The  Duke  bore  the  infliction  calmly, 
and  in  immediately  causing  his  windows  to  be  protected  by  iron 
blinds,  he  at  once  provided  his  mansion  with  a  defence  against  future 
attacks,  and  presented  the  public  with  a  permanent  monument  of  his 
opinion  of  the  instability  of  popular  favour. 

Soon  after  the  re-assembling  of  Parliament,  a  new  bill  for  the 
reform  of  the  representation  was  brought  in.  It  passed,  after  much 
animated  discussion,  by  a  majority  of  136  on  the  second  reading,  and 
of  109  in  committee.  Read  a  first  time  in  the  House  of  Lords,  the 
opposition  of  that  body  was  reserved  for  the  second  reading,  when 
the  bill  was  thrown  out  by  a  majority  of  forty-one.  This  led  to 
tremendous  tumults  all  over  the  country — at  Bristol,  Derby,  Not- 
tingham, and  elsewhere. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  gave  to  Parliamentary  Reform  strenuous 
opposition.  In  respect  to  this  measure,  his  Grace  observed  a  rigid 
consistency.  He  made  several  speeches  on  the  subject  at  difi'erent 
times.  He  had  resisted  reform  as  a  Minister — he  resisted  it  because 
it  was  calculated  to  damage  the  constitution  of  Parliament.  There 
was  no  country  in  the  universe  in  which  so  much  happiness,  so  much 
prosperity,  and  so  much  comfort  were  diff"used  among  all  the  various 
classes  of  society ;  none  in  which  so  many  and  such  large  properties, 
both  public  and  private,  were  to  be  found  as  in  England.     "  Such 


1831.]  REFORM   IN  THE   REPRESENTATION.  161 

was  the  condition  of  this  country  under  that  system  which  was  now 
so  greatly  condemned.  We  enjoyed  under  that  system  the  largest 
commerce  and  the  most  flourishing  colonies  in  the  world.  There  was 
not  a  position  in  Europe  in  any  degree  important  for  military  pur- 
poses, or  advantageous  for  trade,  which  was  not  under  our  control,  or 
within  our  reach.  All  those  great  and  numerous  advantages  we 
possessed  under  the  existing  system  ;  but  it  would  be  impossible  that 
we  should  any  longer  retain  them  if  we  once  established  a  wild  democ- 
racy, a  complete  democratic  assemblage  under  the  name  of  a  House 
of  Commons."  Upon  another  occasion  his  Grace  came  out  even  more 
emphatically. 

"  It  is  far  from  my  wish  to  impute  to  the  noble  Earl  (Grey)  or  his 
colleagues  any  desire  to  introduce  revolutionary  measures  into  Par- 
liament; but  I  must  say  this,  that  having  looked  at  the  measure 
which  has  been  brought  into  the  other  House  of  Parliament,  under 
their  auspices,  I  cannot  but  consider  that  it  alters  every  interest  ex- 
isting in  the  country — that  in  consequence  of  its  operation,  no  interest 
will  remain  on  the  footing  on  which  it  now  stands,  and  that  this 
alteration  must  lead  to  a  total  alteration  of  men — of  men  entrusted 
with  the  confidence  of  Parliament ;  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  altera- 
tion must  have  a  serious  effect  on  the  public  interests — an  effect 
which,  I  confess,  I  cannot  look  at  without  the  most  serious  apprehen- 
sion. I  do  not  charge  the  most  noble  Earl  and  his  colleagues  with  a 
desire  to  overturn  the  institutions  of  the  country ;  but  I  cannot  look 
at  the  alterations  proposed  by  the  bill,  without  seeing  that  those 
alterations  must  be  followed  by  a  total  change  of  men,  and  likewise 
by  a  total  change  of  the  whole  system  of  government.  Why,  I  ask, 
for  what  reason,  is  all  this  to  be  done  ?  I  will  not  now  enter  into  the 
question  of  what  is  the  opinion  of  the  other  House  of  Parliament ; 
but  I  will  say  again,  as  I  have  said  before  in  the  presence  of  your 
lordships,  that  I  see  no  reason  whatever  for  your  altering  the  consti- 
tution of  Parliament. 

"  It  is  my  opinion  that  Parliament  has  well  served  the  country,  and 
that  it  deserves  well  of  the  country  for  a  variety  of  measures  which  it 
has  produced,  particularly  of  late  years.  I  see  no  reason  for  the 
measure  now  proposed,  except  to  gratify  certain  individuals  in  the 
country.  It  is  possible  that  a  large  number,  nay  even  a  majority  of 
individuals,  in  this  country  may  be  desirous  of  this  change  ;  but  I  see 
no  reason,  excepting  that,  for  this  measure  being  introduced  or  adopted. 

"  While  I  thus  declare  my  sentiments,  I  beg  your  lordships  to 
believe  that  I  feel  no  interest  in  this  question,  excepting  that  which  I 
have  in  common  with  every  individual  in  the  country.     I  possess  no 

vol.  u.  11 


162  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1831. 

influence  or  interest  of  the  description  which  will  be  betrayed  by  the 
measure  now  proposed.  I  am  an  individual  who  has  served  his 
Majesty  for  now,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  half  a  century ;  I  have  been  in 
bis  Majesty's  service  for  forty-five  years — for  thirty  eventful  years 
of  that  period  I  have  served  his  Majesty  in  situations  of  trust  and 
confidence,  in  the  command  of  his  armies,  in  embassies,  and  in  his 
councils ;  and  the  experience  which  I  have  acquired  in  the  situations 
in  which  I  have  served  his  Majesty,  enables  me  and  imposes  upon  me 
the  duty,  to  say,  that  I  cannot  look  at  this  measure  without  the  most 
serious  apprehensions,  that,  from  the  period  of  its  adoption,  ^ve  shall 
date  tlm  downfall  of  our  constitution P 

Parliament  was  prorogued  by  the  King  in  person  on  the  20th  of 
October,  and  in  the  course  of  his  speech  his  Majesty  sufficiently  ad- 
mitted his  views  regarding  reform  by  stating  that  the  consideration 
of  Parliament  would  be  called  to  the  question  on  the  opening  of  the 
session,  and  that  it  was  his  Majesty's  unaltered  desire  to  promote  its 
settlement  by  such  improvements  in  the  representation  as  might  be 
found  necessary  for  securing  to  his  people  the  full  enjoyment  of  their 
rights,  which,  in  combination  with  those  of  the  other  orders  of  the 
state,  were  essential  to  the  support  of  our  free  constitution. 

On  the  6th  of  December  the  Houses  again  met  for  the  despatch  of 
business,  and  the  King  again  urged  the  speedy  settlement  of  the 
Keform  question.  The  Ministerial  bill,  somewhat  altered  from  the 
former,  was  immediately  introduced  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
the  second  reading  being  carried  without  difficulty,  the  Parliament 
adjourned  for  the  Christmas  holidays.  It  re-assembled  on  the  17th  of 
January,  and  from  that  time  until  the  23rd  of  March  the  discussions 
in  committee  were  carried  on.  At  the  latter  date  the  bill  passed  by 
a  majority  of  116.  But  the  battle  had  still  to  bfe  fought  in  the 
House  of  Peers,  and  here  it  again  encountered  a  firm  opposition,  not- 
withstanding that  intimidation  was  employed  out  of  doors  by  the 
press,  and  in  the  Lower  House  ;  the  lords  being  threatened  with  an 
indefinite  increase  to  their  number.  It  was  even  said  that  Lord  Grey 
had  received  the  King's  authority  for  an  augmentation  of  the  number 
of  peers.  Without  resorting  to  this  extremity,  however,  even  if  Lord 
Grey  had  really  possessed  the  power  imputed  to  him,  the  second 
reading  was  carried  in  the  Upper  House  by  a  majority  of  nine. 
Early  in  the  month  of  May  the  House  went  into  committee  upon  the 
bill,  and  upon  a  motion  that  the  disfranchising  clauses  should  be 
postponed  to  the  enfranchising  clauses,  Ministers  were  left  in  a  mi- 
nority of  thirty  five. 

Immediately    upon    the    division   being    announced,    Earl    Grey 


1832.]  LORD   GREY    RESIGNS.  163 

hastened  to  the  King,  and  offered  his  Majesty  the  alternative  of 
creating  a  batch  of  peers  large  enough  to  give  Ministers  a  prepon- 
derating influence  in  the  House,  or  to  accept  their  resignation.  The 
King  decided  upon  the  latter.  Lord  Grey  then  resigned,  and  the 
King  sent  for  Lord  Lyndhurst,  to  advise  upon  the  best  course  to  be 
adopted  ;  and  Lord  Lyndhurst  recommended  his  Majesty  to  send  for 
the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

Since  the  days  of  Lord  George  Gordon — or  the  periods  when  an 
invasion  was  apprehended — London  had  not  been  the  scene  of  so 
much  excitement  as  distinguished  it  upon  the  news  of  the  retirement 
of  the  Whigs,  and  the  recall  of  the  Duke.  The  question  in  every 
man's  mouth  was — "  Can  any  government  stand  that  does  not  give 
to  the  people  a  full  and  complete  reform  in  the  representation  1 "  It 
needed  '•  no  ghost  come  from  his  grave"  to  answer  that ;  the  very 
streets  teemed  with  indications  of  the  public  mind,  and  symbols  of 
the  people's  resolution.  "  Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before." 
and  spared  all  doubts  as  to  what  would  be  the  final  issue  of  the 
Duke's  exertions,  ffere  might  be  seen  a  fellow  selling  gross  cari- 
catures of  the  King  ;  there  stood  a  vendor  of  ballads  in  which  the 
weakness  of  "  Billy  Barlow"  and  the  schemes  of  the  "  German  Frau" 
(by  which  the  Queen  was  indicated)  were  sung  to  filthy  tunes.  Here 
you  were  invited  to  a  meeting  at  the  Crown  and  Anchor,  under  the 
auspices  of  Sir  Francis  Burdett,  Hume,  and  O'Connell ;  there  yoii 
were  solicited  to  sign  an  address  to  the  Sovereign,  imploring  him  to 
recall  Lords  Grey  and  Brougham.  This  wall  blazed  with  placards 
calling  on  his  Majesty  to  restore  his  Ministers,  or  summon  the  Duke 
of  Sussex ; — that  caricatured  the  Duke  6i  Wellington,  or  reminded 
the  country  of  his  declaration  against  all  reform.  Numbers  of  houses 
exhibited  handbills,  in  which  the  owners  or  occupants  vowed  they 
would  pay  no  taxes  until  the  Reform  Bill  had  become  the  law  of  the 
land.  Some  displayed  banners  with  revolutionary  devices ;  others 
announced  the  sale  of  the  "  whole  stock  of  trade  as  the  day  approached 
when  all  security  of  property  under  a  military  government  would  be 
at  an  end."  The  newspaper  offices  were  crowded  long  before  the 
hour  of  publication,  and  the  items  of  intelligence  which  they  occa- 
sionally exhibited  on  large  placards  were  received  by  the  attendant 
concourse  with  shouts  or  yells,  according  as  they  announced  pleas- 
urable or  disagreeable  rumours.  The  omnibuses  which  bore  the 
names  of  "  William  the  Fourth"  or  '•  Queen  Adelaide"  were  at  once  . 
daubed  over  with  black  paint,  or  disfigured  with  paper  patches.  The 
"  King's  Head "  public-houses  reversed  their  signs,  or  substituted  a 
periwigged  gentleman,  whom    they   called  '■  the    Chancellor."      The 


164  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [18S^ 

wax-work  establishment  in  Fleet-street  presented  a  figure  of  the  Duke 
at  the  window,  with  the  kingly  crown  on  his  head,  and  "  no  reform" 
labelled  on  his  breast.  Beside  him  stood  the  effigy  of  a  lord  spiritual 
in  the  act  of  preaching  those  words  "  unmusical  to  Volscian  ears." 
You  did  not  meet  a  man  but  anxiety  sat  on  his  brow  and  deter- 
mination glistened  in  his  eye.  The  commotion  extended  to  the 
theatres.  Dowton,  at  the  "  Queen's,"  was  called  on  by  the  pit  to  alter 
the  name  of  the  house.  At  Covent  Garden,  Young  played  "  Hamlet," 
and  when  he  told  the  players  to  "  reform  it  altogether,"  the  house 
literally  shook  with  the  thunders  of  the  audience.  At  the  Coburg 
they  acted  "  Tom  Thumb,"  and  drew  broad  comparisons  between  the 
uxorious  Arthur,  the  tyrannical  DollaloUa,  and  the  mighty  Thumb, 
and  certain  existing  but  unpopular  personages  of  rank.  These  were 
the  hourly  indications  of  the  popular  disposition  ;  these  were  the 
rumblings  of  the  volcano,  which  needed  but  tho  signal  to  vomit  its 
destroying  lava,  and  scatter  dismay  around.  As,  however,  all  great 
public  movements  must  be  directed  by  a  head  the  excited  body  had 
decided  on  no  particular  plan  of  action  until  the  House  of  Commons, 
by  an  affirmative  vote,  on  a  motion  of  Lord  Ebrington's,  gave 
evidence  of  its  intention  to  stop  the  supplies.  Then  men  walked 
with  a  firmer  step,  and  less  fevered  brow.  Lord  Milton  set  the  ex- 
ample of  refusing  to  pay  the  tax-gatherer.  The  people,  obeying  the 
signal  from  the  unknown  placarders,  ran  to  the  bank  for  gold.'  The 
Birmingham  Political  Union  mustered  in  all  their  strength,  entered 
protests  and  resolutions  on  their  records,  and  prepared  for  a  mighty 
struggle  with  the  'avowed  enemies  of  the  people.'  Many  families 
left  town — bishops  were  hissed  during  divine  service — men  wore  their 
hats  in  church  ;  but  no  violence  was  offered  to  a  single  Tory,  nor  any 
outrages  committed  which  could  serve  to  separate  the  cause  of  the 
mob  from  that  of  the  judicious  part  of  the  community.  Every  indi- 
vidual, in  short,  seemed  to  say — "  Let  us  reserve  our  anger  until 
Royalty  and  the  Tories  have  consummated  their  schemes  for  the 
destruction  of  our  liberties."  At  this  crisis  the  Grey  Ministry  was 
restored,  and  the  people  breathed  again. 

The  Houses  of  Parliament  adjourned  until  the  17th  of  May,  at  the 
instance  of  Earl  Grey,  to  give  time  for  the  re-construction  of  the 
Cabinet,  and  the  arrangement  of  future  measures.  On  the  resumption 
of  business,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord  Lyndhurst  gave,  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  full  explanations  regarding  their  attempt  to  form 

1  Some  of  tho  placards  ran  thua : — 
"To  STOP  TiiK  Duke, 
Go  FOR  Gold  1" 


1832.]  EXPLANATIONS   OF  THE   DUKE.  165 

a  new  Ministry,  and  which  had  made  thera,  during  a  whole  week,  the 
chosen  objects  of  declamatory  vituperation. 

"  When  his  Majesty,"  said  his  Grace,  "  found  that  he  could  not 
consistently  with  his  duty  to  the  state,  follow  the  advice  of  his  confi- 
dential servants,  so  little  communication  had  he  with  public  men , 
other  than  his  responsible  advisers,  that  he  had  recourse  to  a  noble- 
man whose  judicial  functions  took  him  almost  out  of  the  line  &f 
politics,  to  inquire  whether  means  existed,  and  what  means,  of  forming 
an  Administration  on  the  principle  of  carrying  into  execution  an 
extensive  reform.  That  nobleman  then  communicated  to  me  the 
difficulties  in  which  his  Majesty  was  placed,  in  order  to  ascertain 
how  far  it  was  in  my  power  to  assist  in  extricating  him  from  it. 
With  this  view,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  institute  similar  inquiries  of 
others,  the  rather  as  I  was  myself  as  unprepared  as  his  Majesty,  for  the 
advice  which  his  Ministers  had  tendered,  and  from  the  consequences 
which  had  ensued  from  its  being  rejected.  On  inquiry  I  found  that 
there  was  a  large  number  of  most  influential  persons  not  indisposed 
to  support  a  Government  formed  to  aid  his  Majesty  in  resisting  the 
advice  tendered  him  by  his  late  Ministers.  Under  this  conviction  I 
attended  his  Majesty  ;  and  my  advice  to  him  was,  not  that  he  should 
appoint  me  his  Minister,  but  certain  members  of  the  other  House  of 
Parliament.  So  far  from  seeking  for  office  for  myself,  I  merely 
named  those  persons  whom  I  thought  best  qualified  for  his  service ; 
adding,  that,  for  my  own  part,  whether  I  was  in  office  or  out  of  office, 
he  and  those  persons  might  depend  upon  my  most  strenuous  support. 
The  object  of  this  advice  and  tender  of  assistance  was  to  enable  his 
Majesty  to  form  an  Administration  upon  the  principle  of  resisting  the 
advice  which  he  had  just  rejected.  These  are  the  first  steps  of 
the  transaction,  and  I  believe  they  show,  that,  if  ever  there  was  an 
instance  in  which  the  King  acted  with  honesty  and  fairness 
towards  his  servants,  and  if  ever  there  was  an  instance  in  which 
public  men,  opposed  to  those  servants,  kept  aloof  from  intrigue, 
and  from  the  adoption  of  all  means  except  the  most  honourable, 
in  promoting  their  own  views  of  the  public  weal,  this  was  that 
individual  instance ;  and  I  will  add  with  reference  to  myself,  that 
these  transactions  show  that,  so  far  from  being  actuated  by  those 
motives  of  personal  aggrandisement,  with  which  I  have  been  charged 
by  persons  of  high  station  in  another  place,  my  object  was,  that 
others  should  occupy  a  post  of  honour,  and  that,  for  myself,  I  was 
willing  to  serve  in  any  capacity,  or  without  any  official  capacity,  so  as 
to  enable  the  Crown  to  carry  on  the  Government.  And  here  I  beg 
your  lordships  to  examine  a  little  the  nature  of  the  advice  which  hia 


16o  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [18S2. 

Majesty  bad  rejected,  and  wliicli  I  considered  it  my  duty  to  assist 
Iiiui  by  every  means  in  my  power  to  resist  effectually.  Ministers 
found,  in  tbe  course  of  last  session,  that  a  large  majority  of  your 
lordships  were  opposed  to  the  principles  of  tbe  Reform  Bill.  What 
should  be  the  ordinary  course  of  proceeding  under  such  circumstances  ? 
Why,  either  to  abandon  the  measure  altogether,  or  make  such 
alterations  in  it  as  might  render  it  palatable  to  the  majority  of  its 
opponents.  But  was  this  the  course  pursued  by  the  noble  earl  ?  So 
far  from  it,  he  emphatically  declared  that  he  would  not  consent  to 
the  producing  of  a  measure  of  less  efficiency  than  that  which  your 
lordships  had  disapproved  of;  and,  in  point  of  fact,  the  noble  earl  has 
brought  in  a  bill  stronger,  and,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  worse  than 
the  obnoxious  measure  which  you  so  emphatically  rejected,  and  which 
he  could  and  can  hope  to  force  through  this  house  only  by  an  arbi- 
trary and  a  most  unconstitutional  creation  of  peers.  If  any  man  will 
maintain  that  this  is  a  legal  and  constitutional  line  of  proceeding,  I 
can  only  say  that  my  notions  of  what  is  legal  and  what  is  constitu- 
tional are,  and  I  trust  always  will  be,  very  different ;  that  if  the 
advice  were  to  be  adopted,  it  would  place  it  in  the  power  of  a  minister 
to  carry  any  measure  he  pleased,  and  by  what  means  he  pleased,  with 
impunity ;  and  that,  from  that  moment,  the  constitution  of  this 
country  and  this  house  would  be  at  an  end.  In  such  a  case,  I  repeat, 
the  object  and  power  of  this  house  would  be  at  an  end,  its  deliberative 
character  totally  destroyed,  and,  as  a  consequence,  it  would  not 
possess  the  means  of  arriving  at  an  honest  decision  upon  any  public 
question.  And  allow  me  to  observe,  that,  in  my  opinion,  a  threat  to 
carry  into  execution  such  an  unconstitutional  mode  of  adding  to  the 
numbers  of  supporters  of  a  particular  minister  in  this  house,  pro- 
viding it  has  the  effect  of  inducing  a  number  of  your  lordships  to 
abstain  either  altogether  from  attending  their  duties  here,  or  from 
offering  a  decided  and  uncompromising  opposition  to  a  measure 
which  they  honestly  believe  to  be  mischievous  in  its  tendency — the 
threat  is  as  bad,  in  point  of  fact,  as  the  execution.  Such  a  threat  is 
tantamount  to  forcing  the  decisions  of  this  house,  when  it  is  plain 
that  a  majority  is  decidedly  indisposed  to  adopt  the  measure  which 
the  uttercr  of  the  threat  may  persuade  himself  would  be  beneficial  to 
the  country.  It  is  true  that  many  well-disposed  persons  may  be 
induced  by  it  to  adopt  a  middle  course,  under  a  persuasion  that  they 
thereby  avert  the  greater  evil  of  a  creation  of  some  fifty  or  a 
hundred  peers  ;  or,  perhaps,  many  may  be  induced  by  it  to  adopt  the 
obnoxious  proposition  of  the  noble  earl,  were  it  only  to  save  his 
Majesty  himself  from  the  painful  consequences  of  either  rejecting  or 


1832.]  EXPLANATIONS   OF   THE   DUKE.  167 

adopting  the  counsel  of  his  responsible  advisers.  But  is  this  free 
aud  independent  deliberation?  Is  not  an  unbiased  decision,  under 
iuch  influences,  wholly  impracticable  ?  Therefore  I  was  anxious  to 
assist  my  Sovereign  in  rejecting  such  dangerous  counsel ;  and  I  do 
oot  hesitate  to  add,  that  he,  who  would  not  have  acted  as  I  did, 
would  be  a  party  to  destroy  the  legislative  independence  and  consti- 
tutional utility  of  the  House  of  Lords.  His  Majesty  insisted  that 
whoever  should  undertake  the  management  of  affairs  should  do  so  on 
an  understanding  of  carrying  an  'extensive  reform' — (I  quote  his 
Majesty's  own  words)  — '  in  the  representation  of  the  people  in 
Parliament.'  Now  I  always  have  been  and  still  am  of  opinion  that 
no  measure  of  reform  is  necessary,  and  that  the  measure  before  the 
house  was  calculated  to  injure,  if  not  destroy,  the  monarchical  insti- 
tutions of  this  country ;  but  I  stated  on  the  last  occasion  when  I 
addressed  your  lordships  on  the  subject,  that  though  this  was  my 
own  conviction,  I  should  endeavour,  as  the  principle  of  the  bill  had 
obtained  the  sanction  of  a  numerical  majority,  honestly  and  fairly,  in 
committee,  to  make  such  amendments  as  would  enable  the  Govern- 
ment to  meet,  and,  if  possible,  overcome  the  difficulties  and  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  which  the  bill  must,  in  my  mind,  give 
rise  to.  Gladly  would  I  reject  it  altogether  in  its  present  shape. 
But  that  was  not  the  question  between  me  and  my  Sovereign.  I  was 
called  upon  by  his  Majesty  not  to  act  upon  my  own  particular  views 
of  reform,  but  to  assist  him  in  resisting  the  adoption  of  an  advice 
which  would  overthrow  the  House  of  Lords  and  the  monarchy,  and 
in  carrying  an  extensive  measure  of  parliamentary  reform  through 
this  house,  without  having  recourse  to  the  unconstitutional  exercise 
of  the  prerogative  suggested  by  his  late  advisers.  It  therefore  be- 
came a  question  what  parts  of  the  bill  might  be  retained  with  com- 
parative safety,  and  which  this  house  might  rationally  expect  would, 
when  sent  down  to  the  House  of  Commons,  receive  the  sanction  of 
that  branch  of  the  legislature. 

"  It  was  under  these  circumstances  and  upon  this  understanding 
that  I  consented  to  give  my  assistance  to  bis  Majesty  to  form  an 
Administration.  I  know  many  are  of  opinion  that  I  should  have 
acted  a  more  prudent  part,  and  one  more  worthy  of  a  man  who  kept 
ulterior  considerations  in  view,  and  who,  mindful  of  his  former  opinions 
and  pledges  against  reform,  looked  only  at  consistency,  if,  in  regarding 
nothing  but  personal  considerations,  I  had  refused  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  formation  of  a  Government  bound  to  undertake  an 
extensive  measure  of  reform.  But  were  our  positions  similar  1  Such 
persons  were,  and  are,  responsible  only  to  themselves,  and  for  them- 


168  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [183-2 

selves ;  I  was  called  on  to  rescue  my  Sovereign  from  the  embarras- 
ment  in  which  he  was  placed  by  his  own  servants.  When  his 
Majesty  did  me  the  honour  of  commanding  my  aid  to  enable  him  to 
resist  a  most  pernicious  counsel,  if  I  had  answered,  '  I  see  the  diffi- 
culties of  your  Majesty's  situation ;  but  I  cannot  afford  you  any 
assistance,  because  I  have,  in  my  place  in  Parliament,  expressed 
strong  opinions  against  a  measure  to  which  your  Majesty  is  under- 
stood to  be  friendly,'  I  should  have  been  ashamed  to  show  my  face  in 
the  streets.  No.  I  adopted  the  course  which  I  am  sure  would  have 
been  that  of  the  veriest  enemy  of  the  bill;  I  endeavoured  to  assist 
the  King  in  the  distressing  circumstances  in  which  he  was  pleased  to 
call  for  my  advice.  I  repeat,  that  the  question  which  I  was  called 
on,  by  the  King,  to  consider,  was  not  the  practicability  of  forming  a 
Ministry  on  my  own  personal  views  of  reform,  but  to  enable  hira  to 
resist  the  creation  of  a  multitude  of  peers  for  a  most  unconstitutional 
and  dangerous  purpose ;  and  the  consideration  uppermost  in  my 
mind  was,  how  far  the  recommendation  in  his  Majesty's  Speech  from 
the  throne  in  June,  1831,  could  be  acted  on  without  danger  to  this 
House  or  to  the  monarchy.  In  that  speech  the  King  recommended 
the  question  of  reform  to  your  attention,  '  confident  that  in  any 
measures  you  might  propose  for  its  adjustment,  you  will  carefully 
adhere  to  the  acknowledged  principles  of  the  constitution,  by  which 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  the  authority  of  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  and  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  are  equally 
secured.'  Who  that  heard  that  speech  could  ever  have  anticipated 
the  proposition  of  a  measure,  or  an  advice  in  relation  to  that  measure, 
which  annihilated  the  independent  authority  of  one  of  the  branches  of 
the  legislature  ?  The  number  of  peers  whom  it  would  be  necessary 
to  create,  to  carry  the  Reform  Bill  as  it  now  stands,  would,  at  the 
lowest  calculation,  amount  to  a  hundred  ;  and  surely  any  man  who 
foretold  that  the  measure  referred  to  in  that  speech  put  into  the 
mouth  of  liis  Majesty  was  one  which  would  require  such  an  immense 
augmentation  of  the  peerage,  would  have  been  considered  as  dreaming 
of  things  impracticable.  When  I  first  heard  that  Ministers  had 
such  a  proceeding  in  contemplation,  I  treated  the  rumour  as  an 
absurdity.  I  believed  not  that  a  Minister  could  be  found  wicked 
enough  to  propose  such  a  measure.  Many  know  well  that  I  have 
ever  denounced  it  as  an  impossibility;  and  while  no  man  entertains 
a  more  deep  sense  of  the  constitutional  right  of  the  Crown  to  create 
peers,  under  certain  circumstances,  I  hold  it  would  be  an  unjust  and 
unconstitutional  exercise  of  that  prerogative  to  create  a  body  of  peers 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  some  measure  obnoxious  to  the  House  of 


1882.] 


LORD   LYNDHURSrS   EXPLANATION. 


1G9 


Lords  at  large.  It  was  to  enable  the  Crown  to  resist  the  application 
for  so  unconstitutional  an  exercise  of  prerogative,  that  I  consented  to 
assist  in  forming  an  Administration  on  the  principles  I  have  stated. 
When,  however,  I  found,  from  the  tone  and  result  of  the  discussion 
which  took  place  in  the  other  House  of  Parliament  on  the  resignation 
of  Ministers,  and  from  the  opinion  of  many  leading  men  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  who  were  strenuously  averse  to  a  creation  of  peers,  that 
no  Government  could  hope  to  gain  the  confidence  of  that  House  which 
did  not  undertake  to  carry  through  a  reform  as  extensive  and  effi- 
cient as  that  now  on  the  table,  I  had  to  inform  his  Majesty  that  it 
was  not  in  my  power  to  fulfil  the  important  commission  with  which  he 
had  honoured  me." 

Lord  Lyndhurst  confirmed  his  Grace's  statement,  so  far  as  coa- 


LORD   LYNDHURST. 


cerned  his  lordship's  connection  with  the  negotiation,  which  seems  to 
have  been  extremely  slight. 

The  Earls  of  Mansfield,  Carnarvon,  and  Winchelsea,  the  Marquis 
of  Salisbury,  and  other  peers,  declared,  that  though  they  had  in  no 


170  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1832. 

way  been  connected  with  the  transactions  which  had  been  explained, 
the  conduct  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  been  high-minded  and 
disinterested,  and  not  the  less  so  for  having  submitted,  without 
reply,  to  the  unmeasured  calumny  and  misrepresentation  heaped 
upon  him  daily,  rather  than  impede  the  formation  of  a  government. 
He  had  been  hunted  down  day  after  day,  because  he  had  dared, 
forsooth,  to  become  Minister ;  when  it  turned  out,  in  point  of  fact, 
that  he  had  neither  accepted  nor  sought  offices,  though  it  was  within 
his  reach.  The  Earl  of  Haddington  said  that  he  had  never  been  a 
partisan  of  the  Duke.  As  far  as  there  had  been  an  opposition  to  his 
Grace,  he  might  be  said  to  have  belonged  to  it,  and  he  had  never 
formed  any  connection  with  him.  But  he  felt  he  should  be  acting  a 
base  part,  if  he  did  not  state  in  the  face  of  their  lordships  and  the 
country,  however  such  a  declaration  might  expose  him  to  obloquy 
and  abuse,  that  his  Grace  was  entitled  to  the  gratitude  of  their  lord- 
ships for  doing  what  he  had  done.* 

The  Reform  Bill  was  ultimately  carried,  through  the  absence,  from 
the  final  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords,  of  many  of  those  peers  who 
were  particularly  hostile  to  its  provisions.  Rather  than  resort  to  the 
dangerous  and  unpalatable  extremity  of  creating  a  number  of  new 
peers,  whose  votes  would  have  insured  a  triumph  to  the  bill,  the 
King  caused  a  circular  to  be  addressed  to  the  "  Non-Contents  "  on 
the  second  reading,  requesting  them  to  absent  themselves  from  the 
division  in  committee. 

The  conduct  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  however  applauded  by 
those  who  agreed  in  opinion  with  him,  will  hardly  bear  the  test  of 
a  critical  examination  by  an  impartial  posterity.  It  was  in  the  first 
place  inconsistent  with  his  previous  course  in  respect  to  the  Eman- 
cipation Bill,  and,  in  the  second,  would  have  been  liable  to  the  same 
charge  of  tergiversation  had  Sir  Robert  (late  Mr.)  Peel  succumbed  to 
the  argument  that  a  renegade  policy  was  justifiable,  if  agreeable  to 
the  wishes  of  the  King.^     Upon  the  subject  of  the  Catholic  claims, 


1  "  Aunals  of  Parliament,"  1832. 

2  Sir  Robert  Peel  stated  that,  on  the  day  on  which  resignation  of  Ministers  had  beei» 
accepted,  Lord  Lyndhurst  had  called  upon  hira,  and  stated  to  him,  not  that  his  Majesty  had 
applied  to  him  to  form  an  Administration,  but  that  his  Majesty  had  selected  hira  as  a  former 
Chancellor,  and  as  being,  by  his  judicial  character,  removed  from  the  vortex  of  politics,  to 
confer  with  him  on  the  present  state  of  affairs.  Ilis  lordship  then  asked  him  whether  ho 
felt  it  would  be  in  his  power  to  enter  into  his  Majesty's  service  at  the  present  moment  ? — 
stating  that  his  Majesty  felt  embarrassed  by  the  unexpected  resignation  of  Ministers,  upon  his 
refusal  to  create  Peers ;  and  that  the  only  other  person  to  whom  he  had  made  this  communica- 
tion was  the  Duko  of  Wellington,  who  was  willing  to  render  any  assistance  in  his  power  to 
nis  Majesty :  that  the  noble  Duke  did  not  wish  to  take  office,  but  that  he  would  take  and 


1832.]  THE   DUKE   IN"   OPPOSITION.  lYl 

the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  at  least  the  defence  of  always  having 
been  obscure.  He  had  never,  it  is  true,  directly  supported  them, 
neither  had  he  opposed  them.  His  tone  was  uniform — he  wished  to 
see  the  question  "  settled ;"  but  it  was  utterly  inexplicable  how,  with 
this  wish  on  record,  he  should  have  refused  to  act  under  Mr.  Canning, 
whose  only  crime,  so  far  as  the  Duke's  public  declaration  went,  was, 
that  he  was  favourable  to  the  removal  of  the  Catholic  disabilities. 
With  respect  to  Parliamentary  reform,  the  Duke,  true  to  his  attach- 
ment to  the  landed  aristocracy,  had  always  declared  himself  the  enemy 
of  any  change  in  the  representation  that  should  lead  to  an  infusion 
of  popular  elements  into  the  House  of  Commons.  But,  bearing  in 
mind  that  he  dreaded  a  civil  war,  and  had  yielded  to  the  Irish  to  avert 
such  a  calamity,  it  is  inexplicable  that  he  should  have  resisted  a 
measure  which  appeared  to  all  reasonable  men  of  the  time  the  only 
safeguard  against  an  English  rebellion.  The  readiness  to  give  way  at 
the  last  extremity,  because  the  King  wished  it,  may  have  been 
honourable  to  the  loyalty  of  the  Duke ;  but  loyalty  thus  interpreted 
was  clearly  liable  to  degenerate  into  a  servile  deference  to  monarchical 
tyranny.  There  could  be  little  ground  to  hope  for  the  integrity  of  a 
Constitution  under  a  Minister  who  was  at  every  moment  ready  to  set 
aside  his  well-considered  opinions  in  order  to  carry  out  the  wishes 
of  a  King  under  every  variety  of  shape.  It  is  well,  pei'haps,  for  the 
reputation  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  the  cause  of  civil  freedom, 
that  he  never  again  had  an  opportunity  of  governing  England  on 
principles — or  rather  on  a  plan — so  entirely  detrimental  to  the  in- 
terests of  society. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  sessioii  of  1832,  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton frequently  spoke  in  the  House  of  Lords,  always  in  opposition  to 
the  Grey  ministry.  He  found  fault  with  its  government  of  Ireland — 
protested  strongly  against  the  absence  of  coercive  measures,  calcu- 
lated, as  he  thought,  to  preserve  the  peace  by  preventing  large  assem- 
blages of  lawless  men — insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  conciliating 
the  Protestants,  and  of  placing  the  education  of  the  people  under  the 

eerve  in  any,  if  it  were  for  the  benefit  of  his  Majesty.  Although  no  formal  communicatious  had 
been  made  to  him,  yet,  as  he  knew  not  the  use  of  reserves,  he  still  thought  it  right  to  state  that 
the  question  was  put  to  him,  whether  or  not  he  would  accept  what  in  political  life  was 
tisually  called  the  highest  object  of  ambition.  It  was  notified  to  him  that  the  acceptance  of 
office  must  be  with  the  clear  understanding  that  his  Majesty's  declaration  with  respect  to 
reform  should  be  carried  into  cfrect,  and  that  the  condition  of  tlie  acceptance  of  office  should  be, 
the  carrying  through  an  extensive  reform.  He  replieu  to  Lord  Lyndhurst  upon  the  impulse 
of  the  moment;  but  not  less,  also,  upon  the  impulse  of  feelings  which  it  would  be  impossible 
for  the  authority  or  the  example  of  any  man,  or  any  set  of  men,  to  weaken,  and  on  which  no 
reasoning  could  produce  a  contrary  decision— that  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  for  him  to 
accept  office. 


112  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1832. 

authority  of  the  Church.  His  Grace  further  opposed  himself  to  the 
extension  of  the  town-franchise  to  the  Roman  Catholics  as  fraught 
■with  danger  to  the  Protestant  Church ;  he  denounced  the  reductions 
in  public  expenditure  effected  by  Earl  Grey  as  detrimental  to  the 
country ;  and  he  declared  against  the  policy  of  the  Government,  in 
regard  to  Portugal,  which,  at  that  moment,  was  a  prey  to  factions,  and 
to  the  usurpation  of  Don  Miguel,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  niece,  the 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Brazil. 

Perhaps  at  no  period  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  career  was  he  so 
thoroughly  unpopular  as  in  the  year  1832.  The  public  had  come  to 
identify  him  with  the  cause  of  despotism,  and,  if  the  truth  be  told, 
the  acrimonious  activity  of  his  opposition  to  a  Ministry  which  did  not 
in  all  essentials  differ  materially  from  his  own,  contributed  largely  to 
justify  the  unfavourable  estimate  formed  of  his  liberality. 

The  excessive  unpopularity  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  at  this  junc- 
ture, may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  when  he  visited  the  Tower  on 
the  18th  of  June,  1832.  he  was  insulted  and  roughly  treated  by  the 
mob,  and  would  scarcely  have  reached  his  home  in  safety,  had  not 
some  soldiers  and  gentlemen  placed  themselves  around  his  horse  and 
escorted  him  to  Apsley  House,  where  another  party  self-embodied,  and 
armed  with  sticks,  attended  in  the  neighborhood,  during  the  Waterloo 
Banquet,  for  his  Grace's  protection.  To  one  of  these  latter  gentle- 
men, Mr.  Reynard  of  Kensington,  the  Duke  wrote  a  letter  of  ac- 
knowledgment, on  the  22nd  of  June,  1832. 


1833.] 


THE  DUKE  AISD  "EXPEDIENCY." 


IIZ 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


rhe  Session  of  1833 — The  Duke's  opinions  on  various  questions — His  views  of  Principle  and  Ex- 
pediency— The  Duke  elected  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  1834— Resig^iation 
of  Lord  Melbourne — Sir  R.  Peel  forms  a  Jlinistry — It  is  soon  broken  up — The  Whigs  recalled 
—Death  of  William  the  Fourth- 


HE  year  1833  found  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  still  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Whigs.  The  sub- 
jects brought  upon  the  tapis 
afforded  large  ground  for  dis- 
cussion, because  they  involved 
principles  and  interests  of  an 
antagonistic  character,  and  the 
Duke  was  not  slow  to  avail 
himself  of  all  the  opportuni- 
ties which  offered  for  the  ex- 
pression of  sentiment  adverse 
to  the  powers  that  were.  The 
•  civil  war  in  Portugal  arising 
out  of  the  rival  pretensions  of  Don  Miguel  and  the  Infanta  Isabella, 
had  enlisted  the  services  of  a  number  of  Englishmen  of  desperate 
fortunes,  and  of  ofl&cers,  naval  and  military,  who  desired  occupation 
and  distinction.  Their  valour  and  perseverance  had  tended  to  pro- 
long the  war  until  it  had  become  a  source  of  commercial  and  political 
inconvenience  ;  and,  therefore,  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of  1833, 
the  King  was  made  by  ministers  to  say  that  he  was  anxious  to  put  an 
end  to  the  "  civil  war."  The  Duke  of  Wellington  seized  the  occasion 
for  charging  its  continuance  upon  the  Whigs,  who  had  suffered  his 
Majesty's  subjects  to  embark  in  the  contest.  His  Grace  called  the 
war  "  revolutionary,"  and  was  unsparing  in  his  censures  of  the  "  bands 
of  adventurers,  collected  in  various  quarters,  and  paid  by  God  knows 
who,"  who  kept  alive  the  feud. 


174  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTOK  [1834. 

As  if  repentant  of  his  desertion  of  the  Protestant  party  in  carrying 
Emancipation,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  often,  in  the  session  of  1833, 
said  a  good  word  for  it,  proclaiming  the  Protestants  of  Ireland  the 
friends  of  order  in  Ireland,'  and  declaring  it  to  be  '•  our  duty  in  every 
case  to  do  all  we  can  to  promote  the  Protestant  religion,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  political  relations  between  the  religion  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  the  Government,  but  because  its  doctrines  are  the 
purest,  and  its  system  the  best,  that  can  be  oflFered  to  a  people.'" 
Irish  "  agitation  "  he  truly  called  a  conspiracy  of  priests  and  dema- 
gogues to  obtain  their  purpose  by  force  and  menace,  and  he  set 
bis  face  against  any  reduction  of  the  number  of  Protestant  Irish 
bishops. 

To  the  Game-laws  his  Grace  opposed  himself  because  they  tended 
to  the  increase  of  poaching.  He  was  unfriendly  to  the  abolition  of 
slave-labour  in  the  colonies,  on  the  ground  of  the  doubtfulness  of  the 
slave's  becoming  a  free  labourer  for  hire,  and  he  feared  that  the  de- 
pression of  the  West  India  colonies,  through  the  subtraction  of 
negro-labour,  would  lead  to  the  introduction  into  England  of  foreign 
slave-grown  sugar.  The  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  East  India 
Company  for  twenty  3'ears  coming  on  for  discussion  in  the  session 
of  '33,  the  Duke  readily  bore  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  the 
gubernatorial  system  of  that  company,  but  was  favourable  to  the 
abolition  of  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  China.  Upon  the  discus- 
sion of  the  Jewish  disabilities,  his  Grace  vehemently  opposed  the 
admission  of  Jews  to  seats  in  Parliament.  He  deemed  it  indispen- 
sable that,  in  a  Christian  legislature  none  but  Christians  should  be 
permitted  to  sit — a  doctrine  which  he  maintained  to  the  last  hour  of 
his  existence. 

Upon  several  other  subjects  the  Duke  of  Wellington  delivered 
himself  with  his  accustomed  earnestness  :  and  on  the  19th  of  July 
1833,  enunciated  a  doctrine  which  deserves  to  be  particularly  noted, 
as  furnishing  a  key  to  many  of  his  political  acts : — 

"  If  the  xcorld  xoere  governed  by  principles^  nothing  tvould  be  mart 
easy  than  to  conduct  even  the  greatest  affairs  ;  but  in  all  circximstances 
tlie  duty  of  a  ivise  man  is,  to  clvoose  the  lesser  of  any  two  difjicultiei 
which  beset  Aw;i." 

The  death  of  Lord  Grenville,  on  the  12th  of  January,  1834,  lefl 
vacant  the  Chancellorship  of  Oxford  University.  On  the  29th  of 
the  same  month  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  unanimously  elected 
his  successor;  and  the  ceremony  of  his  Grace's  installation  took 
place  on  the  9th  of  June  following.     The  "  Oxford  Herald  "  of  the 

1  Speech  or  5lh  July,  1833.  »  Speech  of  19ih  July,  1833. 


1834.]  THE  CHANCELLORSHIP  OF  OXFORD.  11 5 

time  supplied  an  account  of  the  ceremonial,  of  which  the  annexed 
may  be  accepted  as  an  abridgment : — 


THE  INSTALLATION  OF  HIS  GRACE  THE  DUKE  OF 
WELLINGTON. 

"  The  company  began  to  arrive  in  Oxford  on  Saturday,  and  in  the 
evening  Christ  Church  Meadow  was  filled,  when  the  last  boat-race 
for  the  season  took  place  on  the  Isis.  In  the  evening  of  Saturday, 
the  Meadow  and  the  Wide  Walk  had  a  very  gay  appearance. 
Amongst  the  company  we  observed  numerous  fashionable  strangers. 

"  From  an  early  hour  on  Monday  morning  carriages  posted  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  with  scarcely  any  intermission.  Ten 
minutes  before  four  in  the  afternoon,  the  Chancellor  entered  Oxford 
in  his  open  travelling  carriage,  and,  by  his  express  desire,  was 
unattended  by  any  procession.  Several  of  the  younger  members 
of  the  University  rode  by  the  side  of  the  carriage.  At  the  gate  of 
University  College  his  Grace  was  received  by  the  Vice-Chancellor, 
and  conducted  to  the  lodging  where  his  Grace  resided  during  his 
stay.  As  soon  as  the  arrival  of  the  Chancellor  was  known,  the 
University  bells  (St.  Mary's)  began  ringing,  and  they  were  responded 
to  by  all  the  other  bells  of  the  University  and  City ;  and  a  flag  was 
hoisted  on  the  old  tower  of  Carfax  Church. 

"  After  putting  on  the  plain  academic  gown  of  a  nobleman,  and  a 
velvet  cap  with  a  large  gold  tassel,  his  Grace  paid  a  complimentary  visit 
of  etiquette  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  (who  had  recently  arrived), 
at  Christ  Church,  and  then  returned  to  University  College. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  of  Tuesday,  a  considerable  number  of 
persons  began  to  collect  near  the  gate  of  University  College,  in  order 
to  obtain  a  view  of  the  noblemen  and  doctors  as  they  went  to  meet 
the  Chancellor  in  the  College  Hall,  previous  to  the  procession  to 
the  Theatre.  Soon  after  10  o'clock,  his  Royal  Highness  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  arrived,  attended  by  General  Sir  John  Slade,  and  was 
received  at  the  gate  by  two  of  the  Senior  Fellows  of  the  College, 
and  conducted  to  the  Hall.  His  Royal  Highness  did  not  walk  to 
the  Theatre,  but  went  in  his  carriage  a  few  minutes  before  the  pro- 
cession left  the  College.  The  street  now  presented  a  very  animated 
appearance.  The  windows  were  filled  with  elegantly-dressed  ladies ; 
many  persons  had  taken  their  station  on  the  roofs  of  Queen's,  All- 
Souls',  St.  Mary's,  and  the  temporary  gallery  which  had  been 
erected  at  the  end  of  the  Church — anxious  to  obtain  a  sight  of  the 
great  hero. 

2o 


176  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1834. 

"  The  struggles  at  the  doors  of  the  Theatre,  for  admission,  were 
terrific.  Of  the  diflBculties  and  dangers  of  admission  into  the  area — 
the  place  appointed  for  the  Masters  of  Arts,  Bachelors  of  Civil  Law, 
and  strangers — we  give  the  following  account,  written  by  a  gentle- 
man who  experienced  them : — The  pressure  was  tremendous  before 
the  inner  entrances  were  opened  ;  but  it  became,  if  possible,  still 
worse  afterwards.  The  tide  of  Masters  of  Arts  and  strangers  rushed 
in  a  direct  line  through  the  gate  with  such  velocity  as  to  force 
many  of  them  off  their  feet ;  some  of  them  fell,  and  were  trodden 
upon  by  their  successors,  in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  which  every 
gentleman  felt  himself  bound  to  make,  to  prevent  another  receiving 
injury.  The  lateral  pressure  was,  however,  the  most  dangerous,  as 
I  can  testify,  from  having  experienced  it.  It  became,  within  a  few 
seconds  after  the  gates  were  opened,  so  severe,  that  the  iron  railing 
near  the  schools,  was  absolutely  forced  down,  and  those  who  were 
nearest  to  it  were  thrown  along  with  it  upon  the  ground.  Severe 
contusions  were  received.  Several  gentlemen  had  their  coats  ripped 
up  from  the  tail  to  the  cape  by  catching  the  iron  front  of  the  pali- 
sades ;  others  endured  the  same  misfortune,  owing  to  the  determina- 
tion of  their  friends  to  stick  close,  at  all  hazard,  to  their  skirts. 
Gowns  were  shivered  into  fragments  ;  and  if  it  could  be  possible 
that  there  could  be  any  freshmen  Masters  of  Arts,  several  of  them 
would  have  achieved  the  honourable  distinction  of  walking  with  aa 
ragged  a  gown  as  ever  flickered  on  the  back  of  a  veteran  academician. 
The  university  cap,  in  a  crowd,  is  almost  as  easily  managed  as  that 
useful  abomination  a  crush-hat ;  but  caps  were  slit  on  this  occasion 
into  fractions  infinitesimally  small ;  and  as  to  hats,  they  were  not 
only  a  nuisance  in  themselves,  but  they  were  also  the  cause  of  a 
nuisance  to  every  unfortunate  wight  brought  in  contact  with  them. 
After  emerging  from  a  very  dark  passage,  I  came  into  the  full  blaze 
of  beauty  by  which  the  Theatre  itself  was  illuminated.  I  have  seen 
two  coronations,  but  the  spectacle  on  these  occasions  is  frittered  into 
parts,  or,  to  borrow  a  phrase  from  Shakspeare,  '  sawn  into  quantities,' 
BO  that  at  one  glance  you  cannot  command  a  view  of  the  whole. 
Here  the  reverse  was  the  case.  As  soon  as  you  entered  the  Theatre, 
there  was  a  prospect  almost  too  dazzling  to  be  looked  upon.  Around 
you  and  above  you,  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  were  crowds  of 
beauties,  who  compelled  you,  in  spite  of  your  Christianity,  to  think 
of  the  houris  of  Mahomet's  paradise.  Look  where  you  would,  you 
encountered  the  glances  of  their  bright  eyes,  and  in  those  glances 
were  all  '  the  mind,  the  music  breathing  from  the  face'  which 
youthful  poets,  forgetful  of  reality,  too  often  indulge  their  fancy  in 


1834.]  THE  DUKE  AS  CHANCELLOR.  177 

describing.  I  believe  that  you  are  already  aware  that,  during  the 
encenia,  the  rising  semicircle  of  the  theatre  is  reserved  for  the  noble- 
men and  the  doctors,  and  that  immediately  behind  them  are  placed  the 
ladies  of  peers  and  the  different  members  of  their  families.  The  gal- 
lery immediately  facing  this  semicircle  was  reserved  for  ladies,  who, 
though  equally  respectable  in  the  eyes  of  society,  are  not  so  in  those 
of  the  Heralds'  College.  With  these  ladies,  by  the  regulations  of  the 
University,  it  was  forbidden  that  any  male  animals,  whether  of  the 
gown  or  of  the  town,  should  intermix.  The  practical  effect  of  this 
regulation — absurd  as  it  appears  in  principle — was  admirable.  You 
had  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  and  a  few  more,  presented  to  you 
in  close  contact,  amid  a  profusion  of  feathers  and  flowers. 

"  The  crowd  every  moment  became  more  dense,  more  pressing,  and 
more  importunate.  Everybody  pushed  in  who  had  tickets,  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  the  pressure  became  dreadful.  After  the 
Masters  of  Arts  and  strangers  had  wedged  themselves  into  a  compact 
mass,  the  Undergraduates  and  Bachelors  of  Arts  were  admitted  into 
the  upper  galleries,  and  then  came 

"  Tumult  and  Ctonfosion,  all  embroiled, 
And  Clamour,  with  a  thousand  various  mouths." 

"  After  they  had  filled  the  gallery,  and  settled  themselves  in  their 
seats,  an  unanimous  cry  arose  amongst  them  for  three  cheers  for  the 
Duke  of  Wellington.  They  were  given  with  hearty  vociferation. 
Then  there  was  a  short  pause,  and  again  another  cheer  for  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University.  The  name  of  Mr.  Dyce,  one  of  the  Proc- 
tors, was  then  mentioned,  on  which  was  heard — 

"  On  all  sides,  from  innumerable  tongues, 
A  dismal  universal  hiss,  the  sound 
Of  universal  scorn — " 

which  in  both  universities  is  certain  to  be  the  meed  of  any  Proctor 
who  unflinchingly  performs  the  duty  of  his  office.  Previous  to  the 
entry  of  the  Chancellor,  the  names  of  the  King  and  Queen  were 
shouted  by  the  Undergraduates,  and  the  approbation  of  these  names 
was  shown  by  tremendous  cheering  from  all  parts  of  the  theatre. 
When  Earl  Grey  was  named,  the  hissing  and  groaning  were  universal. 
The  Lord  Chancellor  found  a  few  friends;  cheers  and  hisses  were 
intermingled,  but  the  latter  much  preponderated.  The  names  of 
Lord  Eldon  and  Lord  Hill  were  received  with  thunders  of  applause ; 
but  when  an  undergraduate  exclaimed  '  The  Bishops,'  the  cheering 
was  '  universal,  deafening,  and  almost  appalling.'  When  Lord 
Wynford  entered  the  theatre,  he  was  received  with  great  applause,  as 

VOL.  II.  12 


178 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1834. 


was  also  Lord  Lyndhurst.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, who,  not  having  a  degree,  did  not  walk  in  the  procession,  no  dis- 
sentient voice  was  raised  against  his  Royal  Highness  ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  and  his  suite  were  received  with  loud  cheers,  and  '  one  cheer  more' 
was  afterwards  given  for  him  as  Chancellor  of  the  University  of 
Dublin.  His  Royal  Highness  was  in  the  dress  of  a  Colonel  of  the 
15th  Hussars. 

"  Soon  after  eleven  o'clock,  Professor  Crotch  announced  upon  the 
organ  the  approach  of  the  Chancellor,  with  the  procession  from  the 
Hall  of  University  College.  The  Duke  appeared  in  excellent  health, 
and  the  enthusiastic  reception  he  met  with  on  his  entering  the 
theatre,  appeared  to  restore  his  step  to  all  the  elasticity  of  youth. 


COSTU-ME   OK   THE    DUKE   AS    CHANCELLOR. 


He  was  dressed  in  a  black  coat,  across  which  he  wore  his  blue  riband, 
as  Knight  of  the  G-arter,  and  over  which  was  his  magnificent  aca- 
demic robe  of  black  silk  and  gold  fringe. 


1834]  THE  INSTALLATION.  17» 

"  In  the  procession  were  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry,  Lord  Eldon, 
Lord  Montagu,  Lord  Apsley,  Lord  Hill,  Lord  Mahon,  Sir  Gr. 
Murray,  Sir  H.  Hardinge,  Sir  T.  Aeland,  Sir  R.  Inglis,  Mr.  Estcourt, 
Mr.  Fane,  Mr.  Hastie,  Sir  C.  Wetherell,  the  Heads  of  Houses  and 
Canons  of  Christ  Church,  the  other  resident  doctors,  and  eleven 
members  of  the  episcopal  bench,  among  whom  were  the  Archbishops 
of  Canterbury,  York,  and  Armagh.  In  the  seats  behind  those  who 
formed  the  procession  were  the  Princess  Lieven,  the  Marchioness  of 
Salisbury,  the  Countess  of  Clanwilliam,  the  Countess  Brownlow  and 
her  daughters,  the  Ladies  Herbert,  Lady  S.  Cust,  Lady  Montagu 
and  her  three  daughters,  Lady  Granville  Somerset,  Lady  Popham, 
Mademoiselle  d'Este,  and  a  long  list  of  other  illustrious  and 
fashionable  personages. 

"When  the  cheering  had  subsided,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  as 
Chancellor,  opened  the  business  of  the  Convocation  in  a  short  Latin 
speech,  by  stating  that  it  was  convened  to  confer  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Law,  honoris  causa,  upon  certain  noblemen  and  gentlemen. 

"  After  the  Chancellor  had  gone  through  the  list  once,  he  went 
through  it  a  second  time,  and  after  each  name,  on  proposing  the 
admission,  said :  Placdne  vohis,  Domini  Doctores  ?     PIacet)ie  voids 
Magistri  ?     The  Convocation  replied  with  one  voice — Placet.     The 
Duke  then  turned  round,  and  with  a  voice  half  aside,  said,  '  Now,  I 
shall  get  on.'     This  declaration  created  considerable  laughter.     This 
ceremony  having  been  gone  through.  Dr.   Phillimore,  as  Professor 
of  Civil  Law,  proceeded  to  present  to  the  Chancellor  and  Proctors — 
whom  he  styled  Doctissimi  Cancellarii  et  Vos  egregii  Procuratores — 
the  incepting  doctors.     In  the  eulogium  which  he  passed  upon  them 
in  the  Latin  language,  he  said  that  twenty  years  had  now  elapsed 
since  he  had   had    the   honour   and   gratification   of  seeing   in   the 
University  a   similar   assemblage   of  noble  and   distinguished   indi- 
viduals.    On  that  occasion  he  had  presented  to  the  University  as 
honorary  doctors  the  illustrious  heroes  who  had  visited  the  country 
with  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  the  King  of  Prussia.     Intense  as  his 
delight  was  on  that  occasion,  it  wanted  one  circumstance  to  render  it 
complete — the  presence  of  the  greatest  commander  of  them  all,  our 
own   countryman,  the  Duke  of  AVellington.     After  alluding  to  the 
merits  of  the  late  Chancellor,  Lord   Grenville,  who  had   added  lustre 
to  the  course  of  study   adopted   at  the   University,  by  pursuing  the 
same  course  after  he  had  left  the  University  to  mingle  in  the  world  ; 
and  after  stating  that  the  noble  lord  had  found  consolation  in  extreme 
old  age  in  those  literary  acquirements  which  had  furnished   him  so 
many  triumphs,  and  his  country  benefits  in  manhood,  he  proceeded 


180  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1834 

to  observe,  that  oa  the  death  of  that  great  and  good  man  it  became 
the  duty  of  the  University  to  select  out  of  the  noble  and  distin- 
guished individuals  whom  it  had  reared  in  its  bosom,  a  worthy 
successor  to  that  noble  lord.  Merit,  he  said,  was  not  of  one  class. 
There  were  diflferent  roads  to  the  temple  of  fame,  and  different  men 
must  distinguish  themselves  in  different  ways.  One  man  made  his 
way  to  eminence  by  literature,  another  by  arts,  another  by  arms.  Of 
this  latter  class  none  were  more  illustrious  than  the  noble  Duke  now 
their  Chancellor.  Witness  his  triumphs  in  India,  Portugal,  and 
Spain  ;  his  victories  at  Salamanca,  on  the  Pyrenees,  and  at  Toulouse ; 
and,  above  all,  his  liberation  of  Europe  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Waterloo.  After  dwelling  .some  time  on  these  topics,  and  praising 
the  firmness  which  his  Grace  had  always  evinced  in  the  management 
not  only  of  the  military,  but  of  civil  affairs,  he  concluded  this  part  of 
the  subject  by  afiirming  that  the  University  had  done  itself  the 
greatest  honour  by  selecting  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as  its  Chan- 
cellor. The  learned  Doctor  then  proceeded  to  compliment  the 
different  individuals  whom  he  had  to  present  as  doctors.  The  Doctor 
passed  over  the  different  names  in  the  list  of  honorary  doctors  without 
any  comment,  until  he  came  to  that  of  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset,  to 
whom  he  paid  a  most  eloquent,  and  elaborate,  and  well-deserved 
tribute  of  applause.  He  spoke  of  him  as  nobillssiinus  et  fortissimus, 
as  a  nobleman  to  whom  the  University  was  bound  to  pay  the  highest 
respect,  not  only  on  account  of  his  high  rank  and  ancient  blood,  but 
also  on  his  own  merits,  and  his  close  connection  with  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  He  had  been  educated  in  military  lore  under  the 
Duke's  own  eye  from  his  earliest  youth — Tihifuit^  Dux  invicte  (great 
cheering),  comes  et  minister — he  joined  in  all  the  labours,  and  shared 
in  all  the  glories  of  his  great  leader,  and  was  present  at  the  battle 
of  Waterloo, — ubi^  ut  videtis  (pointing  to  the  mutilated  arm  of  Lord 
F.  Somerset),  gravia  vulnera  perpcssus  est.  This  annunciation  pro- 
duced the  loudest  cheering — indeed,  none  was  more  loud,  save  that 
bestowed  on  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  the  Earl  of  Winchelsea,  who, 
next  to  the  Chancellor,  were  the  great  favourites  of  the  day. 

"  After  the  new-made  Doctors  had  all  taken  their  seats  in  the  rising 
semicircle,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  audience,  the  public  orator 
proceeded  to  the  '  Creweian  Oration.'  This  address  contained  nearly 
the  same  topics  as  those  to  which  Dr.  Phillimore  alluded.  There 
were  several  elegant  and  most  appropriate  compliments  to  the 
Chancellor,  an  eulogium  of  the  lloyal  Family,  addressed  to  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland,  and  a  just  panegyric  on  the  Church  of  England  and 
its  bishops.     After  this  oration  was  concludedj  the  Latin  poem,  which 


/834.]  THE   INSTALLATION.  181 

gained  the  Chancellor's  prize  this  year,  was  recited  by  the  author, 
Mr.  Arthur  Kensington,  a  Scholar  of  Trinity  College,  the  subject  of 
■which  was,  '  Cicero  ah  exilio  redux  Romam  ingreditur?  It  was  re- 
ceived with  great  and  merited  applause.  Then  Mr.  Gr.  Anstice,  B.A., 
late  student  of  Christ  Church,  and  afterwards  Professor  of  Classical 
Literature  in  King's  College,  London,  recited  his  English  essay.  At 
its  close,  the  Chancellor,  with  great  emphasis,  pronounced  the  words, 
*  Dissolvimus  hayic  Convocationem?  At  two  o'clock  the  Theatre  was 
nearly  cleared  of  its  visitors. 

"  The  Duke  was  followed  in  the  same  manner  in  which  he  came  to 
the  Theatre.  The  procession  attended  him  to  University  College, 
where  those  who  composed  it,  after  taking  leave  of  his  Grace,  separated 
for  the  colleges  to  which  they  belonged  or  were  invited,  and  to  the 
different  hotels  and  lodging-houses.  Shortly  afterwards  his  Grace 
made  several  calls  at  the  Colleges. 

"  Dr.  Crotch's  oratorio,  which  was  '  The  Captivity  of  Judah,'  was 
performed,  and  full  justice  was  done  to  its  merits  by  the  performers 
engaged.  His  Grace  was  present,  and  received  repeated  and  enthu- 
siastic cheering.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  oratorio,  the  assembly 
called  for  '  God  save  the  King.' 

"  In  the  evening  a  distinguished  party  was  entertained  by  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  in  the  hall  of  University  College.  The  hall  was  bril- 
liantly illuminated  on  the  occasion,  and  the  rich  uniforms  worn  by 
many  of  the  distinguished  guests,  mingled  with  the  scarlet  gowns  of 
the  Doctors,  and  the  dress  robes  of  the  young  noblemen  resident  in 
the  University,  produced  a  most  splendid  and  imposing  effect. 

"  Wednesday. — This  morning  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  forming 
the  procession  assembled  in  the  rooms  in  the  Clarendon,  and  at 
about  a  quarter  past  eleven  thence  proceeded  with  the  Chancellor  to 
the  Theatre.  Previous  to  the  entry  of  the  procession,  the  younger 
members  of  the  University  again  amused  themselves  by  calling  out 
different  names  for  cheering  or  hissing.  The  '  King  and  Queen ' 
were  again  loudly  cheered ;  but  the  '  King's  Ministers  '  were  hissed 
as  much  as  any  opposition  men  could  desire,  so  were  also  '  Lord 
Grey,  Lord  Brougham,  and  Lord  Durham,'  when  named  separately. 
The  Duke  of  Sussex  had  also  his  full  share  of  sibilation.  Some  one 
called  out  the  name  of  '  Dr.  Chafy,  Master  of  Sidney  Sussex  College, 
Cambridge,'  and  it  was  most  loudly  hissed.  There  were  cries  of 
'  Down  with  the  present  Administration,'  and  shouts  for  '  The  Wel- 
lington Administration.'  '  The  House  of  Lords '  was  received  with  a 
thundering  cheer,  and  '  The  Commons '  with  a  groan.  '  The  House 
of   Commons   as   it  was '  met  with  a  cheering  which  might  almost 


182  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1834. 

have  startled  from  their  graves  the  defunct  boroughs  of  Gatton  and 
Old  Sarum.  Great  cheering  occurred  when  the  names  of  '  Sir 
J.  Graham  and  Mr.  Stanley'  were  mentioned.  'Mr.  Sewell'  was 
equally  cheered.  '  The  Bishops  '  again  elicited  thunders  of  applause. 
There  were  calls  for  the  '  Gower-street  Company  and  Stinkomalee.'* 
'  The  Admission  of  Dissenters  '  was  received  with  a  cry  of  scorn,  and 
'  Their  Non-admission '  with  tremendous  applause.  There  were  many 
other  names  given,  and  various  eccentric  exclamations,  all  of  which 
showed  the  general  feeling  of  the  University,  at  least  of  its  more 
juvenile  members. 

"  On  the  entry  of  the  Chancellor,  the  applause  was  unbounded,  and 
'  Wellington  and  "Waterloo '  resounded  through  the  Theatre.  In  the 
procession  were  all  the  recently-made  Doctors  in  their  robes.  After 
the  Chancellor  had  opened  the  Convocation,  he  named  the  noblemen 
and  gentlemen  upon  whom  it  was  proposed  to  confer  the  honorary 
degree  of  D.CL. 

"  Dr.  Phillimore,  Regius  Professor  of  Civil  Law,  then  addressed 
the  Chancellor  in  Latin.  He  said,  that  illustrious  as  the  individuals 
were  whom  he  had  presented  to  the  Chancellor's  notice  yesterday,  as 
candidates  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Civil  Law,  the  list  of  the 
names  which  he  had  that  day  to  present  to  him  was  equally  distin- 
guished, for  it  contained  the  names  of  men  of  high  rank  and  ancient 
blood,  of  high  civil  and  military  attainments,  and  of  the  most 
irreproachable  lives  and  characters.  There  was  a  circumstance  which 
would  make  them  delight  the  more,  in  that  list,  and  that  was,  as 
indeed  everybody  knew,  the  parties  mentioned  in  it  were  most  of 
them  Cambridge  men.  {Cheers.)  He  would  select  as  the  first  name 
deserving  of  his  praise,  that  of  John  Singleton  Copley,  late  Lord 
High  Chancellor,  and  now  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  who, 
imbued  with  the  same  discipline  as  their  own  in  the  sister  University, 
had  raised  himself  by  his  eloquence,  his  talents,  and  his  general  kind 
and  courteous  demeanour,  not  only  to  a  place  in  all  their  hearts,  but 
also  in  rank  and  honours,  which  scarcely  conferred  more  distinction 
upon  him  than  he  reflected  back  again  upon  them.  ( Clwcrs  for  Lord 
Lyndhurst.)  There  was  also  present  another  ornament  of  the  legal 
profession,  who  had  now  retired  from  the  bench  to  enjoy  in  the 
privacy  of  domestic  life  that  repose  which  he  had  so  honourably 
deserved  by  a  long  life  of  public  activity.  ( Cheers  for  Lord  Wynford.) 
There  was  also  present  one  of  the  invincible  Duke's  companions  in 
arms,  whose  coolness  in  danger  and  gallantry  in  battle  were  known 
to  no  man  better  than  they  were  to  the  gallant  Chancellor.     As  one 

1  An  offensive  epithet  applied  by  the  John  Bull  newspaper  to  the  London  University. 


)8?n  THE   CONVOCATION.  183 

of  the  liberators  of  Europe,  he  was  entitled  to  every  distinction  which 
this  University  could  confer  upon  him.  [CJicers  for  Sir  H.  Vivian.) 
After  paying  a  similar  compliment  to  Lord  A.  Hill,  who  was  also 
loudly  cheered,  the  learned  Professor  proceeded  to  declare  the 
pleasure  which  he  derived  in  having  to  present  to  the  University  as  a 
Doctor  of  Civil  Law  the  Viscount  Encombe,  the  only  grandson  of 
their  old  and  venerated  High  Steward,  the  Earl  of  Eldon.  ( Cheers 
for  Lord  Eldon.)  There  was  also  in  the  same  list  the  name  of  Lord 
Stuart  de  Rothsay,  whose  skill  in  diplomacy,  and  whose  tact  in 
bringing  arduous  negotiations  to  a  happy  and  successful  close  was 
admitted  by  all  Europe.  {CJicers  for  Lord  Sttiart  de  Rothsay.) 
There  was  also  a  general  officer  in  the  Russian  service,  who  had  a 
right  to  expect  this  honour  at  their  hands,  for  he  had  followed  the 
French  array  with  his  victorious  countrymen  from  the  flames  of 
Moscow  up  to  the  period  when  the  Russian  standard  was  all  but 
planted  on  the  walls  of  Paris.  (^Cheers.)  After  indulging  in  a 
similar  strain  of  compliment  for  some  time  upon  the  other  individuals 
contained  in  his  list,  but  without  entering  into  any  particular  descrip- 
tion of  their  peculiar  merits,  he  concluded  by  presenting  each  of  them 
severally  to  the  Chancellor. 

"  All  of  them  were  loudly  cheered  on  mounting  into  the  Doctors' 
Gallery. 

"  After  the  degrees  had  been  conferred,  Keble's  '  Installation  Ode ' 
was  performed,  the  music  of  which  was  performed  by  Professor 
Crotch,  which  was  much  admired  and  applauded. 

"After  the  '  Ode'  was  performed,  Mr.  R.  Scott,  B.A.,  student  of 
Christ  Church,  recited  his  Chancellor's  Latin  Prize  Essay,  '  De  Pro- 
vinciarum  Romanoruni  administrandarum  Rationed  which  was  very 
much  applauded. 

"  Mr.  Joseph  Arnould,  Scholar  of  Wadham,  recited  his  English 
poem,  '  The  Hospice  of  St.  Bernard,'  which  was  also  a  Chancellor's 
prize. 

"  It  is  a  production  of  considerable  merit,  and  contained  many 
passages  of  a  very  feeling  and  highly  imaginative  character,  the  con- 
cluding lines  of  which  are  as  follows : — 

"Lo,  Gaul's  great  Emperor  leads  his  knightly  peers ; 
Hushed  is  their  iron  tramp,  and  moonbeams  dim 
Show'r  on  each  ghastly  brow  and  mail-clad  limb. 
He,  too,  is  there,  who,  slain  on  victory's  day. 
Beside  their  altar  sleeps,  the  young  Desaix ; 
And  there  his  Chief,  whose  name  of  terror  spread 
Wide  o'er  the  world,  and  shook  mankind  with  dread. 
Curbs  his  proud  steed,  and  waves  his  warriors  on 
t  To  Piedmont's  vales,  '  yet  bright  with  Lodi's  sun ;' 


184  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  'UM 

Unlike  the  despot  lord  of  after  days, 
Youth  on  his  check,  and  ardour  in  his  gaze  ; 
E'en  now  his  spirit,  from  the  fields  of  fight. 
The  shout  of  triumph  hears,  the  rush  of  flight, 
As  from  Marengo's  plain  the  invading  horde 
Flies  the  keen  vengeance  of  his  conquering  sword. 
Changed  is  his  brow  ;  what  loftier  visions  roll. 
What  dreams  of  Empire  crowd  upon  his  soul ! 
Lo !  prostrate  nations  tremble  at  his  sway, 
Kings  quail  before  him,  thrones  in  dust  decay ; 
Dominion  crowns  what  conquest  had  begun, 
And  Fortune,  smiling  on  her  favourite  son, 
Wreathes  round  his  tyrant  brow  the  glittering  toy — 
Her  fatal  dower,  that  shines  but  to  destroy. 
If,  in  that  hour  of  pride  and  fervid  youth, 
Such  were  his  dreams,  mankind  has  moum'd  their  truth  ; 
O'er  seas  of  blood  his  sun  of  glory  rose. 
And  sunk  at  length,  'mid  tempest,  to  repose. 
When,  on  that  field  where  last  the  eagle  soar'd. 
War's  mightier  master  wielded  Britain's  sword ; 
And  the  dark  soul  a  world  could  scarce  subdue, 
Bent  to  thy  genius — Chief  of  Waterloo .'" 

"  The  two  concluding  couplets  were  no  sooner  pronounced  than  all 
the  persons  in  the  Theatre,  with  the  exception  of  the  individual 
alluded  to  by  the  poet,  rose,  and  a  series  of  cheers,  of  the  most 
deafening  description,  were  sent  forth  by  the  whole  assembly,  whicb 
lasted  at  least  for  seven  or  eight  minutes,  and  were  accompanied  by 
an  equal  general  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs  ;  in  fact,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  never  greeted  in  the  whole  of  his  career  with  more 
zealous  manifestations  of  popularity  than  he  received  on  this  present 
occasion  in  the  city  of  Oxford. 

"  When  Mr.  Arnould  had  concluded  his  poem,  five  addresses  to  the 
Duke  were  pronounced  from  the  rostra. 

"  Between  two  and  three  o'clock  the  Convocation  was  dissolved. 
'  God  save  the  King'  was  called  for  and  played,  and  as  the  procession 
went  out,  the  undergraduates  as  before  selected  their  favourites,  and 
bestowed  on  them  loud  testimonials  of  their  approbation." 

The  session  of  1834  was  distinguished  equally  with  its  imme- 
diate predecessors  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  hostility  to  the 
Grey  ministry.  At  the  opening  of  Parliament  upon  the  motion 
of  the  Address  in  answer  to  the  Speech,  the » Duke  attacked  the 
Government,  objecting  to  the  whole  of  its  foreign  policy,  and  finding 
fault  with  many  of  its  domestic  measures.  On  one  point  only 
were  they  heartily  agreed.  The  Duke  quite  concurred  in  the  ad- 
dress of  the  House  of  Commons,  declaratory  of  its  determination 
to  maintain    the    connection   between    Ireland    and   Great   Britain 


1834.] 


THE   GREY   AND   MELBOURNE   MINISTRIES. 


185 


unimpaired  and  undisturbed  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  O'Connell  and 
his  "  tail "  to  bring  about  a  repeal  of  the  union. 

The  Irish  Church  question,  which  now  agitated  the  country,  was  as 
difficult  to  deal  with  in  the  Cabinet  as  out  of  doors.  A  motion  of 
Mr.  Ward's  for  the  reduction  of  the  Irish  Church  establishment, 
produced  a  schism  in  the  Ministry.  The  point  at  issue  was  the 
appropriation  of  the  Church  revenues.  The  division  led  to  the 
resignation  of  Lord  Ripon,  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Mr.  Stanley,  and 
Sir  James  Graham.  Various  disputes  upon  other  matters  connected 
with  the  management  of  Ireland  took  place,  leading  ultimately  to  the 
retirement  of  Earl  Grey ;    and,  at   a   subsequent   period,  Viscount 


EAEL    GREY. 


Melbourne,  who  had  become  Prime  Minister  on  Earl  Grey's  resigna- 
tion, found  it  necessary  to  resign.  During  this  brief  administration, 
the  English  Protestant  Church  was  assailed  in  a  variety  of  forms — 
the  Dissenters  claiming  the  privilege  of  taking  degrees  at  the  universi- 
ties— motions  also  being  made  for  the  abolition  of  church-rates,  the 


186  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON  ri834, 

commutation  of  tithes,  and  the  exclusion  of  bishops  from  Parliament. 
None  of  these  schemes  succeeded — the  Lords,  among  whom  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  conspicuous,  opposing  them  earnestly.  Sundry 
bills  to  perfect  the  plan  of  reform,  and  a  bill  for  the  removal  of  the 
civil  disabilities  of  the  Jews,  were  likewise  lost  in  the  House  of  Lords 
through  the  strenuous  opposition  of  the  Peers,  who  acted  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Lord  Melbourne — which  was  in  a  measure 
enforced,  because  the  King  would  not  accept  of  Lord  John  Russell  as 
leader  in  the  House  of  Commons  upon  the  transfer  of  Lord  Althorp 
to  the  Upper  House  (owing  to  the  death  of  his  father  Earl  Spencer) 
nor  allow  of  Lord  Brougham  continuing  Lord  Chancellor ;' — the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  sent  for. 

Gathering  experience  from  his  former  failures,  the  Duke  declined 
to  take  the  Premiership,  and  advised  the  King  to  send  for  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  who  was  then  in  Italy  with  his  family — the  Duke  undertaking 
to  hold  the  seals  of  three  Secretaries  of  State  until  Sir  Robert  should 
arrive.  The  advice  was  adopted,  and  Sir  Robert  summoned  to  the 
royal  presence.  He  came — constructed  a  government  composed  en- 
tirely of  Conservatives,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  taking  the  ofl&ce  of 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs.  Sir  Robert  then  dissolved 
Parliament. 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  addressing  the  constituency  of  Tamworth,  gave 
them  to  understand  that  though  he  did  not  approve  of  the  Reform  Bill, 
he  was  bound  to  respect  it  now  that  it  had  become  the  law  of  the  land ; 
but  that  he  should  oppose  further  changes  founded  on  the  plea  of 
merely  extending  the  principles  of  the  bill.  His  course  of  policy,  in 
fact,  might  be  summed  up  in  one  word,  "  resistance."  The  Whigs 
had  gradually  yielded  so  much  to  the  Radical  reformers,  that  there 
really  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  the  changes  which  the  latter  sought 
to  introduce.  Too  weak  to  oppose  them,  Lord  Melbourne  sought  to 
secure  their  support  by  continual  concession,  until  these  democrats, 
finding  their  power  increase,  and  justly  measuring  the  strength  of 
Ministers,  grew  exorbitant  in  their  demands,  and  treated  with  marked 
contempt  a  government  which  bad  become  the  instrument  of  their 
will. 

On  the  assembling  of  the  new  Parliament,  it  was  found  that  the 

1  "This  Peer,  onco  remarkable  for  the  useful  exercise  of  his  eloquence,  and  his  industry  on 
behalf  of  the  people,  had  become  a  little  eccentric  since  his  elevation  to  the  Peerage.  Paying 
a  visit  to  Scotland  in  the  autumn  of  1834,  he  made  speeches  wherever  ho  could  find  hearers, 
eometimes  going  to  the  lengths  of  ultra-Radicalism,  sometimes  speaking  Conservative  a«Hiti- 
inents,  and  occasionally  violating  decency,  in  speaking  in  au  offensively  familiar  tone  ol  he 
King. 


1835.] 


SIR  ROBERT  PEEL  AGAIN  IN  POWER 


187 


number  of  Conservatives  had  increased  by  one  hundred.     The  people, 
alarmed  at  the  innovations  of  the  Catholics  and  Kadicals,  freely  gave 


SIE   EGBERT    FEEL. 


their  support  to  a  minister  who  consulted  the  interests  of  the  upper 
and  the  middle  classes,  and  who  boldly  announced  his  refusal  to  live 
in  "  a  vortex  of  agitation  by  adopting  every  popular  impression  of 
the  day."* 

The  confidence,  however,  in  the  Peel  Administration,  generated  by 
the  returns  at  the  general  election,  was  not  destined  to  endure  after 
the  struggle  of  parties  had  commenced  in  the  two  Houses.  Feeble 
in  authority,  the  "Whigs,  uniting  with  the  Radicals,  were  potent  in 
opposition ;  and  although  they  had  not  as  ministers  the  support  of 
Lord  Stanley,  Sir  James  Graham,  and  others,  who  had  pre- 
viously seceded,  they  found  them  useful  allies  against  the  ultra 
Conservatives. 

Upon  the  very  first  question,  the  choice  of  a  Speaker,  the  Peel 

I  Address  of  Sir  K.  Peel  to  the  Tamworth  electors,  in  1834. 


188  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  fl835. 

ministry  was  left  in  a  minority,  Mr.  Abercromby,  the  Whig  nominee, 
obtaining  the  chair  by  a  majority  of  ten  against  Sir  Charles  Manners 
Sutton,  who  had  held  the  office  of  Speaker  for  eighteen  years.  To  the 
Address,  in  answer  to  the  Speech,  an  amendment  was  moved,  which 
led  to  a  violent  and  protracted  debate.  This  amendment  pledged  the 
Government  to  a  well-considered  and  effective  reform  in  Parliament; 
to  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  in  the  colonies ;  to  the  establishment 
of  a  "vigilant  popular"  control  over  municipal  corporations;  the  re- 
moval of  the  grievances  of  Protestant  dissenters  ;  the  correction  of 
abuses  in  the  Irish  Church;  and  an  admission  of  the  needlessness  of 
the  late  dissolution  of  Parliament.  And  this  amendment  was  carried 
in  the  House  of  Commons  by  a  majority  of  seven.  Subsequently,  the 
appointment  of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry  to  an  embassy  to  St. 
Petersburg  was  opposed  so  forcibly  as  to  lead  Lord  Londonderry  to 
decline  the  appointment. 

After  skirmishing  through  the  first  half  of  the  month  of  March  with 
these  and  other  small  measures,  the  Opposition  brought  forward  the 
question  of  the  appropriation  of  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  Church 
in  Ireland.  This  was  the  grand  cheval  de  bataille,  held  in  reserve 
only  until  other  movements  had  been  tried  and  failed.  The  Whigs 
and  Radicals  were  well  aware  that  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  determined 
never  to  concede  the  application  of  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  Irish 
Church  to  purposes  other  than  those  of  the  Protestant  religion.  They 
therefore  brought  forward  a  resolution  applying  the  surplus  to  the 
education  of  all  classes.  A  protracted  debate  ensued  upon  the  ques- 
tion, and  upon  every  division  the  Whigs  had  a  majority — the  same 
result  attending  the  discussion  of  the  resolution  in  committee.  Here- 
upon Sir  Robert  Peel  resigned — and  with  him,  of  course,  went  the 
Duke  of  Wellington.  Lord  Melbourne  was  recalled  by  the  King,  and 
the  Whigs  again  stepped  into  power  and  place. 

From  this  time  onwards,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ceased  to  take  a 
prominent  share  in  the  civil  government  of  the  country.  Neither 
inclined  to  arrest  the  progress  of  wholesome  change,  nor  to  aid  in 
sweeping  away  the  ancient  institutions  of  the  country,  he  confined 
himself,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Lords,  to  a  calm  and  temperate 
examination  of  all  the  principal  measures  that  came  before  it — giving 
his  support  when  he  conscientiously  believed  the  case  to  deserve  itj 
and  offering  his  protest  when  he  discerned  danger  in  assent.  In  a 
speech  made  in  July,  1835,  we  find  him  maintaining  the  subscription 
to  the  "  Thirty-nine  Articles,"  as  a  test  of  the  Protestantism  of 
individuals  matriculated  at  Oxford,  and  defending  the  test  as  rendered 
necessary  by  toleration.     And  in  the  same  year  he  complained  of  the 


1837.]  WILLIAM  THE  FOURTH.  189 

depression  of  the  Irish  clergy  by  the  Melbourne  Administration,  in 
the  extinction  of  the  property  in  Ireland  allotted  to  the  payment  of 
the  clergy.  In  June,  1836,  he  contended  for  the  reservation  by  the 
legislature  of  the  power  of  revising  Railway  Acts,  if  they  should  be 
found  fraught  with  injustice  to  the  landed  proprietors.  In  August  of 
the  same  year,  his  Grace  defended  himself  from  the  imputation  of 
violently  opposing  Lord  Melbourne's  government.  He  had  always 
opposed — when  he  had  opposed  at  all — with  moderation,  and  he  read 
the  Premier  a  lesson  upon  his  taunting  the  Conservatives  with  not 
having  addressed  the  King  with  a  view  to  obtain  the  removal  of  the 
Whigs.  "  I  would  take  the  liberty,"  said  the  Duke,  "  to  recommend 
the  noble  viscount  to  consider  himself  not  as  the  minister  of  a  demo- 
cratic body  in  another  place ;  but  as  the  minister  of  a  sovereign  in  a 
limited  monarchy,  in  a  country  great  in  point  of  extent,  great  in  its 
possessions,  and  the  various  interests  which  it  comprises ;  and  that, 
considering  these  circumstances,  he  should  in  future  concoct  such 
measures  as  he  has  reason  to  think  may  pass  with  the  approval  and 
suit  the  general  interests  of  all — meet  the  good-will  of  all — and  not 
of  one  particular  party  in  one  particular  place." 

The  year  1837  was  memorable  for  the  operations  of  a  ''  British  Le- 
gion "  in  Spain.  Divided  by  civil  contests,  one  party  in  Spain  con- 
tending for  the  interests  of  the  Queen,  and  another  for  Don  Carlos,  a 
pretender  to  the  succession,  the  country  saw  some  ten  thousand  Eng- 
lishmen range  themselves  under  General  De  Lacy  Evans  as  volun- 
teers in  the  cause  of  the  Queen.  The  Government  of  Great  Britain, 
to  aid  the  project,  suspended  the  Foreign  Enlistment  Act  by  an 
order  in  Council,  and  countenanced  the  co-operation  of  a  British  fleet 
and  some  hundreds  of  marines  with  General  Evans's  force.  The 
subject  of  course  came  before  Parliament,  and  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton protested  altogether  against  the  intervention,  and  severely  (but 
not  unjustly)  criticised  the  discipline  and  strategy  of  the  commander 
of  the  legion.  His  Grace  was  likewise  found  occasionally  animadvert- 
ing upon  the  conduct  of  the  Government  towards  the  Protestants  of 
Ireland. 

King  William  IV.  died  in  the  month  of  June,  1837.  The  Duke 
of  Wellington,  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  passing  a  eulogium  upon  the 
deceased  monarch,  and  of  justifying  his  own  loyalty,  thus  spoke  in  the 
House  of  Lords  on  the  22d  of  June : — 

"  I  have  served  his  late  Majesty  in  the  highest  situations ;  I  have 
been  in  his  councils  as  well  as  the  noble  viscount  (Melbourne).  I, 
indeed,  did  not  serve  him  so  long  as  the  noble  viscount,  or  even  under 
any  such  prosperous  circumstances  as  the  noble  viscount ;  but  I  have 


190 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[185 


had  opportunities  of  witnessing,  under  all  these  circumstances,  the 
personal  advantages  of  character  so  ably  described  by  the  noble 
viscount.  It  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  serve  his  Majesty  at  different 
periods,  and  in  different  capacities ;  and  while  I  had  the  happiness 
of   doing    so    upon    all    those    occasions,    I    have    witnessed    not 


^^^,,    ^A^    o^\ 


WILLIAM    rV. 


only  all  the  virtues  ascribed  to  him  but  likewise  a  firmness,  a 
discretion,  a  candour,  a  justice,  and  a  spirit  of  conciliation  towards 
others — a  respect  for  all.  Probably  there  never  was  a  sovereign, 
who,  in  such  circumstances,  and  encompassed  by  so  many  difficulties, 
more  successfully  met  them  than  he  did  upon  every  occasion  on  which 
he  had  to  engage  them.  I  was  induced  to  serve  his  Majesty,  not  only 
from  my  sense  of  duty — not  alone  from  the  feeling  that  the  Sovereign 
of  this  country  has  the  right  to  command  my  services  in  any  situa- 
tion in  which  it  might  bo  considered  that  I  might  be  of  use — but 
from  a  feeling  of  gratitude  to  his  Majesty  for  favours,  for  personal 


1837.]  WILLIAM  THE  FOURTR  191 

distinctions  conferred  upon  me,  notwithstanding  that  I  had  been 
unfortunately  in  the  position  of  opposing  myself  to  his  Majesty's 
views  and  intentions,  when  he  was  employed  in  a  high  situation 
under  Government,'  and  in  consequence  of  which  he  had  to  resign 
that  great  office  which  he  must,  beyond  all  others,  have  been  most 
anxious  to  retain.  Notwithstanding  that,  my  lords,  he  employed  me 
in  his  service ;  and  he,  as  a  sovereign,  manifested  towards  me  a  kind- 
ness, condescension,  and  favour,  which  so  long  as  I  live,  I  never  can 
forget.  I  considered  myself,  then,  not  only  bound  by  duty,  and  the 
sense  I  felt  of  gratitude  to  all  the  sovereigns  of  this  country,  under 
whom  I  had  lived,  but  more  especially  towards  his  late  Majesty,  to 
relieve  him  from  every  difficulty  I  could,  under  any  circumstances." 

1  William  IV.,  when  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  was  under  the  necessity  of  resigning  tho  oflSce  of 
Lord  Admiral,  while  the  Duke  of  W^ellington  was  Premier, 


2p 


192 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1887. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Accession  of  Queen  Victoria. 


AD  William  IV. — weak  as  he  was — been 
succeeded  by  either  of  his  surviving 
brothers,  his  demise  would  have  given 
occasion  for  a  greater  display  of  public 
grief  than  was  manifested  upon  an  event 
which  was  to  be  followed  by  the  acces- 
sion of  a  Queen.  History  and  tradition 
had  combined  to  associate  so  much  of 
the  glory  and  happiness  of  this  country 
with  the  rule  of  a  female  sovereign,  that 
the  lamentations  for  a  monarch  who  had 
given  his  assent  to  the  Reform  Bill,  were 
speedily  converted  into  rejoicings  that 
the  country  was  now  to  be  ruled  by  a 
lady  whose  education  had  prepared  her  for  the  responsible  task  of 
government,  and  who  was  believed  to  cherish  those  principles  under 
which  England  had  obtained  a  high  pitch  of  moral  greatness.  The 
proverb,  that  "when  women  reign,  men  govern,"  gave  assurance  to 
the  British  community  that,  in  Queen  Victoria,  we  should  behold  the 
revival  of  all  that  political  good  fortune  which  had  distinguished  the 
reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  Anne,  and  an  improvement  in  the  domestic 
tone  of  society  which  had  become  somewhat  impaired  under  the 
Regency,  and  had  scarcely  recovered  itself  even  under  the  admirable 
example  of  Queen  Adelaide — the  consort  of  William  IV. 

The  hopes  of  the  nation  received  a  striking  confirmation  at  the 
very  commencement  of  the  reign.  When  one  hundred  peers  and 
printes  of  the  Privy  Council  assembled  to  sign  the  Act  of  Allegiance, 
the  Queen  made  a  declaration  of  her  attachment  to  the  Constitution 
in  these  words — 


1821.]  QUEEN  VICTORIA.  193 

''  Educated  in  England  under  the  tender  and  enlightened  care  of 
a  most  affectionate  mother,  I  have  learned  from  my  infancy  to  respect 
and  love  the  constitution  of  my  native  country.  It  will  be  my 
unceasing  study  to  maintain  the  reformed  religion  as  by  law  estab- 
lished, securing  at  the  same  time  to  all  the  full  enjoyment  of  religious 
liberty.  And  I  shall  steadily  protect  the  rights,  and  promote,  to  the 
utmost  of  my  power,  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  all  classes  of  my 
subjects." 

In  delivering  this  declaration  the  Queen  displayed  extraordinary 
self-possession.  Her  dignified  composure  and  the  firmness  of  her 
voice  impressed  all  who  heard  it  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  latent 
grandeur  of  a  character  which  time  and  circumstances  were  afterwards 
so  beautifully  and  healthfully  to  develop. 

Her  Majesty  made  no  change  in  her  Ministry ;  formed  an  excel- 
lent household,  and  drew  around  her,  in  the  privacy  of  life,  all  those 
men  who  were  most  distinguished  by  their  worth  and  ability  ;  and 
those  members  of  the  female  aristocracy  who  were  most  conspicuous 
for  their  exemplary  domestic  conduct  and  familiarity  with  Court 
usages.  A  modest  diffidence  was  the  striking  characteristic  of  the 
commencement  of  a  reign  which  has  continued  to  shed  lustre  on  Great 
Britain,  and  diffuse  universal  happiness. 

It  was  wise  of  her  Majesty  to  retain  Lord  Melbourne.  No  British 
statesman  ever  possessed  the  art  of  simplifying  the  duties  of  Govern- 
ment in  so  happy  a  degree,  or  of  conveying  instruction  to  a  monarch 
in  so  agreeable  a  form.  An  elegant  scholar,  a  wit,  and  a  man  of 
pleasure,  Lord  Melbourne,  while  he  satisfied  expectation  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  never  gave  himself  more  trouble  than  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary. He  sometimes  treated  grave  subjects  with  an  almost  unpar- 
donable nonchalance^  and  often  carried  the  laissez  allcr  to  a  point 
which  exposed  him,  personally,  to  a  charge  of  indolence,  and  risked 
the  position  and  influence  of  his  Ministry  ;  but  this  very  indifference 
was  of  advantage  to  the  Queen,  because  it  pleasantly  initiated  her 
Majesty  into  the  science  of  rule,  and  rendered  her  subsequent  path 
easy.  Any  other  Minister  would  probably  have  alarmed  the  royal 
mind,  or  made  those  duties  irksome  which  should  at  all  times  be  a 
source  of  pleasure  to  a  sovereign,  and  of  benefit  to  a  nation.' 

1  "  I  happen  to  know  that  it  is  her  Majesty's  opinion,  that  the  noble  Viscount  (Melbourne)  ha« 
rendered  her  Majesty  the  greatest  possible  service,  by  making  her  acquainted  with  the  mode  and 
policy  of  the  government  of  this  country,  initiating  her  into  the  laws  and  spirit  of  the  Constitution, 
independently  of  the  performance  of  his  duty  as  the  servant  of  her  Majesty's  Crown  ;  teaching 
her,  in  sliort,  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  this  great  country." — Speech  of  the  Duke  of  IVeilinff^ 
ton,  Jlugust  24(A,  1841. 

VOL.   IL  13 


104  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1838. 

Amongst  the  individuals  whom  her  Majesty  delighted  to  honour 
was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  A  frequent  guest  at  the  Palace,  his 
Grace  was  constantly  consulted  by  the  Queen ;  and  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  the  wisdom  and  sagacity  of  the  venerable  warrior  and 
statesman,  combined  with  the  gentleness  of  a  father  towards  a  beloved 
child,  made  the  deepest  impression  on  the  ductile  mind  and  affection- 
ate heart  of  the  youthful  monarch,  and  secured  to  his  Grace  a  lasting 
and  truly  enviable  regard  and  attachment.* 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  was,  of  course,  much  in  the  habit  of  meet- 
ing Lord  Melbourne  on  equal  and  friendly  terms  in  the  presence  of 
the  Queen,  but  it  had  no  effect  upon  the  political  opinions  of  his 
Grace.  He  continued  to  express  himself  frankly  in  the  House  of 
Lords  respecting  all  measures  to  which  he  could  not  give  a  cordial 
and  ready  support,  and  was  uncompromising  in  his  opposition  to 
principles  which  threatened  an  extension  of  popular  power,  or  damage 
to  the  interests  of  the  Irish  Protestants. 

Queen  Victoria  was  crowned  with  much  pomp  in  the  summer  of 
1838.  A  circumstance  of  great  interest  occurred  in  connection  with 
the  event,  which  brought  out  the  generous  character  of  the  people  of 
England  and  the  high  chivalry  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  vivid 
and  agfeeable  colours. 

The  personage  selected  by  the  King  of  the  French  to  represent 
France  at  the  coronation  was  Marshal  Soult,  the  ancient  antagonist 
of  Wellington.  The  reception  of  this  officer  was  enthusiastic.  The 
people  recognised  in  him  the  symbol  of  bravery  and  military  skill. 
They  forgot  the  cruelties  and  barbarities  which  had  marked  the  earlier 
part  of  his  career  in  Portugal :  they  remembered  only  the  indomitable 
perseverance  of  his  resistance  to  Wellington  in  the  Pyrenees  and  the 

1  The  following  circumstance  was  related  by  Major  Cumming  Bruce,  at  the  Conservative 
dinner  given  to  him  and  Mr.  M'Kenzie  Jun.,  of  Scatwell,  at  Forres,  in  September,  1837. 
Major  Cumming  Bruce  said,  he  rose,  "  not  only  to  tell  a  tale,  but  to  crave  a  bumper.  The 
circumstance  alluded  to  by  the  Chairman  was  not  a  tale,  but  a  fact.  Lord  Melbourne,  the 
Prime  Minister,  in  the  course  of  his  official  duty,  lately  waited  upon  the  Queen  at  Windsor. 
After  the  business  was  concluded,  the  noble  lord  said,  there  was  a  subject  which  he  felt  called 
upon  to  press  upon  her  Majesty's  attention.  It  was,  whether  there  was  any  individual  for  whom 
her  Majesty  entertained  such  a  preference  that  she  might  wish  to  havo  associated  with  her  in 
the  cares  of  that  sovereignty  with  which  Providence  had  blessed  her.  The  Queen,  no  doubt,  felt 
a  little  surprised  at  the  question :  she  requested  to  know  if  it  was  as  a  Minister  of  the  Crown,  and 
as  a  matter  of  State  policy,  that  he  asked  the  question ;  for  if  it  was,  she  would  endeavour  to 
give  him  an  answer.  His  lordship  replied,  that  under  no  other  circumstances  would  he  have 
presumed  to  put  such  a  question  to  her  Majesty.  '  Then,'  said  the  Queen,  '  there  is  one  indi 
vidual  for  whom  I  entertain  a  decided  preference,  and  that  individual  is  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
Gentlemen,"  added  Major  Cumming  Bruce,  "  I  leave  you  to  figure  the  length  of  Lord  Mel- 
bourne's face,  on  receiving  this  answer.  For  the  correctness  of  the  statement  I  give  the  guarantea 
of  my  name." 


1838.]  MARSHAL  SOULT  IN  ENGLAND.  195 

south  of  France — the  homage  which  he  had  paid  to  the  British  troops 
on  the  field  of  Waterloo,  when  he  assured  the  Emperor  that  they 
never  would  give  way, — and  the  amenities  which  had  marked  his 
intercourse  with  the  Duke  when  Minister  of  War  under  Louis  XVIII. 
All  classes,  from  royalty  downwards,  vied  with  each  other  in  paying 
respect  to  the  venerable  Marshal ;  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  with 
genuine  magnanimity  and  generosity,  waived  his  own  claims  upon 
popular  attention  that  a  larger  share  of  homage  might  be  offered  to 
the  illustrious  Frenchman.  Grand  reviews,  dinners  by  wealthy  cor- 
porations, fetes  of  all  kinds,  were  given  in  the  Marshal's  honour  ;  and 
he  was  invited  to  make  a  tour  to  Birmingham,  Manchester,  and 
Liverpool,  at  each  of  which  places  he  was  received  with  enthusiasm. 
At  the  grand  dinner  given  by  the  London  Corporation,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  present,  and  the  toast  of  the  evening  having  compre- 
hended the  two  distinguished  soldiers,  they  severally  returned  thanks 
in  the  following  terms  : — 

"  The  Duke  of  Wellington  said  he  entertained  a  high  sense  of  the 
honour  of  being  associated  with  so  illustrious  an  individual  as  him 
whose  name  had  been  given  in  company  with  his  own  on  the  present 
occasion.  He  was  glad  to  find  that  the  merits  and  services  of  that 
illustrious  stranger  had  been  properly  appreciated  by  the  people  of 
this  country.  [Clieers.)  And  he  had  no  doubt  that  he,  on  his  part, 
must  fully  appreciate  the  cordial  feelings  which  had  been  manifested 
towards  him,  not  only  on  the  present  occasion,  but  whenever  he  had 
presented  himself  to  the  public.  He  (the  Duke  of  Wellington)  was 
delighted  that  the  King  of  the  French  had  chosen  so  distinguished  au 
individual  to  represent  him  on  the  occasion  of  the  coronation  of  our 
Queen. 

"  The  Duke  of  Dalmatia  then  proceeded,  amidst  reiterated  cheers, 
to  address  the  company  in  the  French  language.  He  spoke  with 
great  feeling,  but  not  with  a  powerful  voice.  He  commenced  by 
observing  that  the  expressions  used  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had 
entered  into  his  very  heart.  Never  had  there  lived  a  nobler-minded, 
a  braver,  or  a  more  honourable  man  than  that  illustrious  general. 
{C/ieers).  The  French  nation  had  learned  to  estimate  the  worth  of 
the  English  army  :  its  valour  was  known  and  appreciated  all  over 
Europe.  Now,  however,  they  had  no  further  resort  to  arms.  Between 
France  and  England  there  should  now  exist  a  perpetual  peace. 
(The  illustrious  Duke  laid  an  emphasis  upon  the  words  '  alliance 
perpctudle,^  which  brought  down  a  thunder  of  applause).  Unanim- 
ity shall  now  pervade  their  councils.  After  some  further  obser- 
vations, the  noble  Diike,  alluding,  as  we  imagined,  to  the  hospitality 


196  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1838. 

with  which  he  was  at  that  moment  treated,  in  company  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  said  that  he  hoped  yet,  one  of  these  days,  to 
take  his  revenge  ('  revanche ')  of  the  noble  Duke  in  France.  The 
illustrious  and  gallant  Duke  sat  down,  after  drinking  '  The  health  of 
the  British  army,  and  more  particularly  its  great  General,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington.'     {Applause)." 

Several  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  British  generals  who  had 
fought  against  Marshal  Soult  had  the  honour  of  being  introduced  to 
him.  Foremost  among  them  was  Lord  Hill,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief.  It  is  related  that  when  they  came  into  contact,  Soult  ex- 
tended his  hand,  and  exclaimed,  jocosely  "  Ah,je  vous  re7icontre  cnfin  I 
moi  qui  ai  couru  si  lorig  terns  apres  vous  .'"  alluding,  of  course,  to  the 
pursuit  of  Hill  from  Madrid  to  Alba  de  Tormes,  after  our  failure  at 
Burgos. 

Soult  returned  to  France  at  the  close  of  July,  leaving  a  favourable 
impression   of  his   bonhommie^  and  justifying  a  belief  in  the  good 

1  The  following  anecdotes  are  derived  from  newspapers  published  in  July,  1838 : — 

"Soult  and  Allan  Ccnninoham. — Allan  Cunningham  was  introduced  to  Marshal  Soult, 
and  as  the  iuterview  was  interesting,  the  reader,  we  should  suppose,  will  be  the  reverse  of 
displeased  to  peruse  a  hurried  note  of  it,  given  as  nearly  as  possible  in  his  own  words: — 
'I  saw  him  at  his  residence  at  Portland  House  ;  he  received  me  kindly,  took  me  by  the  band, 
placed  me  on  a  sofa  beside  him,  and  said  he  was  indebted  to  his  friend  the  Baron  de  P.,  for 
making  us  acquainted.  I  said  I  had  desired  to  see  a  man  of  great  and  strong  talent  by  nature, 
and  not  by  Act  of  Parliament ;  that  I  had  long  admired  him  for  his  generous  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  Sir  John  Moore,  and  looked  upon  him  as.  one  of  the  noblest-minded  of  our  foes.  He 
smiled  at  this,  and  turning  to  me,  said, '  J'oe !  I  never  was  your  foe,  at  least  in  the  coarse  sense 
of  the  word :  I  was  taught  to  respect  you  in  the  sternest  of  all  schools,  the  battle-field ;  and  it 
was  only  yesterday  I  told  your  young  Queen  that  Britain  and  France  had  tried  the  sword  long 
enough  to  each  other's  harm,  and  should  now  try  what  friendship  could  do,  and  thus  ensure  the 
peace  of  Europe.'  I  bowed  and  replied,  '  Marshal,  you  are  still  in  the  field ;  you  have  won 
other  countries  by  the  sword,  and  now  you  come  to  conquer  us  by  courtesy.'  As  I  said  this 
he  pressed  my  knee  gently  with  his  band,  and  made  some  allusion  to  poetry.  He  is  a  noble 
martial-featured  man,  tall,  too,  and  vigorous ;  and  I  thought  of  Austerlitz  and  many  a  bloody 
field  as  he  shook  hands  with  me  at  parting.  But  we  are  not  to  part  yet ;  he  has  sent  me  a  card 
for  his  great  ball  cf  this  evening  (Cth  July),  when  1  will  again  see,  I  feel  assured,  the  same 
simple,  easy,  courteous  man  I  found  during  the  interview  I  have  attempted  to  describe. " — 
Dumfries  Courier. 

"  When  Marshal  Soult  was  at  Manchester,  a  working  man  in  a  cotton  manufactory  there, 
wished  exceedingly  to  shake  hands  with  the  Marshal.  His  wish  was  readily  gratified,  when  he 
explained  his  motive.  He  had  been  in  the  Rifle  Brigade  all  the  Peninsular  ^Var,  and  had  fired 
at  Soult  THIRTY  times,  but  failed.  At  Toulouse,  ho  fired  twenty  times  at  the  Marshal,  with  the 
same  result.  The  Marshal  again  shook  him  by  the  hand,  saying  that  he  was  a  good  soldier,  and 
had  done  his  best  to  serve  his  country." 

"  Marshal  Soult  and  Captain  Manby. — (From  a  Correspondent.) — At  an  interview  which 
Marshal  Soult  granted  to  Captain  Manby  on  Friday  last,  for  the  purpose  of  requesting  his 
Excellency  to  take  charge  of  a  memorial  to  his  sovereign,  tlie  King  of  the  French,  to  sanction  and 
encourage  an  international  negotiation  with  the  maritime  nations  of  the  world,  and  enter  into 
a  comprehensive  treaty  of  mutual  alliances  for  the  preservation  of  life,  and  the  protection  of 


1839.]  BANQUET  TO  THE  DUKE  AT  DOVER.  197 

understanding  which  was  to  mark  the  intercourse  of  France  with  Eng- 
land during  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe. 

The  bearing  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  towards  the  Duke  of 
Dalmatia  exceedingly  gratified  the  English  people,  and  materially 
contributed  to  the  restoration  of  that  popularity  which  his  Grace 
had  formerly  enjoyed,  but  which  his  civil  government  from  1829  to 
1835,  and  his  previous  conduct  in  regard  to  Queen  Caroline,  had 
tended  to  damage.  One  of  the  most  violent  of  the  radical  prints 
said: 

"  Passing  over  his  civil  services  with  this  brief  allusion,  we  shall 
conclude  by  noticing  the  latest  public  scene  of  his  life.  He  defeated 
Marshal  Soult  in  the  Peninsula  and  in  France — he  has  embraced  him 
in  London.  Herein  he  gained  the  greatest  of  his  victories — a  victory 
over  the  prejudices  of  his  life  and  his  party.  He  never  appeared  more 
illustrious  in  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen  than  when,  forgetting  all 
ancient  rivalries,  and  spurning  all  the  low  croakiyig  seductions  of  low 
party  malice,  he  gave  a  cordial  and  an  affectionate  welcome  to  the  man 
who,  next  to  himself,  is  the  greatest  soldier  alive." 

The  year  1839  was  remarkable  for  public  demonstrations  of  the 
regard  in  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  held  by  his  countrymen. 
In  the  month  of  August  a  banquet  was  given  to  him  at  Dover,  as 
Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  at  which  no  less  than  two 
thousand  persons  were  present.  On  this  occasion  Lord  Brougham, 
who,  since  his  loss  of  the  Chancellorship,  had  gradually  seceded  from 
his  old  friends  and  began  to  play  the  courtier,  was  entrusted  with  the 
duty  of  proposing  the  health  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  His 
lordship  treated  the  trust  as  a  high  compliment,  because  it  inferred 
that  no  differences  of  political  opinion  were  able  to  stifle  the  natural 
feelings  of  civilised  statesmen  so  as  to  prevent  them  cherishing 
"boundless   gratitude   for   boundless   merit."     After   dwelling   upon 

property  (to  the  rightful  owners),  on  whatever  shore  the  misfortune  of  shipwreck  may  happen ; 
also  providing  warm  clothing  and  temporary  comfort  to  the  sailor  after  he  is  saved  from  ship- 
wreck, and  assisting  him  to  his  home,  to  whatever  country  he  may  belong ;  to  which  the  MarshaJ 
was  thus  pleased  to  express  himself: — 'I  am  most  happy  to  take  by  the  hand  the  man  whose 
name  is  so  universally  honoured  for  his  noble  and  generous  philanthropy,  and  to  assiu-e  him  that, 
on  my  return  to  Paris,  I  will  immediately  attend  to  his  request,  and  press  the  subject  on  his  Ma- 
jesty's earnest  attention.' " 

"Marshal  Soult  and  the  Metropolitan  Police.— The  veteran  Marshal  Soult,  prior  to  his 
recent  departure  from  this  country,  caused  a  letter,  with  his  signature  attached  thereto,  to  be 
forwarded  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Metropolitan  Police,  at  Scotland  Yard,  in  which  commu- 
nication the  distinguished  foreigner  alluded  to  expressed  his  high  satisfaction  at  the  excellent 
conduct  and  good  order  of  every  member  of  the  Force,  by  whom  he  had  on  so  many  occasion?, 
during  his  sojourn  in  London,  and  in  his  visits  to  other  places  In  the  environs  thereofi  been 
attended." 


198 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1839 


this  topic — the  impossibility  of  forgetting  in  the  spirit  of  party  the 
services  rendered  by  "  one  transcendant  genius  in  peace  and  in 
war," — Lord  Brougham  gave  vent  to  his  admiration  in  an  apostrophe 
which  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  oratorical  efforts  of 
the   age.     He   "  invoked  both   hemispheres"   to   witness   that   Wei- 


LOKD    BROUGHAM. 


lington  "  never  advanced  but  to  be  victorious — never  retreated  but  to 
eclipse  the  glory  of  his  advance,  by  the  yet  harder  task  of  unwearied 
patience,  indomitable  tO'  lassitude,  the  inexhaustible  resources  of 
transcendant  skill  showing  the  wonders,  the  marvels  of  a  moral 
courage  never  yet  subdued."  "  Despising  all  who  thwarted  him," 
said  Lord  Brougham,  "with  ill-considered  advice — neglecting  all 
hostility,  as  he  knew  it  to  be  groundless — laughing  to  scorn  reviling 
enemies,  jealous  competitors,  lukewarm  friends,  ay,  hardest  of  all,  to 
neglect  despising  even  a  fickle  public,  he  cast  his  eye  forwards  as  a 
man  might,  to  a  time  when  that  momentary  fickleness  of  the  people 
would  pass  away,  knowing  that,  in  the  end,  the  people  were  always 
just  to  merit." 


1839.]  THE  CORN-LAWS.  199 

The  Duke's  reply  was  simple  and  modest — involving  little  else  than 
an  affirmative  of  those  propositions  which  referred  to  the  necessity  of 
putting  aside  party  politics  and  opinions  to  carry  on  the  public  service 
to  the  greatest  point  of  advantage  to  the  public  interest. 

In  this  year,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  narrowly  escaped  again  be- 
coming a  Minister  of  the  Crown.  Upon  the  opening  of  Parliament, 
he  spoke  to  the  Address  in  a  conciliatory  tone,  only  dwelling  in  a 
tone  of  animadversion  upon  the  favour  shown  to  Chartists  in  allowing 
large  assemblies  of  those  democrats,  and  deprecating  the  continuance 
of  rebellion  in  Canada.  Upon  a  motion  of  Lord  Brougham's  regard- 
ing the  Corn-laws,  his  Grace  upheld  those  laws  as  essential  to  the  im- 
provement of  agriculture — he  maintained  that  the  price  of  corn  would 
be  raised  by  their  repeal — and  upon  being  charged  by  Lord  Radnor 
with  the  advocacy  of  monopoly,  and  with  not  assisting  the  farmers  and 
labourers,  he  answered  emphatically  and  in  his  accustomed  straight- 
forward manner — 

"  My  Lords,  I  know  nothing  about  landlords,  farmers,  or  labourers, 
when  I  am  advocating  a  legislative  question  of  a  public  nature  in  this 
House.  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  them  any  further  than  as  their  in- 
terests are  identified  with  those  of  the  community  at  large.  I  beg 
the  noble  lord  to  understand,  when  I  come  to  this  House,  I  come  here 
upon  the  public  interest.  I  have  no  more  to  say  to  landlords,  farmers, 
or  labourers,  than  the  noble  earl  himself;  and  I  am  thoroughly  con- 
vinced there  is  not  a  noble  friend  near  me  who  does  not  look  at  this 
question  solely  on  public  grounds,  and  those  which  he  conceives  it  to 
be  for  the  interest  of  the  country  to  take." 

When  a  motion  was  brought  forward  by  Lord  Roden  for  a  com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  the  state  of  Ireland,  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
gave  it  his  support ;  and  he  likewise  spoke  upon  the  Irish  Municipal 
Corporations  Bill,  when  it  went  into  committee  in  the  House  of 
Lords. 

The  subject  of  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  apprentices  in 
Jamaica  having  come  before  the  House  of  Commons,  with  some 
notice  of  the  violent  scenes  which  had  been  enacted  in  that  colony,  a 
bill  was  brought  in  for  suspending  the  constitution  of  Jamaica.  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  his  party  opposed  the  bill  vehemently,  and  ultimate- 
ly Ministers  only  carried  it  by  a  majority  of  five.  Upon  this  the 
Ministry  resigned. 

The  Queen,  upon  receiving  the  resignation  of  Lord  Melbourne,  sent 
for  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  His  Grace,  as  before,  referred  her 
Majesty  to  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  immediately  endeav- 
oured to  form  a  government.     In  this  he  was  frustrated.     Sir  Robert 


200  LIFE   OF  THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON  [1839. 

considered  it  indispensable  that  the  ladies  of  the  Queen's  household 
should  be  connected  only  with  those  persons  who  held  pulitical 
opinions  in  common  with  himself.  He  accordingly  proposed  to  her 
Majesty  to  remove  the  ladies  of  her  bed-chamber.  This  the  Queen 
decidedly  refused  to  do — declaring  the  course  proposed  to  be  contrary 
to  usage,  and  repugnant  to  her  feelings — and  Sir  Robert  at  once 
resigned  into  her  Majesty's  hands  the  trust  committed  to  him.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  appears  to  have  quite  entered  into  Sir  Robert 
Peel's  feelings  on  the  subject.  His  Grace  said  very  distinctly,  when 
explaining  bis  own  share  in  the  Ministerial  negotiation,  that  he 
deemed  it  essential  that  the  Minister  should  possess  the  entire  con- 
fidence of  her  Majesty,  and,  with  that  view,  should  exercise  the  usual 
control  permitted  to  the  Minister  by  the  Sovereign  in  the  construction 
of  the  household.  "  The  public,"  he  said,  "  would  not  believe  that 
the  Queen  held  no  political  conversation  with  the  ladies  of  her 
household,  and  that  political  influence  was  not  exercised  by  them 
particularly,  considering  who  the  persons  were  who  held  those 
situations.  He  had  a  somewhat  strong  opinion  on  the  subject.  He 
had  himself  filled  the  office  of  the  noble  viscount,  and  had  felt  the 
inconvenience  of  an  anomalous  influence,  not  exercised  perhaps  by 
ladies,  but  exerted  by  persons  about  the  court,  and  that  simply  in 
conversation." 

After  the  resumption  of  power  by  the  Melbourne  Cabinet,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  during  the  remainder  of  the  session  addressed  the  House 
of  Lords  on  several  questions  of  importance — the  affairs  of  Canada — 
the  Ballot — the  Portuguese  slave  trade — a  reform  in  the  postage 
system.  To  the  ballot  he  was  naturally  opposed,  as  an  '•  un-English" 
measure.  He  supported  a  bill  for  the  introduction  of  the  penny 
postage,  because  the  country  looked  for  the  establishment  of  a  low  and 
uniform  rate  ;  but  his  Grace  did  not  believe  that  it  would  tend  to  an 
increase  in  the  correspondence  of  the  ccJuntry,  and  he  thought  that  the 
sacrifice  of  revenue  would  be  considerable.  The  Duke  rested  his 
•belief  in  the  little  effect  which  a  reduction  of  postage  would  have 
upon  general  correspondence,  on  his  experience  in  the  army,  where, 
"  in  a  Highland  regiment,  in  the  course  of  six  or  seven  months,  only 
sixty-three  or  sixty-four  letters  were  written" — most  infelicitous 
data,  as  the  result  established.  The  Duke  forgot  that  in  Highland 
regiments  few  men  could  read  and  write,  and  that  a  great  many  had 
left  their  families  without  writing,  or  intending  to  communicate  with 
them.  He  argued  from  the  ignorance  and  circumstances  of  one  class 
of  the  community  against  the  intelligence  and  activity  of  other 
classes,  and  did  not  seem  to  take  into  account  that  the  extension  of 


1839.] 


THE  DUKE'S  ILLNESS. 


201 


the  facilities  of  correspondence  would  give  an  impetus  to  education. 
To  the  bill  for  the  suppression  of  the  Portuguese  slave-trade,  the  Duke 
was  so  earnestly  opposed,  that  he  entered  several  protests  against  it 
as  it  passed  through  the  House.  The  foundation  of  his  opposition 
was,  that  the  right  of  enforcing  the  due  observance  of  the  treaties  en- 
tered into  at  Portugal  for  the  suppression  of  the  trade  did  not  lie 
within  the  province  of  Parliament,  but  was  the  proper  office  of  the 
Executive  Government. 

Parliament  having  been  prorogued,  the  Duke  proceeded  as  usual  to 
pass  the  autumn  at  Walmer  Castle.  While  here,  on  the  20th  of  No- 
vember, he  was  suddenly  taken  ill,  and  great  apprehensions  were  for 
some  time  entertained  for  the  safety  of  his  life.  It  seems  that  he  had 
been  out  hunting,  and  the  fatigue  was  greater  than  he  was  capable  of 
enduring,  for  he  had  been  restricting  his  diet  with  great  severity  in 
order  to  get  rid  of  a  cold.  When,  therefore,  he  returned  home  to 
dinner,  he  fainted  from  inanition.  Sir  Astley  Cooper  and  Dr.  Hume 
— two  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  of  the  day — were  immediately 
in  attendance,  and  remained  with  the  Duke  a  week,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  he  had  recovered  his  strength. 


STATUE    AT    EDINBURGH. 


If  the  Duke  had  valued  popularity,  this  attack  of  illness  would 
have  gratified  him  exceedingly  from  the  test  it  supplied  of  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  now  generally  held.     Upon  his  return  to  town,  his 


202  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON,  [1839. 

appearance  was  greeted  with  marked  expressions  of  congratulation, 
not  merely  by  his  friends  and  political  opponents,  but  by  the  crowds 
assembled  round  the  gates  of  the  palace  when  he  attended  a  Privy 
Council. 

Another  strong  proof  of  the  restored  popularity  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  was  presented  this  year  in  Edinburgh.  A  public  meeting 
was  held  on  the  23rd  of  November,  to  set  on  foot  a  subscription  for 
erecting  a  national  testimonial  to  his  Grace  in  the  Scottish  capital. 
Men  of  all  classes  of  the  community,  and  of  all  shades  of  politics, 
attended  and  subscribed.' 

1  This  national  testimonial  took  the  form  of  a  splendid  equestrian  statue,  but  thirteen  years 
elapsed  before  it  was  finished  and  inaugurated. 

"This  great  work,  which  is  from  the  hand  of  Mr.  John  Steel,  is  colossal  In  dimensions, 
measuring  nearly  fourteen  feet  in  height ;  and  together  with  the  pedestal,  which  is  of  Aberdeen 
granite,  rising  from  the  ground  about  twenty-six  feet.  The  bronze  weighs  nearly  twelve  tons.  It 
derives  additional  interest  from  its  being  the  first  bronze  statue  ever  cast  in  Scotland.  Unlike 
most  other  bronze  statues,  in  this  the  different  parts  are  not  rivelted  together,  but  fused — an  im- 
provement attended  by  considerable  labor  and  difficulty.  The  horse  is  here  in  high  action.  The 
only  parts  which  touch  the  pedestal  are  the  hind  feet  and  the  tail ;  and,  accordingly,  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  balance,  great  skill  was  required  in  apportioning  exactly  to  each  part  its  proper  weight 
of  metal.  The  only  other  equestrian  statue  Id  a  similar  posture  is  that  of  Peter  the  Great  at  St. 
Petersburgh,  where  the  difficulty  is  chiefly  overcome  by  the  not  very  appropriate  introduction  of 
a  serpent,  upon  which  the  horse  is  trampling,  and  which  not  only  strengthens  the  hind  legs,  but 
projects  very  far  behind,  and  serves  as  a  balance.  The  statue  represents  the  Duke  mounted  on 
his  charger,  and  issuing  orders ;  the  reins  lie  loose  on  the  neck  of  his  plunging  steed ;  in  one 
hand  he  holds  them  and  his  plumed  hat,  and  with  the  other  points  commandingly  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  field." 


1840.] 


THE  SESSION  OF  1840. 


203 


CHAPTER    XYI. 


The  Session  of  1840— The  Duke  on  the  religion  of  Prince  Albert— The  Affghanistan  Campaign 
—The  Navy— Libels  on  the  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Commons— The  Marriage  of  the 
Queen— The  Whig  Ministry  resigns,  in  1841— The  Duke  as  an  orator. 

PUBLIC  man  can  hardly  be  said  to  have 

a  private  life — least  of  all  can  one  who 

has  for  forty  years  filled  a  space  in  the 

world's  thought  expect  to  escape  general 

observation.      He   may   shelter   himself 

behind   a    barricade   of    punctilio — may 

coldly   and    sternly   repel   the    advances 

I  of   strangers, — avoid  sympathy  with  the 

popular  emotion  of  the  hour — and  even 

seclude   himself   from    the   gaze   of  the 

multitude.     Still  he  must  continue  to  be 

an   object  of   powerful   interest,   and   to 

find  his  simplest  acts  scanned  by  those  who  have  learnt  to  regard  him 

as  the  property  of  the  nation. 

Such  was  the  fate  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  From  1840  to  the 
end  of  his  life  he  was  "  the  observed  of  all  observers."  His  habits 
were  noted  ;  his  movements  watched  ;  his  words  treasured.  Every 
one  made  an  effort  to  see  him  in  his  usual  haunts — the  Park  and  the 
House  of  Lords, — and  no  country  cousins  visiting  London  returned 
home  satisfied  if  they  had  not  obtained  a  glimpse  of  the  great  Duke 
of  Wellington. 

With  all  that  concerns  his  private  life — using  the  term  simply  in 
contradistinction  to  the  public  duties  which  devolved  upon  him — we 
shall  treat  in  a  future  chapter.  The  conduct  of  the  Duke  in  Parlia- 
ment must,  for  the  present,  engage  our  care.  He  had  by  habitual 
attention  to  the  claims  upon  his  presence  as  a  peer,  and  the  share 
which   he   took   in   all  great  questions,  acquired   in   the    House  an 


204  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1840. 

influence  worthy  of  his  military  renown  ;  and  no  matters  of  importance 
could  be  discussed  without  the  questions  being  asked  in  ten  thousand 
places,  "  What  does  the  Duke  say  ? — what  does  the  Duke  think 
of  it  ?" 

The  Speech  from  the  Throne  at  the  opening  of  Parliament  on  the 
16th  of  January,  1840,  was  rendered  peculiarly  interesting  by  the 
announcement  that  her  Majesty  was  about  to  ally  herself  in  marriage 
with  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe  Coburg  and  Gotha,  the  Queen's  cousin. 
The  character  of  the  young  Prince  offered  a  guarantee  of  her 
Majesty's  happiness,  and  all  classes  received  the  intimation  with 
satisfaction. 

Perhaps  no  one  in  the  realm  more  sincerely  rejoiced  at  the  prospect 
of  an  accession  to  the  Queen's  felicity  than  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
He  concurred  most  cordially  in  the  expression  of  congratulation  to 
her  Majesty  on  an  event  calculated  to  promote  her  comfort.  True, 
however,  to  his  attachment  to  the  Protestant  Church,  and  rigidly 
insisting  on  an  adherence  to  the  forms  which  afforded  at  least  a 
nominal  protection  to  the  interests  of  the  Establishment  in  its 
connection  with  the  Crown,  the  Duke  contended  that  the  public  had 
a  right  to  know  something  more  than  the  mere  name  of  the  Prince 
whom  her  Majesty  intended  to  espouse.  His  Grace  remarked  that 
the  precedent  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  had  been  followed  in  the 
announcement  excepting  in  one  respect,  and  that  was  that  the  Prince 
was  a  Protestant.  He  did  not  doubt — indeed  he  knew — that  the 
Prince  was  a  Protestant,  and  of  a  Protestant  family.  But  he  main- 
tained that  as  it  was  necessary  by  law  that  he  should  be  of  that 
persuasion,  an  official  declaration  to  that  effect  should  have  been 
made  by  the  Government.  He  ascribed  the  omission  of  the  decla- 
ration to  a  fear  of  the  Catholic  party  in  Ireland,  who  seemed  to  be 
exerting  themselves  to  inspire  England  with  "  terror  :"  and  he  called 
upon  the  House  to  require  a  formal  announcement  of  Prince  Albert's 
religion. 

The  next  occasion  upon  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  spake  in 
1840  was  when  the  House  of  Lords  was  called  upon  to  approve  of  an 
expedition  into  Affghanistan.  It  appears  that  the  Governments  of 
England  and  India  had  had  some  reason  to  believe  that  Russia  was 
intriguing  at  the  Court  of  Dost  Mahomed,  the  ruler  of  Cabul,  to 
acquire  certain  commercial  and  political  advantages,  including  the 
right  of  trafficking  upon  the  Indus,  with  the  ultimate  view  of  obtaining 
a  footing  in  India.  To  check  those  designs.  Lord  Auckland,  the 
Governor-General  of  India,  acting  in  concert  with  the  Government 
at  home,  determined  upon  replacing  upon  the  musnud  or  throne  of 


1840.]  THE   AFFGHANISTAN   EXPEDITION.  205 

Cabul  an  exiled  King,  Shah  Soojah  by  name,  who  had  for  some  years 
been  a  refugee  in  the  British  territory.  Anticipating  serious  oppo- 
sition,  or,  at  all  events,  contemplating  the  importance  of  surrounding 
the  restored  King  with  a  British  army  who  should  hold  possession  of 
Affghanistan,  Lord  Auckland  dispatched  fifteen  thousand  men  of  all 
arms  to  Cabul,  under  Lieutenant-General  Sir  John  Keane,  an  old 
Peninsula  officer,  having  under  his  command  as  Generals  of  Division, 
Sir  Willoughby  Cotton.  Major-Generals  Sale,  Willshire,  Nott,  and 
others.  The  army  marched  down  the  left  bank  of  the  Indus,  crossed 
at  Sukkur,  moved  through  Upper  Scinde  and  the  Bolan  Pass,  captured 
Candahar,  took  Gbuznee  by  storm,  and  entered  Cabul  in  triumph. 
The  whole  afi'air  was  well  conducted,  and  the  storming  of  Ghuznee 
was  attended  by  severe  loss,  for  the  leading  troops  were  engaged  in  a 
hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the  Affghans,  under  the  gateway  which 
it  had  become  necessary  to  blow  in,  owing  to  the  absence  of  siege 
guns. 

These  operations  elicited  the  warm  approbation  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  He  claimed  the  right  of  judging  of  such  operations  upon 
the  strength  of  his  own  personal  experience,  and  declared  that  he  had 
never  known  an  occasion  on  which  the  duty  of  a  Government  was 
performed  on  a  larger  scale — on  which  a  more  adequate  provision  was 
made  for  all  contingencies  and  various  events  which  could  occur ;  and 
he  said  of  the  officers  engaged,  that  there  were  no  men  in  the  service 
who  deserved  a  higher  degree  of  approbation  for  the  manner  in  which, 
on  all  occasions,  they  had  discharged  their  duty.  In  no  instance  that 
the  Duke  had  ever  heard  of  had  such  services  been  performed  in  a 
manner  better  calculated  to  deserve  and  secure  the  approbation  of 
the  House  of  Lords  and  the  country. 

In  the  same  month  (February),  the  Duke  of  Wellington  opposed 
himself  to  the  propagation  of  the  Socialism  which  was  making  some 
way  in  the  counties  of  Wiltshire  and  Hampshire,  and  which  he 
denominated  a  "  mischievous  and  demoralising"  system ;  and  cir- 
cumstances having  subsequently  arisen  to  afford  occasion  for  his 
speaking  of  the  British  navy,  he  delivered  himself  of  the  following 
eulogium : — 

"  I  know  a  great  deal  of  the  gentlemen  of  that  profession,  and  for 
my  own  part  I  have  always  had,  and  still  have,  the  greatest  and 
highest  respect  for  them,  and  the  very  utmost  confidence  in  them.  I 
have  always  endeavoured  to  emulate  their  services  in  the  service  in 
which  I  have  myself  been  engaged  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  in  nothing 
have  I  endeavoured  to  emulate  them  in  a  greater  degree  than  in  that 
confidence  which  they  feel  not  only  in  themselves  and  in  the  officers 


206  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1840. 

of  their  own  ranks,  but  in  all  officers  and  troops  under  tlieir  com- 
mand." 

The  generous  way  in  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  invariably 
spoke  of  the  conduct  of  the  officers  of  the  army  of  whom  he  had 
known  anything  was  not  by  any  means  the  least  remarkable  feature 
of  his  speeches  in  Parliament.  He  seemed,  as  we  shall  afterwards 
see,  always  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  bearing  tribute  to  professional 
worth.  The  proceedings  of  Lord  Seaton  (Sir  John  Colborne,  of  the 
52nd),  when  Governor  of  the  Canadas,  having  come  under  review,  the 
Duke  said  (March  27,  1840)  :— 

"  I  had  the  honour  of  being  connected  with  the  noble  and  gallant 
lord  in  service  at  an  early  period  of  his  life  ;  and  I  must  declare  that, 
at  all  times,  and  under  all  circumstances,  he  gave  that  promise  of 
prudence,  zeal,  devotion,  and  ability,  which  he  has  so  nobly  fulfilled 
in  his  services  to  his  Sovereign  and  his  country  during  the  re- 
cent proceedings  in  Canada.  I  entirely  agree  in  all  that  has  been 
said  respecting  the  conduct  of  my  noble  and  gallant  friend  in 
remaining,  under  all  circumstances,  at  his  post,  and  in  taking 
command  of  the  troops,  although  it  was  not  thought  expedient 
by  the  Government  to  place  him  again  in  the  government  of  the 
provinces." 

In  this  year,  a  question  of  very  material  import  arose,  which 
created  a  great  deal  of  excitement  from  the  extraordinary  legal  pro- 
ceedings which  followed  upon  it.  It  seems  that  for  some  four  or  five 
years  previously  certain  persons  had  been  in  the  habit  of  bringing 
actions  against  the  Messrs.  Hansard,  the  authorised  publishers  of  the 
debates  in  the  House  of  Parliament,  for  libels  contained  in  the  re- 
ports of  those  debates,  and  that  the  defence  of  the  Messrs.  Hansard, 
that  they  were  publishers  "  by  authority"  of  the  language  used  by  the 
highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  land,  was  of  no  effect.  At  length,  the 
Messrs.  Hansard  appealed  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  House, 
by  a  vote,  declared  that  any  proceedings  taken  against  persons  for 
simply  publishing  its  proceedings  would  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of 
privilege.  Nevertheless,  one  Stockdale,  a  publisher,  who  had  often 
fallen  under  the  animadversion  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  the 
character  of  his  publications,  continued  to  persecute  the  Hansards, 
and.  ultimately,  obtaining  damages,  called  upon  the  sheriffs  to  levy 
execution  upon  the  goods  of  the  defendants.  The  sherifi"s  obeyed 
the  writ  of  the  Court.  The  House  of  Commons,  in  vindication  of  its 
privilege,  committed  the  sheriffs  to  prison,  and  likewise  the  attorney 
who  acted  for  Stockdale.  The  press  and  the  public  took  up  the 
subject  with  great  warmth ;  and  between  an  anxiety  to  protect  the 


1840.]  LIBELS  IN  PARLIAMENT.  207 

characters  of  private  individuals,  and    to  uphold  the  majesty   and 

independence  of  the  Courts  of  Law,  and  a  desire  to  maintain  inviolate 

the  freedom  of  Parliamentary  discussion,  much  wordy  strife  arose. 

At  length  Lord  John  Russell  brought  in  a  bill  enabling  Parliament 

to  give  summary  protection  to  persons  employed  in  the  publication  of 

its  proceedings.     The  subject  was  fervidly  debated,  especially  by  the 

ablest  lawyers  on  both  sides,  and  ultimately  the  bill  passed  by  a  large 

majority.     When  the  bill  went  to  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Duke  of 

Wellington,  after  some  observations,  said — 

"  I  remember  reading  with  great  satisfaction  the  history  of  a  great 

case,  which  was  pleaded  and  argued  at  considerable   length,  some 

years  ago,  in  this  country — I  mean  the  case  of  the  '  King  v.  Peltier,' 

in  the  Court  of   King's   Bench.     That  was  the  case  of  an   action 

brought   against   an   obscure   individual,   for   a   libel   which  he  had 

published  upon  the  sovereign  of  a  neighbouring  country,  with  whom 

we  were  in  a  state  of  peace  and  amity.     Now,  I  ask  your  lordships 

whether,  supposing,  in  the  course  of  the  late  Polish  revolution,  the 

libels,  some  of  which  we  have  seen  printed  in  this  country,  and  others 

which  we  have  heard  spoken  of  in  the  other,  and,  I  believe,  in  this 

House  of  Parliament,  reviling,  in  the  strongest  terms,  the  sovereign 

of  Russia,  had  been  stated  in  the  petitions,  or  in  the  proceedings  of 

the  House  of  Commons,  and  had  been  printed,  published,  and  sold  by 

its  authority  ;  I  ask  your  lordships  whether  such  a  proceeding  would 

not  have  been  calculated  to  disturb  the  peace  of  this  country,  and  of 

the  world  at  large  ?     In  short,  I  ask  your  lordships  whether  it  is 

desirable   that   there   should   be   an   opportunity  of  publishing  and 

selling,  on  the  part  of  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  libels  against  the 

sovereigns  of  all  the  foreign  powers  in  Europe  ?     My  lords,  I  am  one 

of  those   who   consider   that   the   greatest   political   interest  of  this 

country  is,  to  remain  at  peace  and  amity  with   all  the  nations  of  the 

world.     I  am  for  avoiding  even  the  cause  of  war,  and  of   giving 

offence  to  any  one,  and  of  seeking  a  quarrel,  either  by  abuse,  or  by 

that  description  of  language  which  is  found  in   these  libels.     I  am 

against  insulting  the  feelings  of  any  sovereign,  at  whom  individuals 

may  have  taken  offence,  and  against  whom  they  may  seek  to  publish 

libels  under  the  sanction  of  Parliament.     Let  them  state  what  they 

please  in  their  private  capacity,  and  let  them  be  answerable  for  it 

individually,  as  Peltier  was.     What  I  want  is,  that  Parliament  should 

not,  by  the  combined  privilege  of  publication  and  sale,  run  the  risk  of 

involving  the  country  in  the  consequences  of  a  discussion  of  such 

subjects,  and  in  all  the  mischiefs  and  inconveniences  which  might  arise 

from  it."  '         ^ 

2q 


208  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1840. 

It  would  have  been  manifestly  impossible  to  make  exceptions  in 
favour  of  any  particular  class  of  individuals  in  the  heat  of  par- 
liamentary discussion.  If  foreign  sovereigns  were  to  be  protected 
simply  because  they  were  prone  to  take  offence  at  a  degree  of  freedom 
intolerable  in  their  own  country,  every  individual  in  the  United 
Kingdom  would  have  a  good  right  to  complain  of  a  disregard  of 
the  integrity  of  private  character.  Why  should  the  enormities  of  a 
tyrant  escape  the  strictures  of  the  senators  of  a  free  country,  and  the 
comparative  peccadilloes  of  an  humble  trader  be  visited  with  unlim- 
ited reprehension  ?  By  a  happy  and  wise  provision  of  the  Legis- 
lature, the  British  Courts  of  Law  afford  the  same  protection  to  a 
foreign  despot  against  the  license  of  the  British  press  as  a  subject 
of  the  English  Crown  enjoys,  and  no  great  monarch — whether 
Emperor  of  all  the  Kussias  or  Kuler  of  France — could  desire  more. 
Foreign  Governments  should  be  taught  to  distinguish  between  the 
commentaries  of  private  individuals  contributing  to  a  newspaper,  or 
members  of  Parliament  speaking  to  a  question  before  the  House,  and 
the  language  of  a  minister  embodying  the  sentiments  of  a  Govern- 
ment or  the  nation  at  large.  The  anxiety  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
to  guard  against  a  war  was  natural — and  peculiarly  commendable — in 
a  great  soldier  who  had  seen  so  much  of  its  actual  horrors  and  sub- 
sequent evils  ;  but  his  Grace,  in  the  ardour  of  his  pacific  sentiments, 
lost  sight  at  once  of  the  danger  of  checking  freedom  of  discussion,  and 
of  the  panoply  of  defence  supplied  to  the  foreign  potentate  in  the 
British  Courts  of  Justice. 

Excepting  the  misunderstanding  which  had  arisen  with  China 
owing  to  the  sudden  seizure  and  confiscation  of  large  quantities  of 
opium  belonging  to  British  merchants,  and  the  arrest  and  imprison- 
ment of  the  representatives  of  the  British  Crown  and  the  super- 
intendents of  the  trade  with  China,  no  subject  of  any  material 
importance  drew  out  the  Duke  of  Wellington  during  the  session  of 
1840.  He  said  a  few  words  on  the  30th  of  June  on  the  great  utility 
of  the  Canadian  colonies  to  Great  Britain  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  July  he 
maintained  that  religious  education  in  England  should  be  provided 
out  of  the  funds  of  the  Church,  and  on  the  4th  of  August  that  oaths 
were  necessary  in  Courts  of  Justice  to  establish  the  truth,  which  is 
the  foundation  of  all  truth ;  but  no  other  record  of  his  addresses  to 
the  House  of  Lords — if  any  were  made — is  to  be  found  in  the  Par- 
liamentary annals  of  the  year. 

Her  Majesty  was  married  to  Prince  Albert  in  February,  1840. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  present,  but  it  would  appear  from  the 
evidence  of  spectators  on  the  occasion  that  Time  and  a  life  of  labour 


1841.]  LORD  MELBOURNE  RESIGNS.  209 

and  anxious  care  were  beginning  to  display  their  effects  upon  his 
person.     The  papers  of  the  day  state  that — 

"  The  Duke,  who  looked  infirm,  and  did  not  move  with  his  usual 
alacrity,  was  the  only  individual  whom  the  spectators  stood  up  to 
honour  and  to  cheer.  He  bowed  calmly  in  reply,  but  seemed,  we 
are  sorry  to  say,  sinking  under  the  weight  of  honours  and  of 
years." 

The  shell  was  wearing  out,  but  the  spirit  of  the  venerable  warrior 
retained  all  its  pristine  force,  and  he  continued  for  twelve  years  later 
to  astonish  his  peers  and  fellow  subjects  by  the  vigour  of  his  intellect 
and  the  hardiness  of  his  frame. 

Lord  Melbourne's  Government  had  for  some  time  previous  to  this 
time  began  to  experience  the  consequences  of  the  lassitude  of  its 
chief  Making  no  effort  to  maintain  power  by  realising  the  expecta- 
tions of  its  liberal  supporters — content  to  carry  measures  by  insig- 
nificant majorities,  which  minorities,  in  otL,?-  days,  would  have 
construed  into  ''  want  of  confidence  "  votes — enduring  defeats  with 
placidity — and  exposed  to  much  ridicule  and  contempt  out  of  doors, — 
the  Melbourne  Government,  after  a  sickly  existence  of  ten  years' 
duration,  dissolved  in  1841,  and  her  Majesty  entrusted  the  office  of 
Prime  Minister  to  Sir  Robert  Peel.  There  was  no  question  now 
of  Maids  of  Honour  and  Ladies  of  the  Bedchamber.  Sir  Robert  felt 
himself  sufficiently  strong  to  defy  back-stairs  influence,  and  the 
country  had  become  too  weary  of  the  effete  Whigs  to  view  with  regret 
the  accesion  to  authority  of  one  who  had  shown,  on  former  occasions, 
that  he  was  not  disinclined  to  bend  to  the  necessities  of  the  hour,  and 
carry  popular  measures. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  accepted  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet 
without  office.  He  was  found  to  be  a  sound  and  able  adviser, 
capable  of  safely  guiding  others  in  their  political  career,  if  not 
always  successful  in  his  own  personal  experiments  in  the  science  of 
government. 

The  authoritative  influence  which  the  Duke  had  acquired  in  the 
House  of  Lords — even  to  the  extent  of  holding  the  proxies  of  a  great 
many  peers — was  of  infinite  utility  to  Sir  Robert  Peel.  Whoever 
might  be  in  power,  his  Grace  confessedly  "  led  "  the  peers,  and  his 
habit  of  mastering  and  addressing  himself  to  every  subject  that  came 
prominently  before  the  House,  acquired  for  him  the  reputation  of  an 
orator. 

True  eloquence  has  been  defined,  the  faculty  of  enunciating  the 
truth  in  the  most  simple  and  striking  manner.  This,  however,  is  not 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  terra.     With  the  multitude,  eloquence 


210        /  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON,  [1841. 

can  only  co-exist  with  efflorescence  of  style,  brilliancy  of  phrase, 
smoothly-rounded  passages,  an  affluence  of  trope  and  metaphor,  and 
copiousness  of  illustration.  Those  Englishmen  will  enjoy  the  highest 
rank  in  history  as  orators  who  were  most  remarkable  for  the  length 
and  grandeur  of  their  harangues.  Burke,  who  spoke  for  hours, 
adorning  his  speeches  with  classical  quotations  and  gorgeous 
imagery ;  Mackintosh,  who  delivered  sententious  essays,  garnished 
with  rhetorical  ornament ;  Sheridan,  whose  apostrophes  resembled 
the  rushing  of  a  current  vivid  with  the  flashes  of  phosphoric  light ; 
Brougham,  who  mingled  terse  and  vigorous  passages,  with  elaborate 
platitudes  springing  from  a  mental  prodigality  which  knew  not  how 
to  economise ; — these  and  others  of  lesser  note  earned  the  title  of 
orators,  and  will  be  cited  in  after  ages  as  the  only  true  disciples  of 
the  schools  of  eloquence  founded  by  Cicero  and  Demosthenes.  But 
those  who  yield  nothing  to  appeals  to  the  fancy — who  have  disciplined 
their  minds  to  accept  only  the  rays  of  truth  transmitted  through  the 
simplest  and  clearest  medium — will  give  a  preference  to  the  practi- 
cal speaker  who  discards  every  decoration  as  an  interference  with 
fidelity,  or  as  an  artifice  only  fit  to  cover  sophistry  or  conceal  intrinsic 
weakness. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  of  the  latter  class  of  orators.  His 
speeches  were  rough-hewn  from  the  block  of  his  sagacity  and  expe- 
rience, and  his  auditory  forgot  their  roughness  and  unpolished  aspect 
in  their  deep  sense  of  the  value  of  the  quarry.  His  strong  morale — 
his  love  of  truth,  his  contempt  for  all  the  redundancies  and  super- 
fluities which  encumbered  a  case — his  faculty  of  discovering  and  ruth- 
lessly exposing  a  fallacy — his  exactitude  of  description — his  care  in 
calling  things  by  their  right  names — his  admiration  of  the  Constitu- 
tion— and  his  profound  veneration  for  monarchical  power — imparted 
a  weight  to  his  speeches  which  no  florid  or  merely  graceful  oratory 
could  counterbalance.  Examples  of  this  will  be  found  in  many  of  the 
passages  quoted  in  foregoing  pages,  and  in  those  that  may  be  given 
hereafter.  They  will  not  serve  as  models,  because  there  will  be  one 
essential  ingredient  wanting  in  those  who  may  attempt  to  copy  the 
Duke's  phraseology  and  manner — the  influence  of  name  and  statioa 
That  which  came  from  him  with  sledge-hammer  force,  and  was  ac 
cepted  with  unexampled  deference  by  the 

"  Brave  Peers  of  England— 
The  pillars  of  the  State," 

would  be  accounted  mere  impertinence  in  one  who  had  no  other  claim 
to  be  heard  than  high  lineage,  a  college  education,  and  a  careful  atud? 


1841.]  THE  DUKE'S   ORATORY.  211 

of  the  public  questions  of  the  day.  could  confer.  Mr.  Francis,  in  his 
"  Orators  of  the  Age,"  (1846)  has  well  put  the  causes  of  the  Duke's 
influence  : — 

"  Being  obliged  to  speak,  he  says  no  more  than  the  occasion  abso- 
lutely requires.  He  gives  utterance  to  the  real  sentiments  of  his  mind, 
the  unbiassed  conclusions  suggested  by  a  cool  head  and  an  almost  un- 
paralleled experience.  You  can  see  at  once  that  this  is  done  without 
effort,  and,  above  all,  without  any  desire  for  effect.  It  is  a  labour  of 
duty,  not  of  love.  It  is  not  sought  by  him,  yet  he  is  ready  when 
called  on.  Having  said  his  say,  he  seems  relieved  of  an  unpleasant 
load,  and  sits  down  abruptly  as  he  rose,  indifferent  whether  what  he 
has  delivered  has  pleased  or  displeased  his  audience.  These,  it  is  quite 
unnecessary  to  say,  are  not  the  characteristics  of  professed  orators. 
Yet  the  Duke  will  produce,  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Lords,  per- 
chance, a  more  permanent  effect,  than  the  most  ingenious  and  eloquent 
of  them  all. 

"  The  agencies  by  which  his  influence  works  on  the  legislature  and 
the  public  are  of  a  far  higher  order.  Look  at  the  moral  weight  he 
brings  with  him.  With  a  reputation  already  historical,  what  man  of 
the  day,  be  he  even  the  greatest,  can  command  the  respect  which  his 
mere  presence  inspires  ?  It  may  seem  a  trifle,  but  it  is  one  pregnant 
with  deep  meaning,  that  the  only  individual  in  this  country,  except 
the  members  of  the  royal  family,  to  whom  all  men,  the  highest  and 
the  lowest,  uncover  themselves  in  the  public  highway,  is  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  If  the  vulgar,  the  indifferent,  the  triflers,  the  ignorant, 
pay  this  homage  to  him  where  no  homage  is  due  to  any  man,  shall 
not  the  same  sentiment  prevail  within  the  walls  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  among  those  whose  privileges  and  social  pre-eminence  rest  upon 
hereditary  gratitude  ? 

"  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  his  place  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
stands  apart  from,  and  above,  all  the  other  peers.  There  may  be  men 
of  more  ancient  lineage  ;  there  are  certainly  men  of  more  command- 
ing and  brilliant  talents  of  the  sort  that  captivate  an  assembly,  whether 
composed  of  the  high  or  the  low ;  but  he  transcends  them  all  in  the 
possession  of  that  power  which  is  created  by  a  voluntary  intellectual 
submission.  Plain,  unpretending,  venerable  as  he  is,  he  seems  encircled 
by  an  atmosphere  of  glory.  All  physical  defects,  all  the  infirmities 
of  age,  are  lost  in  the  light  of  his  great  fame.  He  seems  already  to 
belong  to  the  past,  and  to  speak  with  its  authority.  Often  oracular 
in  his  denunciations  and  in  his  decisions,  strange  to  say,  those  who 
hear  him  seem  to  believe  that  he  is  so. 

"  And  it  is  not  among  pigmies  that  he  is  thus  morally  a  giant.    The 


212  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1841. 

deference  and  respect  paid  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  the  House 
of  Lords  come  from  men  of  the  highest  order  of  minds.  Neither 
political  differences  nor  personal  vanities  interpose  any  obstacle  to  its 
free  expression.  Powerful  and  successful  orators  and  statesmen,  aris- 
tocratic demagogues,  grave  lawyers  and  erratic  law-givers,  whatever 
may  be  their  mutual  jealousies  or  their  customary  arrogance,  all  yield 
at  once  to  his  moral  supremacy.  The  man  of  the  present  day  who 
stands  next  to  him  in  extent,  if  not  the  quality  of  his  fame,  he  who 
is  distinguished  among  his  contemporaries  not  more  for  his  parlia- 
mentary and  political  successes  than  for  his  mental  and  moral  insub- 
ordination,— he,  too,  ostentatiously  proclaims  himself  the  devoted  ad- 
mirer and  follower  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  homage  is  too 
universal  not  to  be  sincere. 

"  It  is  this  moral  weight  or  influence  that  gives  to  the  public  speak- 
ing of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  its  chief  characteristics.  He  can 
speak  with  an  authority  which  no  other  man  would  dare  to  assume, 
and  which,  if  assumed  by  any  other  man,  would  not  be  submitted  to. 
For  the  same  reason,  he  can  dispense  with  all  the  explanation  and 
apology  which  so  often  render  the  speeches  of  other  men  ridiculous. 
He  has  no  need  of  a  hypocritical  humility,  or  an  affected  desire 
of  abstinence  from  that  great  necessity  of  politicians — speech-mak- 
ing. He  knows  both  that  he  is  expected  to  speak,  and  that  what  he 
has  to  say  will  be  held  to  be  of  value.  He  knows  that  no  de- 
cision will  be  come  to  till  he  has  been  heard,  and  that  the  chances 
are  in  favour  of  his  opinion  prevailing  even  with  those  opposed  to 
him,  unless  the  current  of  political  feeling  should  happen  at  the  time 
to  run  very  strongly  indeed.  These  incumbrances  of  ordinary  speak- 
ers being  cast  aside,  the  Duke  can  afford  to  run  at  once  full  tilt  at 
the  real  question  in  dispute.  To  see  him  stripping  the  subject  of  all 
extraneous  and  unnecessary  adjuncts,  until  he  exposes  it  to  his  hear- 
ers in  its  real  and  natural  proportions,  is  a  very  rich  treat.  He 
scents  a  fallacy  afar  off,  and  hunts  it  down  at  once  without  mercy. 
He  has  certain  constitutional  principles  which  with  him  are  real 
standards.  He  measures  propositions  or  opinions  by  these  stand- 
ards, and  as  they  come  up  to  the  mark  or  fall  short  of  it,  so  are 
they  accepted  or  disposed  of  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  he  carries  this 
inflexible  system  too  far,  and  has  afterwards  to  retract ;  but  it  is 
remarkable  for  a  man  who  has  wielded  such  authority,  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  implicit  deference  for  so  many  years,  and  whose  mental 
organisation  is  so  stern  and  steadfast,  how  few  prejudices  he  has. 
Even  these  will  always  yield  to  necessity,  often  to  reason.  If  he  be 
sometimes  dogmatical,  the  fault  is  less  his  than  of  those  who  lead 


1S41.J  THE   DUKE'S   MORAL   INFLUENCE.  213 

him  into  this  natural  error,  when  their  respect  deters  them  from  even 
reminding  him  that  he  is  fallible. 

"  Self-reliance  and  singleness  of  purpose  induce  in  him  vigour  of 
thought  and  simplicity  of  diction.  This  simplicity,  which  is  not 
confined  to  the  language  only,  but  extends  to  the  operation  of  the 
mind,  is  unique.  You  meet  nothing  like  it  in  any  other  man  now 
prominently  before  the  public.  There  is  a  vigorous  economy  of 
both  thoughts  and  words.  As  a  speaker  and  as  a  general,  the  Duke 
equally  disencumbers  himself  of  unnecessary  agents.  He  is  as  little 
fond  of  rhetorical  flourishes  or  declamatory  arts  as  he  was  of  useless 
troops.  Every  word  does  its  work.  Simple,  sound,  sterling  Saxon, 
he  seems  to  choose  by  instinct,  as  hitting  hardest  with  least  show. 
Sometimes,  this  self-reliance  and  simplicity  degenerate  into  an 
abruptness  almost  rude.  Then  the  simplicity  would  almost  appear 
affected,  but  that  the  Duke  is  wholly  incapable  of  that  culpable 
weakness. 

"  With  all  his  apparent  simplicity  and  rigidity,  no  man  more 
thoroughly  keeps  pace  with  his  age  than  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
He  unites  great  shrewdness  of  perception  and  readiness  of  observa- 
tion, with  a  disposition  steadfastly  to  adhere  to  what  is,  rather  than 
to  yield  to  what  has  not  been  tried.  If  he  rarely  rejects  a  theory,  he 
as  rarely  adopts  one,  because  it  is  new.  He  is  not  fond  of  theories, 
except  those  which  the  past  and  the  experience  of  long  practice  have 
sanctioned.  He  individualises  everything  as  much  as  he  can.  He 
prefers  a  small  benefit,  that  is  specific  and  real,  to  the  most  magnifi- 
cent promises.  The  chief  characteristic  of  his  mind  is  common 
sense  ;  but  it  is  of  a  very  uncommon  sort.  It  becomes  a  kind  of 
practical  philosophy.  He  requires  so  much  per  cent,  deposit  for 
every  share  in  the  joint-stock  of  modern  wisdom.  Perhaps  he  some- 
times pushes  these  peculiarities  too  far.  The  prejudices  of  so  power- 
ful a  man  may  sometimes  become  a  great  national  obstruction.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  that  there  should  be  some  men  of  fixed 
ideas,  to  prevent  the  moral  world  flying  off  out  of  its  appointed 
orbit. 

"  It  is  the  moral  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  the 
position  in  the  country  which  his  great  services  have  secured  for  him, 
that  render  him  so  influential  a  speaker  in  the  House  of  Lords.  It 
is  felt  that  his  speeches  are  not  merely  made  for  a  party  purpose,  but 
that  they  embody  the  experience  of  a  life.  His  sincerity,  and  the 
reliance  you  have  on  his  sagacity,  compensate  for  the  absence  of 
those  graces  of  style  and  manner,  and  that  choice  of  language,  which 


214  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1841. 

are  expected  from  a  public  speaker.  He  usually  sits  in  a  state  of 
abstraction, — his  arms  folded,  his  head  sunk  on  his  breast,  his  legs 
stretched  out :  he  seems  to  be  asleep.^  But  in  a  very  few  moments, 
he  shows  that  he  has  not  been  an  inattentive  observer  of  the  debate. 
He  suddenly  starts  up,  advances  (sometimes  with  faltering  steps, 
from  his  advanced  age)  to  the  table,  and,  without  preface  or  prelim- 
inary statement,  dashes  at  once  at  the  real  question  in  dispute.  The 
keenness  with  which  he  detects  it,  and  the  perseverance  of  his  pur- 
suit, are  remarkable  proofs  of  the  unimpaired  vigour  of  his  under- 
standing. Even  with  all  the  physical  feebleness  which  might  be  ex- 
pected at  his  years,  he  entirely  fills  the  House  while  he  speaks.  His 
utterance  is  very  indistinct ;  yet  by  a  strong  effort  of  the  will  he 
makes  himself  clearly  heard  and  understood,  even  though  to  do  so 
he  may  have  to  repeat  whole  portions  of  sentences.  Not  a  point 
of  the  discourse  escapes  him  ;  and  the  most  vigorous  debater  often 
finds  the  weakness  of  his  argument,  however  cleverly  masked,  sud- 
denly detected  and  exposed.  Some  of  the  short,  terse,  pointed  sen- 
tences, fall  with  a  force  on  the  House  the  more  remarkable  for  the 
contrast  of  the  matter  with  the  manner.  The  speeches  as  a  whole, 
though  always  extremely  brief  in  comparison  with  those  of  more  elab- 
orate debaters,  strike  the  hearer  with  surprise  for  their  sustained 
tone,  the  consistency  of  their  argument,  and  a  kind  of  natural 
symmetry,  the  necessary  consequence  of  their  being  the  sincere 
and  spontaneous  development  of  a  strong  mind  and  a  determined 
purpose." 

The  occasions  on  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  held  it  his  duty  to 
speak  in  his  place  in  Parliament  in  1841,  were  neither  numerous  nor 
exciting.  His  speeches  were  rather  incidental  than  directed  to  the 
accomplishment  of  any  piece  of  State  policy.  He  offered  opinions, 
but  did  not  employ  his  eloquence  to  carry  public  measures.  For 
instance,  with  reference  to  some  French  naval  proceedings  in  South 
America  and  the  Pacific,  he  referred  to  the  importance  of  our  pre- 
serving a  good  understanding  with  France  ;  he  praised  the  capture 
of  St.  Jean  d'Acre  in  Syria  (upon  the  occasion  of  a  misunderstand- 
ing with  the  Egyptian  Pacha)  as  the  greatest  deed  of  modern 
times — almost  the  only  instance  on  record  of  ships  of  war  alone 
capturing  a  fort  ;  he  expressed  his  disapprobation  of  Australian 
commissions  ;    protested    against    the    evils    of    reducing    warlike 

1  We  have  seen  a  very  beautiful  statuette,  iu  Parian  porcelain,  executed  by  Mr.  Forrester,  and 
published  by  Messrs.  Sharpus,  of  Cockspur  Street,  Charing  Cross — representing  the  Duke  in  the 
attitude  here  described.  It  is  one  of  tho  very  few  statuettes  which  can  be  confidently  accepted 
for  its  fidelity. 


1841.]  THE   CABUL  CATASTROPHE.  215 

establishments,  especially  illustrating  them  by  the  state  of  British 
affairs  in  China ;  denounced  Irish  Poor-law  commissioners  for  failing 
to  do  their  duty  in  terms  of  the  Irish.  Poor-law  Bill ;  upheld  the 
Corn-laws,  as  calculated  to  support  the  agriculture  of  England,  and 
render  her  independent  of  other  nations  ;  and  disputed  their  con- 
nection with  the  increase  in  the  imports  of  cotton,  which  he  rather 
ascribed  to  the  operation  of  steam  machinery. 

The  expedition  to  Affghanistan  alluded  to  in  the  narrative  of  the 
affairs  of  1839,  after  completing  its  objects,  endured  a  horrible  fate 
in  the  annihilation  of  the  entire  force  by  the  Affghans  and  the  moun- 
tain tribes,  in  1841.  An  insurrection,  it  appears,  took  place,  and,  in 
an  unguarded  moment,  the  British  force  was  surprised  and  blockaded  ; 
and  upon  its  subsequent  permitted  evacuation  of  Cabul,  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  it  fell  a  prey  to  the  vengeance  and  treachery  of  the 
Affghans. 

Before  the  news  of  the  massacre  had  reached  England,  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  was  consulted  as  to  the  propriety  of  occupying  the 
country,  and  he  then  took  a  view  of  the  position  of  the  British  troops, 
and  drew  up  the  following  paper  : — 

"  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  letter  from  Mr.  Macnaghten  to  the 
Secretary  to  the  Government  in  India,  without  being  sensible  of  the 
precarious  and  dangerous  position  of  our  affairs  in  Central  Asia. 

"  Mr.  Macnaghten  complains  of  reports  against  the  King,  Shah 
Soojah  Khan,  and  his  Government,  as  libels. 

"  Of  these  we  can  know  nothing ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  no  com- 
plaints or  libels  can  be  so  strong  as  the  facts  stated  by  Mr.  Mac- 
naghten in  this  letter. 

"  It  appears  that  when  Mr.  Macnaghten  heard  of  the  first  symptoms 
and  first  acts  of  this  rebellion,  he  prevailed  upon  the  King  to  send  a 
message  to  the  rebels,  inviting  them  to  return  to  their  allegiance. 

"  The  selection  of  the  person  sent  is  curious — Humaya  Khan,  the 
Governor  of  Cabul.  '  His  mission  failed,  of  course,'  says  Mr.  Mac- 
naghten, 'because  Humaya  Khan  was  the  chief  instigator  of  the 
rebellion  !' 

"  We  know  in  this  country  something  of  the  customs  of  those 
countries — of  the  meaning  of  some  of  the  native  expressions  in  this 
letter.  It  appears  that  there  are  four  thanahs,  or  posts,  between 
Cabul  and  Gundamuck.  A  thanah  is  either  a  permanent  or  a  tem- 
porary post,  to  guard  a  road  or  district  of  importance.  We  have 
seen  who  the  person  was  selected  to  induce  the  rebels  to  submit ;  let 
us  now  see  who  were  the  "persons  appointed  to  take  charge  of  those 


216  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1S41. 

thanalis  or  posts  in  the  disturbed  country — those  named  in  the  sub- 
sequent part  of  the  despatch  as  the  very  men  who  were  the  leaders 
in  the  rebellion,  in  the  attack,  and  destruction,  and  murder  of  the 
East  India  Company's  officers  and  troops !  No  libels  can  state  facts 
against  the  Affghan  Government  stronger  than  these. 

"  But  Mr.  Macnaghten  has  discovered  that  the  Company's  troops 
are  not  sufficiently  active  personally,  nor  are  they  sufficiently  well 
armed  for  the  war  in  Affghanistan.  Very  possibly  an  Affghan  will 
run  over  his  native  hills  faster  than  an  Englishman  or  a  Hindoo. 
But  we  have  carried  on  war  in  hill  countries,  as  well  in  Hindostau 
and  the  Deccan  as  in  the  Spanish  Peninsula ;  and  I  never  heard  that 
our  troops  were  not  equal,  as  well  in  personal  activity  as  by  their 
arms,  to  contend  with  and  overcome  any  natives  of  hills  whatever. 
Mr.  Macnaghten  ought  to  have  learnt  by  this  time  that  hill  countries 
are  not  conquered,  and  their  inhabitants  kept  in  subjection,  solely  by 
running  up  the  hills  and  firing  at  long  distances.  The  whole  of  a  hill 
country,  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  keep  possession,  particularly  for 
the  communication  of  the  army,  should  be  occupied  by  sufficient 
bodies  of  troops,  well  supplied,  and  capable  of  maintaining  them- 
selves ;  and  not  only  not  a  Ghilzye,  or  insurgent,  should  be  able  to 
run  up  and  down  hills,  but  not  a  cat  or  a  goat,  except  under  the  fire 
of  those  occupying  the  hills.  This  is  the  mode  of  carrying  on  the 
war,  and  not  by  hiring  Affghans,  with  long  matchlocks,  to  protect  and 
defend  the  communications  of  the  British  army. 

"  Shah  Soojah  Khan  may  have  in  his  service  any  troops  that  he 
and  Mr.  Macnaghten  please ;  but  if  the  troops  in  the  East  India 
Company  are  not  able,  armed  and  equipped  as  they  are,  to  perform 
the  service  required  of  them  in  Central  Asia,  I  protest  against  their 
being  left  in  Affghanistan.  It  will  not  do  to  raise,  pay,  and  discipline 
matchlock-men,  in  order  to  protect  the  British  troops  and  their 
communications,  discovered  by  Mr.  Macnaghten  to  be  no  longer  able 
to  protect  themselves. 

"  Wellington." 


1843.] 


AGITAION  AGAINST  THE   CORN  LAWS. 


211 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


The  Duke  resumes  the  command  of  the  Army— Sessions  of  1843  and  1844— Opinions  on  the  con- 
quest of  Scinde  and  the  recall  of  Lord  Ellenborough— Equestrian  statues  of  the  Duke  raised 
in  the  City  of  London  and  at  Glasgow— The  Queen  visits  the  Duke  at  Strathfleldsaye— The 
Duke's  letters— Accident  to  the  Duke. 

UT  few  periods  of  the  eventful 
life  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
were  less  distinguished  by  ac- 
tivity than  the  two  or  three 
years  which  followed  immedi- 
ately upon  the  resumption  of 
office  by  Sir  Robert  Peel. 

A  violent  agitation  had  com- 
menced in  Manchester  against 
the  Corn  Laws.  Associations 
were  formed  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  especially  in  London 
and  the  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts, for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  getting  rid  of  those 
laws.  Considerable  sums  of  money  were  subscribed  by  opulent 
traders  and  manufacturers  for  the  perfect  organisation  of  an  active 
enmity  to  "  Protection ;"  and  the  agitation  assumed  a  more  formidable 
character  than  any  Catholic  Association  had  done,  because  it  was 
directed  by  strong-minded  men  of  business  habits,  who  found 
disciples  in  every  man  and  woman  in  the  country  who  was  not  a 
grower  of  corn.  The  arguments  of  the  leaders  of  the  Corn  Law 
agitation,  advanced  in  newspapers  expressly  established  under  the 
auspices  of  the  League,  and  in  speeches  from  the  platform  of  every 
hall  and  large  theatre  in  the  United  Kingdom,  were  for  the  most 
part  irrefragable,  and  had  begun  to  operate  upon  the  mind  of  Sir 


■2 IS  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1843. 

Robert  Peel.  Impressed  with  a  belief,  often  expressed,  of  the 
importance  of  maintaining  the  laws  intact,  the  Duke  held  aloof  from 
the  discussion  of  the  subject  with  his  colleagues,  and  hence  we  rarely 
find  him  taking  a  prominent  part  in  public  affairs  during  the  year 
1842.  In  fact,  excepting  when  he  supported  the  Income  Tax  estab- 
lished by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  his  Grace  did  not  speak  in  the  House  of 
Lords  more  than  two  or  three  times  during  the  session. 

There  was  another  motive  for  this  abstinence  from  any  very  active 
participation  in  the  affairs  of  the  country.  The  Duke,  owing  to  the 
illness  of  Lord  Hill,  had  resumed  the  office  of  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  army. 

Lord  Hill  died  in  November,  1842.  From  what  has  been 
said^  of  the  attachment  with  which  he  inspired  the  men  and  officers 
of  the  British  army,  it  may  readily  be  conceived  that  Lord  Hill's 
death  was  productive  of  poignant  regret.  He  had  carried  into  the 
chief  command  all  the  estimable  qualities  which  endeared  him  to  his 
subordinates  and  comrades  in  the  field  ;  and  was  as  watchful  of  the 
honour  and  interests  of  the  army  during  peace,  as  he  had  been 
solicitous  of  its  glory  and  renown  in  the  excitement  and  dangers' 
of  war. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  exercised  the  proud 
command  which  now  again  devolved  upon  him,  and  which  he 
held  uninterruptedly  to  the  last  hour  of  his  life,  is  treated  of 
in  a  later  chapter.  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  official  employ- 
ment influenced  his  tone,  and  gave  additional  prominence  to  his 
position  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  1843 ;  for  we  find  him  frequently 
addressing  the  House  in  the  trenchant  style  of  the  military 
absolutist. 

"  The  Government  of  Lord  Melbourne,"  said  he,  "  carried  on  war 
all  over  the  world  with  a  peace  establishment.  That  is  exactly  what 
we  (Sir  Robert  Peel's  Government)  do  not?'' 

Regarding  the  China  war,  his  Grace  reminded  the  House  that  he 
was  the  only  person  among  the  Peers  who  had  defended  the  local 
officers. 

"  I  said  that  the  war  was  a  just  and  necessary  war.  1  will  go 
further,  and  say  if  it  had  been  otherwise — if  it  had  been  a  war  solely 
on  account  of  the  robbery  of  the  opium — if  her  Majesty's  servants 
were  engaged  in  that  war,  and  if  their  interests  and  honour  were 
involved  in  it,  I  should  have  considered  it  my  duty  to  make  every 
effort  for  carrying  it  on  with  success." 

In  a  passing  allusion  to  the  Indian  array,  a  part  of  which  had  been 

1  Seo  Volume  L  pages  130  and  338. 


1844.]  THE   CONQUEST   OF   SCINDE.  219 

absent    in   Affghanistan,    upon   a   retributive  campaign,    the   Duke 
emphatically  said — 

"All  do  tbeir  duty — all  are  animated  by  the  true  feelings  of 
soldiers." 

And  in  reference  to  certain  large  and  tumultuous  assemblages 
in  Ireland,  held  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  repeal  of  the 
Union,  the  Duke — who  frequently  spoke  against  these  "monster" 
meetings  and  their  object — announced,  with  pleasurable  confidence, 
that — 

"  Everything  that  could  be  done  had  been  done  in  order  to  enable 
the  Government  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  country,  and  to  meet  all 
misfortunes  and  consequences  which  might  result  from  the  violence 
of  the  passions  of  those  men  who  unfortunately  guide  the  multitude 
in  Ireland." 

We  pass  to  the  y^ar  1844.  Affairs  in  India  occupied  more  than 
ordinary  attention  m  the  House  of  Lords  during  this  year.  The 
Ameers  of  Scinde  having,  according  to  the  opinion  of  Lord  Ellen- 
borough  (Governor-General  in  1842),  betrayed  the  interests  of  the 
Anglo-Indian  Government  during  the  expedition  to  Affghanistan, 
Major-General  Sir  Charles  Napier  was  directed  to  demand  satisfac- 
tion, and,  failing  to  obtain  it,  he  attacked  the  Ameers,  who  had 
assembled  a  large  army  at  Meanee,  on  the  heights  of  Dubba  and  at 
Hyderabad,  defeating  them  in  every  case,  and  bringing  the  whole 
principality  of  Scinde  under  British  domination.  This  proceeding 
was  held  by  the  friends  of  the  Ameers,  and  others  who  examined  the 
political  merits  of  the  matter  with  an  impartial  eye,  to  have  been  at 
least  premature,  if  not  altogether  unjustifiable ;  and  papers  were 
called  for  in  Parliament  to  enable  the  Legislature  to  judge  of  the 
question.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Court  of  Directors  of  the  East  India 
Company,  incensed  at  the  conduct  of  Lord  Ellenborough — who  had, 
moreover,  throughout  his  tenure  of  the  government  of  India,  treated 
the  Directors,  his  "  honourable  masters,"  in  a  hcmt  en  has  fashion — 
recalled  the  Governor-General  from  his  post,  and  conferred  the  import- 
ant trust  on  Sir  Henry  Hardinge.  The  whole  subject  coming  before 
Parliament,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  bore  a  high  tribute  to  the 
military  proceedings  of  Sir  Charles  Napier.  "I  must  say,  my  Lords," 
exclaimed  his  Grace,  "  that  after  giving  the  fullest  consideration  to 
these  operations  (in  Scinde)  I  have  never  known  an  instance  of  an 
officer  who  has  shown  in  a  higher  degree  that  he  possesses  all  the 
qualifications  to  enable  him  to  conduct  great  operations.  He  has 
maintained  the  utmost  discretion  and  prudence  in  the  formation  of 
his  plans,  the  utmost  activity  in  all  the  preparations  to  ensure  his 


220  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON  [1844. 

success,  and,  finally,  the  utmost  zeal,  gallantry,  and  science,  in  carrying 
them  into  execution." 

The  recall  of  Lord  Ellenborough,  for  whom  the  Duke  had  long  en- 
tertained a  personal  friendship,  and  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Government  under  the  Duke's  and  Sir  Robert  Peel's  administration, 
was  regarded  by  the  Duke  as  an  act  of  "  indiscretion^^  on  the  part  of 
the  East  India  Company.  His  grace  did  not  doubt  their  power,  but 
he  questioned  the  prudence  of  their  acting  in  so  serious  a  matter 
without  consulting  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  the  affairs  of 
India.  He  contended  that  the  Directors  could  not  have  been  aware 
of  the  secret  instruction  sent  out  to  Lord  Ellenborough,  and,  for  all 
they  knew,  they  might  be  imposing  upon  him  a  severe  penalty  for 
simply  carrying  out  instructions. 

The  Duke's  friendship  had  more  influence  than  his  judgment  in 
the  examination  he  bestowed  upon  the  subject  of  the  recall,  and  it  is 
now  matter  of  notoriety  that  his  Grace  lived  to  consider  Lord 
Ellenborough  (who  was  elevated  to  an  Earldom,  by  way  of  a  salve,  on 
his  return  to  England),  a  most  indiscreet  and  intemperate  ruler. 
He,  who  in  his  Parliamentary  speeches  the  Duke  was  accustomed  to 
allude  to  as  his  '■'■  noble  friend,"  degenerated  into  "  the  noble  lord 
behind "  him ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  Conservatives,  who  held 
power  until  1846,  and  afterwards  resumed  the  reins  of  office  in  1852, 
evinced  no  desire  to  accept  Lord  Ellenborough,  once  the  strongest  of 
their  party,  as  a  colleague. 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  February  (1844),  the  Duke  had 
another  of  those  attacks  to  which  reference  has  been  already  made. 
Returning  to  Apsley  House  from  his  afternoon  ride,  he  was  observed 
to  fall  down  upon  the  neck  of  his  horse,  just  as  he  had  reached  his 
own  door.  Two  gentlemen  passing  ran  to  his  assistance,  and  he  was 
conveyed  in  their  arms  into  Apsley  House,  in  a  state  of  total 
unconsciousness. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1844,  the  equestrian  statue  of  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  for  which  the  sum  of  9000/.  had  been  subscribed 
by  the  citizens  of  London  (the  metal,  valued  at  1500/.,  having  been 
given  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer),'  was  inaugurated.  Its 
execution  had  been  entrusted  to  Sir  Francis  Chantrey  (the  most 
distinguished  British  sculptor  of  the  age)  in  the  year  1839,  and  was 
to  have  been  completed  and  fixed  by  1843.  Chantrey  dying  after 
the  model  had  been  prepared,  the  work  was  completed  by  his  assistant, 
Mr.  Weeks,  under  the  direction  of  the  executors.  The  inauguration 
took  place  upon  the  occasion  of   the  King  of  Saxony's  visit  to  the 

1  The  metal  was  composed  of  guns  taken  from  the  French  in  the  Duke's  campaigns. 


1844.]  THE  STATUE  IN  THE  CITY.  221 

City.  The  statue  was  placed  in  front  of  the  Rojal  Exchange,  facing 
the  west.  It  had  been  Sir  Francis  Chantrey's  wish  that  the  statue 
should  face  the  south,  in  order  that  it  might  have  had  the  advantage 
of  the  sun  ;  and  to  attain  this  object  the  more  completely,  the  upper 
story  of  the  Mansion-house  had  been  removed.  The  committee, 
however,  came  to  the  resolution  that  as  the  front  of  the  Royal 
Exchange  faced  the  west,  it  would  be  preposterous  to  turn  the  face  of 
the  statue  away  from  that  direction,  and  they  accordingly  came  to 
the  unanimous  conclusion  that  the  Duke  should  front  Cheapside. 
The  statue  is  handsome,  and  may,  perhaps  be  considered  the  very 
best  of  the  equestrians  that  adorns  the  British  metropolis.  The 
horse  is  correctly,  gracefully,  and  at  the  same  time  boldly  formed ;  the 
attitude  of  rest  in  which  it  stands  being  well  qualified  by  the  appear- 
ance of  life  and  animal  energy  in  the  swollen  veins,  the  distended 
nostrils,  and  the  flowing  mane  of  the  horse.'  The  portrait  of  the 
Duke  is  admirable,  while  his  position  on  the  horse  is  as  easy  and 
unembarrassed  as  the  absence  of  stirrups  renders  possible.  The  least 
satisfactory  part  of  the  work  is  the  indefinite  character  of  the  costume, 
which  is  neither  quite  antique  nor  quite  modern.  At  the  inaugura- 
tion some  thousands  of  persons  assembled  ;    and  Mr.  R.   L.  Jones 

1  As  to  the  quiescent  attitude  of  the  horse  in  this,  and  two  other  equestrian  statues  by  the  same 
sculptor,  some  revelations  occur  in  Jones's  "Recollections  of  Chantrey,"  which  are  worth 
quoting.    The  passage  runs  as  follows: — 

"  When  George  1\.  was  sitting  to  Chantrey,  he  required  the  sculptor  to  give  him  an  idea  of  an 
equestrian  statue  to  commemorate  him,  which  Chantrey  accomplished  at  a  succeeding  inter- 
Tiew  by  placing  in  the  Sovereign's  hand  a  number  of  small  equestrian  figures,  drawn  carefully 
on  thick  paper,  and  resembling,  in  number  and  material,  a  pack  of  cards.  These  sketches 
pleased  the  King  very  much,  who  turned  them  over  and  over,  expressing  his  surprise  that  such 
a  variety  could  be  produced ;  and,  after  a  thousand  fluctuations  of  opinion — sometimes  for  a 
prancing  steed,  sometimes  a  trotter,  then  for  a  neighing  or  starting  charger — his  Majesty  at  length 
resolved  on  a  horse  standing  still,  as  the  most  dignified  for  a  king.  Chantrey  probably  led  to 
this,  as  he  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  four  legs  being  on  the  ground.  He  had  a  quiet  and 
convincing  manner  of  satisfying  persons  of  the  propriety  of  that,  which,  from  reflection,  he 
judged  to  be  preferable.  Chantrey's  friend,  Lord  Egremont,  was  of  the  same  opinion ;  for,  in 
writing  to  the  sculptor,  he  said, '  I  am  glad  your  horse  is  not  walking  off  his  pedestal,  which 
looks  more  like  a  donkey  than  a  sensible  horse.'  Chantrey  wished  in  this  instance  for  a 
quiet  or  standing  horse ;  but  he  determined,  if  he  ever  executed  another  portrait,  to  represent 
the  horse  in  the  act  of  pawing,  not  from  the  conviction  of  its  being  a  better  attitude,  but  for  the 
sake  of  variety,  and  to  convince  the  public  that  he  could  do  one  as  well  as  the  other ;  for, 
whenever  his  works  were  censured,  it  always  was  for  heaviness  or  want  of  action,  which  is 
rather  surprising  considering  the  energetic  and  speaking  statue  of  Grattan." 

"  M.-in  proposes— but— "—we  all  know  the  rest.  The  next  equestrian  statue  which  Chantrey 
ujidertook  was  that  for  the  City  of  London,  now  in  question,  and  he  still  stuck  to  the  quiet 
horse.  Mr.  Jones,  In  his  little  brochure  already  referred  to,  states,  on  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Cimningham,  that  the  Duke  once  went  to  see  thjs  equestrian  statue  (previous  to  its  being  sent 
out  to  India),  when  he  remarked :— "  A  very  fine  horse ;"  after  a  pause,  "  a  very  fine  statue ;" 
and  again,  after  another  pause,  "  and  a  very  extraordinary  man  I " 


222  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE  OF  WELLE^GTON.  [1844 

addressed  the  spectators.  He  did  not  descant  upon  a  theme  so 
familiar  to  the  public  as  the  transcendent  merits  of  the  Duke, — 
he  rather  referred  to  the  claims  his  Grace  had  established  upon  the 
gratitude  of  the  citizens  of  London  by  promoting  the  improvements 
and  embellishments  which  the  visitors  to  our  great  city  look  at  with 
wonder ;  and  it  was  this  feeling  of  thankfulness  to  which  they  were 
determined  to  give  effect  in  a  way  which  posterity  would  be  well  able 
to  appreciate,  and  would  leave  an  example  worthy  of  imitation. 
Mr.  Jones  added  a  fact  not  generally  known  :  that  it  was  the  first 
equestrian  bronze  statue  which  ever  had  been  raised  during  the  life 
of  the  person  represented. 

The  statue  is  14  feet  in  height  from  the  foot  of  the  horse  to  the 
top  of  the  head  of  the  Duke ;  and  it  rests  upon  a  granite  pedestal  also 
14  feet  high. 


STATUE  I>"   FRONT   OF   THE    EOYAL    EXCHANGE. 

Singularly  enough,  in  the  same  year  an  equestrian  statue  of  the 
Duke  was  erected  in  Glasgow.  It  originated  "  in  a  resolution  passed 
at  an  influential  public  meeting,  in  the  spring  of  1840  ;  and  within  a 
few  months  the  subscriptions  amounted  to  nearly  10,000/.  A  depu- 
tation of  the  subscribers  then  waited  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
at  Apsley  House,  and  communicated  their  intention  to  his  Grace." 
In  this  case  the  artist  employed  was  not  an  Englishman  ;  and,  pend- 
ing the  deliberations  upon  the  subject,  Chantrey  appears  to  have 
become  early  aware  of  that  fact,  and  writes,  under  date  May  19,  1840, 
to  Miss  Moore — "  Tell  papa  that  the  Duke  has  discovered  that  in 


1844.]  THE  STATUE  IN  GLASGOW.  223 

England,  or  even  in  Scotland,  no  artist  can  be  found  worthy  of  the 
Glasgow  commission :  that  it  must  be  offered  to  Thorwaldsen  of 
Rome.  If  Thorwaldsen  should  not  be  able  to  cast  it,  what  then? 
No  matter ! " 

As  to  the  appointment  of  Thorwaldsen,  however,  the  English 
sculptor  was  mistaken — a  French  artist  was  resorted  to.  On  the 
30th  of  November,  1841,  the  acting  committee  rosolved  to  nominate 
Charles,  Baron  Marochetti,  of  Vaux,  in  the  Department  of  Seine-et- 
Oise,  in  France,  as  the  artist  to  design  and  erect  the  statue,  with  the 
illustrative  bas-reliefs  on  the  pedestal,  representing  the  battles  of 
Assaye  and  Waterloo.  The  inauguration  took  place  on  the  8th  of 
October,  1844,  in  presence  of  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  Neil  Douglas, 
Commander  of  the  Forces,  &c. 

In  this  statue,  also,  the  horse  is  quiescent,  the  moment  being  that 
when,  as  if  having  just  come  to  a  state  of  repose,  he  seems  as  if 
listening  to  some  distant  sound. 


The  head  is  that  of  an  Arab,  with  the  broad  forehead  and  wide 
nostrils,  and  is  standing  with  fore  foot  a  little  in  advance,  in  an  easy 
posture,  the  reins  lying  slack.  The  position  of  the  Duke  is  that  of  a 
General  reviewing  his  troops.  The  likeness  is  taken  when  the  Duke 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  the  hero  being  dressed  in  the  frock  coat  of 
a  Field  Marshal,  with  his  different  orders.  The  bas-reliefs  on  the 
south  and  north  sides  of  the  pedestal  represent  the  first  and  last 

2e 


224  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1845. 

victories  of  the  Duke,  namely,  that  of  Assaye,  fought  on  the  23rd  of 
September,  1803,  and  Waterloo,  18th  of  June,  1815.  Two  small 
bas-reliefs  on  the  east  and  west  ends  of  the  pedestal  represent  the 
soldier's  return,  and  the  soldier  at  the  plough  after  all  his  labours,  and 
after  having  saved  his  country  from  the  inroad  of  the  foe. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1845,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  an 
opportunity  of  displaying  his  "  dutiful  hospitality  "  to  his  Sovereign 
and  her  amiable  consort  at  his  modest  abode  at  Strathfieldsaye,  in 
Hampshire.  Her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  remained  the  usual  time 
prescribed  by  etiquette  for  royal  visits  to  illustrious  subjects.  Three 
days  were  thus  consumed — the  first  in  arrival — the  second  in  repose — 
the  third  in  departure.  The  reception  of  the  Queen  throughout  the 
county  was  joyous  in  the  extreme,  and  the  Duke  exercised  the 
grateful  oflSce  of  host  in  a  manner  peculiarly  his  own.  Five  apart- 
ments were  assigned  to  the  Royal  party,  and  people  of  the  first 
consideration  in  the  county  were  invited  to  the  banquets  upon  the 
first  and  second  days.  After  dinner,  upon  the  20th,  the  Queen  sat 
in  the  library,  and  was  much  interested  in  the  very  remarkable  and 
numerous  collection  of  old  and  modern  prints  which  were  hung  all 
over  the  walls.  On  the  following  day,  the  Duke,  after  escorting  the 
Prince  Consort  and  some  friends  upon  a  shooting  excursion,  in  which 
the  venerable  chief  himself  brought  down  several  head  of  game — con- 
ducted her  Majesty  to  the  residence  of  Sir  John  Cope,  Brownhill 
House — a  place  remarkable  for  its  unique  antiquity.  The  house  was 
designed  for  Prince  Henry,  the  son  of  James  I.  On  the  following 
day  the  royal  party  returned  to  Windsor. 

A  more  exact  account  of  the  royal  visit  to  Strathfieldsaye  might 
have  been  given  than  is  extant  in  the  papers  of  the  day  had  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  followed  the  example  of  other  members  of  the  aristo- 
cracy, and  admitted  the  reporters  of  the  London  press  to  any  part 
of  the  sanctuary.  But  his  Grace,  apart  from  his  general  aversion  to 
hold  communication  with  the  "  gentlemen  of  the  press,"  deemed  it  unbe- 
coming in  him  to  allow  the  royal  privacy  to  be,  as  he  considered  it 
would,  rudely  disturbed.  To  an  application  from  a  reporter  for  admis- 
sion, he  delivered  the  following  characteristic  reply : — 

"  Field-Marshal  the  Duke  of  Wellington  presents  his  compliments 

to  Mr. ,  and  begs  to  say  that  he  does  not  see  what  his  house  at 

Strathfieldsaye  has  to  do  with  the  public  press." 

The  terms  of  this  note  are  rude  enough  in  all  conscience,  and 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they  were  habitual.    Probably  no   man 


1845.]  '  THE  DUKE'S  NOTES.  225 

wrote  a  greater  number  of  notes  than  the  Duke.  His  politeness 
induced  him  to  reply  to  all  letters  that  were  addressed  to  him  •  and 
as  the  tone  of  the  replies  was  uniform,  the  recipients  were  accustomed 
to  send  copies  of  them  to  the  newspapers  for  the  amusement  of  the 
public.  Sometimes  the  notes  were  written  by  Mr.  Greville,  the 
Duke's  secretary,  who  had  learnt  to  imitate  his  writing  as  well  as  his 
style  ;  but  the  holders — many  of  whom  wrote  for  the  mere  purpose 
of  obtaining  an  autograph  reply — believed  the  notes  of  Mr.  Greville 
to  be  the  bona  fide  productions  of  the  Duke,  and  were  punished  for 
the  trouble  they  gave  in  the  deception  innocently  enough  practised 
upon  them.  Some  of  the  notes  addressed  to  the  Duke  were  absurd 
and  impertinent,  and  deserved  the  check  conveyed  in  the  reply  ;  but 
more  frequently  they  were  penned  in  ignorance  of  the  character  of 
the  Duke,  and  in  a  spirit  of  good  faith.  A  few  of  these  will  serve  to 
illustrate  at  once  the  nature  of  the  applications  with  which  his  Grace 
was  pestered,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  disposed  of  them. 

The  following  appeared  in  the  "  Banner  of  Ulster."  It  was 
addressed  to  a  gentleman  residing  near  Belfast,  who  at  the  time  of 
its  receipt  was  not  a  little  annoyed  at  the  curt  phraseology  of  his 
illustrious  correspondent : — 

TO  FIELD-MARSHAL  THE  DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  May  it  please  your  Grace, — I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  requesting 
your  opinion, — Was  '  Napoleon '  guilty  or  not  of  the  murder  of  his 
prisoners  at  Jaffa,  and  if  there  is  any  military  law  or  circumstance 
that  would  justify  the  deed  ? 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"J.  H." 

REPLY. 
"  F.  M.  the   Duke    of  Wellington   presents    his   compliments   to 
Mr.  H.      He  has  also  received  Mr.    H.'s  letter,  and  begs  leave  to 
inform  him  he  is  not  the  historian  of  the  wars  of  the  French  Republic 
in  Egypt  and  Syria." 

A  letter  addressed  to  the  Duke  with  a  printed  circular  proposed 
the  establishment  of  a  Trade  Society  on  a  new  plan.  The  Duke 
replied : — 

"  F.  M.  the  Dukft   of  Wellington   presents   his   compliments    to 

Mr.  .     He   has   received  his  letter  and   the  enclosed.     The 

Duke  begs  leave  to  decline  to  have  any  relation  with  the  committee 

VOL.  II.  16 


226  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1845 

of  the .     He  may  give  his  money  in  charity,  but  he  will  not 

become  in  any  manner  responsible  for  the  distribution  of  money 
received." 

A  tradesman  wrote  requesting  payment  of  an  account  of  the 
Marquis  of  Douro's.  then  on  the  continent.  He  received  the  annexed 
answer : — 

"  F.  M.  the  Duke  of  Wellington  presents  his  compliments  to 
Mr.  G.  The  Duke  is  not  the  coilecter  of  the  Marquis  of  Douro's 
debts." 

During  a  mania  for  the  establishment  of  joint-stock  railway  com- 
panies, the  Duke  was  asked  for  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  patron  or 
committee-man.     His  Grace  answered : — 

"  F.  M.  the  Duke  of  Wellington  presents  his  compliments.  He 
begs  to  decline  allowing  the  use  of  his  name,  or  giving  his  opinion  of 
the  proposed  line  of  railway,  of  which  he  knows  nothing." 

Innumerable  applications  were  made  to  the  Duke  to  become  a 
subscriber  to  books,  or  to  allow  of  their  being  dedicated  to  him ;  but 
to  all  he  wrote : — 

"  The  Duke  begs  to  decline  to  give  his  name  as  a  subscriber  to  the 
book  in  question ;  but  if  he  learns  that  it  is  a  good  book,  he  may 
become  a  purchaser." 

Books  were  habitually  refused  acceptance  at  Apsley  House.  A 
literary  gentleman  had  recommended  to  the  Duke  the  perusal  of  a 
work  recently  published,  and  was  requested  to  send  it.  This  he  did 
several  times,  and  as  often  was  it  refused  acceptance.  Seeing  the 
Duke  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  he  referred  to  the  subject ;  whereupon 
the  Duke  observed  : — "  If  I  were  to  take  in  all  the  trash  sent  to  me, 
I  might  furnish  a  store-room  as  large  as  the  British  Museum." 
After  writing  a  few  words,  he  added  : — "  Stick  that  on  the  outside, 
and  I'll  get  it."  This  was  his  own  name  and  address,  written  by 
himself.  So  to  ensure  delivery,  it  was  necessary  to  have  his  own 
endorsement. 

A  meeting  had  been  held  in  Edinburgh  to  vote  an  address  to  the 

House  of  Lords.     Mr.  C ,  the  chairman,  who  was  entrusted  with 

its  despatch  to  the  Duke,  took  the  opportunity  of  expressing  his 
pleasure  at  hearing  of  the  Duke's  convalescence,  for  his  Grace  had 
been  ill.     Here  is  the  reply  to  Mr.  C . 

''  F.  M.   the    Duke  of  Wellington   presents   his   compliments   to 


1845.]  ACCIDENT  TO  THE   DUKE.  227 

Mr.  C.  The  D.  returns  thanks  for  Mr.  C.'s  good  wishes.  The  Duke 
will  not  long  be  convalescent  or  in  existence,  if  he  is  to  undertake  to 
manage  the  whole  business  of  the  presentation  of  petitions  from  every 
village  in  the  country  from  Johnny  Groat's  House  to  the  Land's  End. 
The  Duke  begs  leave  to  decline  to  present  to  the  House  of  Lords 
petitions  from  individuals  of  whom,  or  from  communities  of  which,  he 
has  no  knowledge.     The  Duke  begs  leave  to  return  the  petition." 

One  more.  The  Duke  had  been  applied  to  by  a  person  to  recom- 
mend him  for  some  office. 

"  London,  184 — . 

"  F.  M.    the   Duke  of  Wellington   presents   his   compliments   to 

Mr.  M'D .     The  Duke  cannot  recommend  him  to  the  office,  for 

he  knows  nothing  of  him  or  his  family.  The  Duke's  leisure  ought 
not  to  be  wasted  by  having  to  peruse  such  applications." 

All  these  are  in  sufficiently  bad  taste,  and  from  the  frequency  of 
their  appearance  they  conveyed  an  idea  to  the  public  mind  that  the 
Duke  was  habitually  brusque — and  perhaps  the  conclusion  had  some 
justification  in  fact.  The  only  excuse  that  can  be  offered  for  the 
discourtesy  of  the  notes  lies  in  the  necessity  his  Grace  was  under  of 
repelling  intrusion,  and  of  checking  the  practice  of  making  public  his 
communications.  If,  thought  he,  people  merely  want  an  autograph, 
they  shall  have  one  which  it  will  give  them  very  little  pleasure  to 
exhibit.  It  would  perhaps  have  been  better  had  he  left  unanswered 
all  that  could  not  be  acknowledged  civilly  at  least. 

Returning  to  the  course  of  our  biography,  we  find  that,  in  the  year 
1845,  a  circumstance  occurred  of  material  interest  in  connection  with 
the  Duke,  because,  while  it  showed  on  how  slight  a  contingency  the  life 
of  the  gi-eatest  man  of  the  age  depended,  it  established  his  sense  of 
duty  to  the  public,  and  his  care  for  the  welfare  of  individuals.  We 
quote  from  a  newspaper  of  the  day  : — 

ACCIDENT  TO   THE   DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"The  Duke  of  Wellington  attended  on  Saturday  (4th  May,  1845) 
at  the  Marlborough  Street  Police  Court,  for  the  purpose  of  preferring 
a  charge  of  furious  driving,  whereby  his  life  was  endangered,  against 
Henry  Woods,  driver  of  one  of  the  carriers'  carts.  To  prevent 
inconvenience  to  his  Grace  from  the  crowd  which  his  appearance 
would  attract  to  this  court,  the  summons  was  so  arranged  as  to  take 
precedence  of  the  night  charges.      At   half-past  eleven  o'clock  his 


228  LIFE   OF   THE  DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1845. 

Grace,  accompanied  by  Lord  Charles  Fitzroy  Somerset  and  Mr. 
Mayne,  entered  the  court.  His  Grace  having  been  sworn,  said — I 
was  walking,  on  Tuesday  last,  between  two  and  three  o'clock,  in  Park 
Lane,  on  the  left-hand  side,  going  out  of  Piccadilly,  and  when  near 
the  Duchess  of  Gloucester's  house,  a  very  heavy  four-wheeled  cart 
passed  me.  I  endeavoured  to  cross  the  lane,  to  get  to  the  pavement 
on  the  other  side,  under  the  protection  of  this  heavy  cart ;  I  got  as 
far  as  the  right-hand  wheel  of  the  cart,  keeping  the  cart  at  my  left 
hand,  when  I  found  myself  struck  on  the  shoulder,  anU  knocked 
forward.  It  was  a  severe  blow,  and  I  found  it  had  been  given  by 
another  cart,  the  driver  of  which  did  not  attempt  to  give  me  warning 
by  calling  out,  until  he  had  struck  me.  I  did  not  fall ;  if  I  had,  I 
must  have  been  under  the  wheels  of  both  carts.  Now,  I  have  no 
further  complaint  to  make  against  the  man  at  the  bar  who  drove  the 
cart,  than  that  he  was  going  at  such  a  monstrous  pace  that  he  had  no 
control  over  his  horse  ;  indeed,  he  came  along  so  fast,  that  he  got  the 
whole  length  of  Park  Lane  without  my  having  perceived  him  ;  and 
the  pace  he  was  going  at  was  such,  that  it  was  impossible  he  could 
stop  his  horse.  This  is  my  complaint ;  and  I  bring  it  forward  on 
public  grounds,  because  I  think  it  is  not  right  that  carriages 
should  go  along  in  the  public  streets  at  this  great  rate.  The  cart  by 
which  I  was  struck  was  a  heavy,  tilted  cart ;  the  driver  was  under  the 
tilt.  My  groom  was  behind  with  my  horses,  and  I  called  him  and 
desired  him  to  follow  the  cart.  My  groom  trotted  as  hard  as  he 
could,  but  was  unable  to  overtake  the  cart  until  he  got  as  far  as 
South  Strand.  This  will  prove  the  rapid  pace  at  which  the  driver  of 
the  cart  was  going. 

"  The  defendant  said  he  was  truly  sorry  at  what  had  occurred,  but 
he  declared  the  whole  circumstance  was  accidental.  He  saw  a  gentle- 
man about  to  cross  the  road,  and  he  called  out  to  warn  him ;  but  he 
was  not  aware  that  he  had  touched  any  one.  He  was  not  going  at 
very  great  speed,  for  his  horse  was  an  old  one,  and  could  not  accom- 
plish more  than  seven  miles  an  hour  ;  and  at  the  time  when  he  passed 
his  Grace,  he  was  going  up  hill.  His  attention  was  directed  to  the 
vehicles  in  the  carriage-road,  and  this  prevented  his  noticing  what 
was  doing  on  the  foot-path. 

"  Mr.  Hardwick :  Had  you  kept  your  eyes  directed  as  you  ought, 
not  only  to  avoid  carriages  but  foot  passengers,  the  circumstance 
would  not  have  occurred.  The  reason  you  have  given  for  not  seeing 
his  Grace  is  no  excuse  for  your  conduct. 

"  The  Duke  of  Wellington  :  There  was  plenty  of  room  to  have 
passed,  without  running  against  me. 


1M5.J  ACCIDENT  TO  THE  DUKR  229 

"  Mr.  Hall,  No.  12,  Park  Lane,  said  he  saw  his  Grace  attempting 
to  cross  the  lane  at  the  time  that  a  carrier's  cart,  which  was  going  at 
the  rate  of  seven  or  eight  miles  an  hour,  was  coming  down  the  lane. 
Thinking,  from  the  way  the  man  was  driving,  that  his  Grace  would 
be  knocked  down,  he  ran  to  the  door,  and  saw  the  cart  strike  his 
Grace  on  the  shoulder.  Had  his  Grace  been  turned  round  sharply 
the  cart  must  have  been  over  his  feet. .  The  pace  the  man  was  driving 
at  was  not  more  than  seven  miles  an  hour.  He  was  driving  negli- 
gently rather  than  furiously. 

"  Mr.  Hardwick  :  Had  he  kept  a  proper  lookout,  he  must  have  seen 
his  Grace? 

"  Witness :  Certainly.  He  was  going  up  hill,  and  could  have 
stopped  the  horse  easier  than  if  he  was  going  down  hill. 

"  Mr.  Hardwick  :  Did  you  hear  that  man  call  out  ? 

"  Witness :  No,  I  did  not. 

"  In  defence,  the  man  repeated  that  he  was  exceedingly  sorry  for 
what  had  occurred. 

"  Mr.  Hardwick :  It  appears  from  the  evidence  that  you  were 
driving,  if  not  at  a  furious,  still  at  a  rapid  rate ;  but  as  you  were 
going  up  hill  at  the  time,  had  you  used  the  ordinary  precautions  in 
driving  along  the  public  street,  and  if  you  had  proper  command  over 
your  horse,  this  accident  could  not  have  occurred.  A  witness  has 
described  your  careless  mode  of  driving  at  the  time,  by  saying  you 
were  neither  looking  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left ;  and  the  whole 
evidence  goes  to  prove  that  your  mode  of  driving  was  reckless  and 
careless,  exhibiting  a  perfect  indifference  to  the  life  and  limbs  of 
foot-passengers.  This  case  I  shall  deal  with  as  a  case  of  assault. 
You  have  committed  several  serious  offences  :  first,  furious  driving ; 
next,  endangering  life  and  limb ;  and  lastly,  committing  an  assault, 
for  running  against  the  person  and  striking  that  person  with  the 
cart,  is  as  much  an  assault  as  if  the  blow  were  given  by  hand.  For 
the  assault,  which  is  clearly  proved,  you  will  pay  a  fine  of  4/.,  or  one 
month's  imprisonment. 

"  The  defendant  was  then  locked  up." 


230 


LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON. 


ri84«. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Sir  Robert  Peel  and  the  Corn-Laws— The  Duke'a  resistance — Resignation  of  the  Peel  Ministry— 
And  their  resumption  of  office  on  the  failure  of  Lord  John  Russell  to  form  a  Government — 
The  Duke  gives  way — The  Com  Laws  repealed — Erection  of  the  statue  on  the  Triumphal 
Arch  at  Hyde  Park  Comer— Resignation  of  Sir  Robert  Peel— Lord  John  Russell  forms  a 
Government— The  Duke  on  our  National  Defences. 


IGHTEEN  hundred  and  forty-six  is  a  me- 
morable year  in  the  annals  of  the  British 
Parliament,  as  the  epoch  of  the  greatest 
change  ever  effected  in  the  commercial 
policy  of  the  country.  Succumbing  to  the 
pressure  of  events,  the  Minister  surren- 
dered the  Corn  Laws. 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  who  had  yielded  to  the 
persuasions  of  the  Duke  in  regard  to  the 
Catholic  Bill,  and  stubbornly  resisted  them 
upon  the  question  of  Parliamentary  Re- 
form, was  now,  in  his  turn,  to  find  the 
Duke  indisposed  to  act  with  him  upon  so 
grave  a  case  as  the  abolition  of  the  pro- 
tective duties  upon  corn,  which  Sir  Robert  had  himself,  throughout 
his  political  career,  energetically  upheld.  Yet,  if  reason  were  allowed 
its  due  influence,  there  were  few  occasions  on  which  a  Minister  might 
have  found  himself  so  entirely  justified  in  departing  from  his  long- 
settled  convictions.  A  blight  had  seized  upon  the  potato  in  Ireland 
— the  crop  had  altogether  failed — and  a  famine  threatened,  and 
actually  did  visit,  that  devoted  country.  Foreseeing  the  calamity. 
Sir  Robert  Peel  summoned  a  Cabinet  Council,  and  proposed  at  once 
to  open  the  ports — in  other  words,  to  afford  facilities  for  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  bread-stuffs.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord 
Stanley  (now   the    Earl   of  Derby)  opposed   the   proposition.     They 


1846.]  THE  CORN-LAW   DISPUTES.  231 

denied  that  the  food  supplies  of  Great  Britain  were  insufficient  to 
meet  the  wants  of  Ireland ;  and  they  dreaded  lest  a  temporary 
suspension  of  the  Corn  Laws  should  prove  the  precursor  of  their 
total  extinction.  Sir  Robert  Peel's  arguments  and  the  frightful 
reports  of  deficiency  and  apprehended  starvation  were  disregarded. 
Sir  Robert  then  took  a  more  decided  tone :  announced  to  his 
colleagues  the  impression  which  had  been  produced  on  his  mind  by 
the  writings  and  harangues  of  the  leaders  of  the  Anti-Corn-Law 
League  ;  and  proposed  the  total  repeal  of  the  Corn  Law.  In  the 
Commons  he  was  sure  of  a  great  majority — with  the  country  he  was 
certain  of  sympathy  and  popularity — in  the  lords  he  knew  that  success 
depended  upon  the  view  the  Duke  of  Wellington  might  take.  He 
earnestly  appealed  to  the  veteran  Commander.  The  Duke  was  obdu- 
rate, and  Sir  Robert  Peel  resigned  in  despair,  to  the  great  distress  of 
the  country. 

The  Queen  sent  for  Lord  John  Russell  to  form  a  Ministry.  His 
Lordship  readily  accepted  the  trust  ;  for  he  at  once  perceived  how 
large  an  accession  to  the  popularity  of  the  Whig  party  would  ensue 
from  the  inauguration  of  the  Ministry  with  a  bill  for  establishing  a 
free  trade  in  corn.  Personal  difierences  among  the  Whigs,  however, 
tore  the  prize  and  the  honour  from  his  grasp.  Earl  Grey,  to  whom 
the  office  of  Colonial  Minister  was  offered,  refused  to  sit  in  the  same 
Cabinet  with  Lord  Palmerston,  to  whom  the  post  of  Foreign  Secretary 
had  been  tendered.  Lord  John  Russell  felt  that  he  could  not  spare 
either.  Earl  Grey,  by  connexion  and  influence  in  the  House  of 
Lords — the  influence  which  eloquence  and  mental  power,  apart  from 
temper  and  dignity  of  character,  gave — was  indispensable  to  Lord 
John  Russell ;  and  Lord  Palmerston  had,  by  common  consent,  become 
the  only  fitting  instrument  of  Whig  policy,  and  the  best  debater 
among  the  Whig  leaders  of  the  House  of  Commons.  His  tone  as 
Foreign  Minister  on  former  occasions  had  always  been  high, — it  was 
bis  duty,  as  well  as  his  ardent  desire,  to  make  the  English  name 
respected  throughout  the  world ;  and  all  foreign  nations  felt  that 
while  he  was  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  that  department  they  could  not 
insult  Great  Britain  with  impunity. 

Lord  John  Russell,  failing  to  reconcile  the  differences  between 
Earl  Grey  and  Viscount  Palmerston,  and  seeing  the  impossibility  of 
constructing  a  strong  Government  without  the  aid  of  both,  surren- 
dered the  glory  of  carrying  the  repeal  of  the  Corn  Laws  to  his  great 
political  rival. 

The  necessity  which  the  Queen  was  now  under  of  recalling  Sir 
Robert,  and  the   impossibility  which  Sir  Robert   announced  of  his 


232 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1846. 


carrying  on  the  Government  unless  he  could  go  before  Parliament 
with  a  proposal  to  abolish  the  Corn  Laws,  imposed  upon  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  the  alternative  of  sacrificing  his  principles  to  his  loyalt", 


LOKD    PALMEESTON, 


or  his  loyalty  to  his  principles.  The  chivalry  of  the  Duke  took  fire 
at  the  proposition.  Away  went  the  principles — his  Grace  "  resolved 
to  stand  hy  his  friend  !  " 

Parliament  met  early  in  1846;  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  with 
her  Majesty's  permission,  explained  the  circumstances  of  the  resig- 
nation in  the  first  instance,  and  the  subsequent  acceptance  of  office ; 
"  Whatever  that  measure  may  be,  I  say  that,  situated  as  I  am, 
my  Lords,  in  this  country — highly  rewarded  as  I  have  been  by  the 
Sovereign  and  the  people  of  England — I  could  not  refuse  that 
Sovereign  to  aid  her  to  form  a  Government  when  called  upon,  in 
order  to  enable  her  Majesty  to  meet  her  Parliament,  and  carry  or> 


1846.]  CORN-LAW  DEBATE   IN  THE   LORDS.  233 

the  business  of  the  country.  I  positively  could  not  refuse  to  serve  the 
Sovereign  ivlien  thus  called  upon?'' 

Sir  Robert  Peel  lost  no  time  in  bringing  in  this  bill.  It  passed  the 
Commons  triumphantly.  The  scene  ■which  ensued  upon  the  second 
reading  is  graphically  described  by  a  Parliamentary  reporter  present 
on  the  memorable  occasion : — 

"  The  debate  began  on  Monday,  the  25th  May,  while  the  Park 
guns  were  still  firing  to  announce  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Helena. 
The  debate  was  resumed  on  the  following  day ;  and  on  Thursday 
night,  or  rather  on  Friday  morning,  their  Lordships  affirmed  the 
second  reading  by  a  majority  of  forty-seven.  The  Duke  reserved 
himself  for  the  close  of  the  debate.  We  well  remember  the  scene. 
The  Duke  took  his  seat  at  five  o'clock  on  Thursday  evening,  and  sat 
as  if  chained  to  the  Treasury  Bench  until  nearly  four  o'clock  the 
next  morning.  The  galleries  were  filled  with  ladies,  many  of  whom 
sat  through  the  night,  and  remained  until  the  division.  Among  those 
who  gave  this  proof  of  the  interest  with  which  this  great  historical 
scene  had  inspired  them,  were  the  Duchess  of  Buccleuch,  the 
Countess  of  "Wilton,  the  Countess  of  Essex,  and  Viscountess  Sidney. 
A  brilliant  circle  of  diplomatists  and  distinguished  foreigners  stood 
at  the  foot  of  the  throne.  The  old  Duke  of  Cambridge,  who  had 
declared  that  he  would  not  support  the  bill,  and  that  he  should  not 
vote  at  all,  was  going  from  one  cross-bench  to  the  other,  attracting 
attention  by  his  audible  remarks  and  by  his  rather  violent  bonhommie. 
The  debate  flagged  :  there  remained  no  one  but  the  Duke  to  speak 
whom  the  assemblage  cared  to  hear.  All  eyes  were  turned  to  this 
wonderful  old  man,  who  seemed  to  despise  fatigue  and  to  be  supe- 
rior to  the  ordinary  wants  of  humanity.  He  sat,  rigid  and  immovable, 
with  his  hat  over  his  eyes,  paying  the  most  strict  and  conscientious 
attention  to  everything  that  was  said.  About  half-past  three  in  the 
morning  he  arose.  A  strange  emotion  rendered  his  utterance  thick 
and  indistinct,  and  even  seemed  to  give  incoherence  to  his  remarks. 
There  were,  indeed,  passages  which  made  his  friends  exchange 
glances,  in  which  they  seemed  to  ask  each  other  whether  it  was 
fatigue,  or  the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  or  the  excitement  of  that 
memorable  night,  that  had  thrown  the  Duke's  mind  off  its  balance. 
Perhaps  these  were  the  passages  in  the  speech  (for  there  were  many) 
which  did  not  reach  the  reporters'  gallery;  for  the  reported  speech 
although  it  bears  traces  of  deep  feeling,  and  is  not  without  a  noble 
pathos,  contains  nothing  to  explain  the  misgivings  and  apprehensions 
of  his  audience. 

"  He  began  by  expressing  the  regret  with  which  he  found  himself 


234  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1846. 

in  a  hostile  position  to  those  with  whom  he  had  been  constantly  in 
the  habit  of  acting  in  political  life.  '  I  am  aware,'  he  said, '  I  address 
your  Lordships  with  all  your  prejudices  against  me,'  a  painful  thing 
for  a  man  to  say  who  had  been  so  loved,  so  looked  up  to,  so  honoured, 
and  so  trusted.  Shaken  by  emotion,  and  almost  inaudible  from  his 
agitation,  the  Duke  was  then  heard  to  say : — '  I  never  had  any  claim 
to  the  confidence  that  your  Lordships  have  placed  in  me.  But  I 
will  not  omit  even  on  this  night — possibly  the  last  on  which  I  shall 
ever  venture  to  address  to  you  my  advice — I  will  not  omit  to  counsel 
you  as  to  the  vote  you  should  give  on  this  occasion.'  The  Duke  pro- 
ceeded, to  the  astonishment  of  the  Peers,  to  introduce,  in  what  they 
considered  an  unconstitutional  manner,  a  name  which  it  is  contrary 
to  the  rules  of  Parliament  to  claim  upon  the  side  of  the  person  who 
speaks.  '  This  measure  has  come  up,  recommended  by  the  Commons. 
We  also  knoio  that  this  measure  has  been  recominended  by  the  Crown.'' 
Murmurs,  such  as  the  great  Field-Marshal  never  heard  before  in  the 
House  of  Peers,  here  went  round  the  House  at  this  unconstitutional 
mention  of  the  name  of  the  Sovereign.  But  their  Lordships,  in  one 
of  the  most  memorable  sentences  ever  addressed  to  them,  were  soon 
to  see,  that  if  the  Duke  had  violated  an  order  of  their  Lordships' 
House,  he  had  but  assumed  a  privilege  which  great  men  sometimes 
claim  when  they  break  some  rule  of  etiquette  to  save  an  institu- 
tion. '  My  Lords,'  he  continued,  '  the  House  of  Lords  can  do 
.nothing  without  the  two  other  branches  of  the  Legislature.  Sepa- 
rately from  the  Crown  and  tJve  House  of  Comtnons  you  can  do  nothing. 
And  if  yoic  break  your  connexion  with  both,  you  ivill  put  an  end  to 
tJie  functions  of  tJie  House  of  Lords?  The  Protectionist  Peers 
despised  the  counsel.  A  merry  laugh  went  round  the  House.  It  is 
well  the  deriders  were  not  in  a  majority  on  the  division,  or  the  House 
of  Peers  would  by  this  time  have  paid  a  bitter  penalty  for  scorning 
the  sagacity  of  their  illustrious  adviser. 

"  The  Duke's  speech  on  this  occasion  has  been  well  described  as  a 
conflict  between  the  habitual  prejudices  of  his  associations  and  his 
recognition  of  a  great  necessity — as  a  conflict  between  the  unwilling 
sense  of  a  growing  and  the  innate  devotion  to  a  prescriptive  power. 
Not  a  word  did  the  Duke  waste  upon  the  merits  of  the  bill  or  its 
possible  operation.  The  Corn-law  was  an  untenable  line  of  fortifica- 
tion, which  must  be  given  up.  He  could  not  save  the  Corn-law,  and 
the  Queen  had  claimed  his  services,  and  called  upon  him,  by  his 
fidelity  to  the  throne,  to  assist  in  carrying  on  the  business  of  her 
Government.  '  I  did  think,  my  Lords,  that  the  formation  of  a 
Government  in  which  her  Majesty  would  have   confidence   was   of 


1846.]  THE  CORN-LAWS   REPEALED.  235 

greater  importance  than  any  opinion  of  any  individual  upon  the  Corn- 
law  or  any  other  law.'  And  then  the  Duke  warned  their  lordships 
as  to  the  possible  consequences  of  rejecting  the  bill.  His  speech 
made  a  great  impression,  and  the  result  was  a  majority  of  forty-seven 
in  favour  of  the  second  reading.  The  doors  of  their  Lordships'  House 
were  surrounded  by  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  who  were 
waiting  to  hear  the  result.  The  writer  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter 
when  the  doors  were  re-opened,  and  to  hear  the  result  of  the  division. 
How  quickly  the  news  was  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  country  by 
express  engines,  and  what  universal  joy  it  gave  in  our  great  towns, 
and  in  the  hives  of  manufacturing  industry,  this  is  not  the  place  to 
describe. 

"  The  House  divided  at  half-past  four.  The  Duke  was  one  of  the 
last  to  leave.  It  was  broad  daylight  when,  on  this  memorable  May 
morning,  the  Duke  left  the  House  where,  amid  much  mortification, 
and  the  severance  of  so  many  political  and  personal  ties  of  association, 
he  had  so  nobly  served  his  country.  A  small  crowd  had  collected  in 
Palace-yard,  early  as  was  the  hour,  and  as  soon  as  the  Duke  made 
his  appearance  they  began  to  cheer.  '  God  bless  you,  Duke,'  loudly 
and  fervently  exclaimed  one  mechanic  ;  who,  early  as  it  was,  was 
going  to  his  morning  toil.  The  Duke's  horse  began  to  prance  at  the 
cheers  of  the  crowd,  and  the  Duke  promptly  caused  silence  by  ex- 
claiming, '  For  Heaven's  sake,  people,  let  me  get  on  my  horse  ! '  It 
was  now  five  o'clock,  and  the  Duke  rode  off  to  St.  James's  Park.  As 
he  passed  through  the  Horse  Guards,  and  received  the  salute  of  the 
sentinel  on  duty,  was  it  then  given  him  to  know  that  he  had  just 
secured  the  accomplishment  of  a  legislative  change,  which  was  destined 
to  work  a  striking  improvement  in  the  position  and  means  of  the 
private  soldier,  and  that,  ere  long,  the  military,  in  the  words  of  Sir 
James  Graham,  would  '  know  the  reason  why  ? ' 

"  From  this  moment  the  Duke  may  be  said  to  have  retired  from 
political  strife.  His  share  in  the  repeal  of  the  Corn-laws  cast  a  halo 
round  his  political  career,  like  some  glorious  sunset  which  bathes  the 
western  sky  with  golden  splendour." 

Although  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  thus  contributed  to  the 
establishment  of  Free-trade  in  corn,  he  had  acted  so  entirely  without 
reference  to  his  political  convictions,  that  he  continued  for  a  long 
time  to  feel  nervously  anxious  about  the  operation  of  the  measure. 
At  first  he  may  have  experienced  some  visitations  of  conscience,  but 
as  he  beheld  the  gradual  development  of  a  system  which  essentially 
increased  the  comforts  of  the  poor  man,  without  inflicting  material 
injury  upon  the  landed  interest,  he  became  reconciled  to  his  own  act. 


236  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON,  [1846. 

and  frequently  admitted  that  it  imparted  serenity  to  the  close  of  his 
life. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1845,  the  colossal  equestrian  bronze 
statue  of  the  Duke,  which  had  been  subscribed  for  by  the  nation  as 
a  memorial  of  his  military  greatness,  was  erected  oyer  the  triumphal 
arch  at  Hyde  Park  corner.  A  great  difference  of  opinion  existed  as 
to  the  merit  of  the  design  and  the  suitableness  of  the  site,  but  the 
present  locality  was  at  length  determined  on,  partly  because  the 
statue  was  rendered  a  prominent  object  for  a  mile  or  two  around, 
and  partly  on  account  of  its  vicinity  to  the  Duke's  own  residence. 
The  inauguration  of  the  statue  was  not  accompanied  by  any  ceremo- 
nial, but  the  work  and  its  site  were  for  some  time  a  standing  jest 
with  the  satirists  of  the  day,  with  what  good  reason  it  were  difficult 
to  say.  Of  the  magnitude  of  the  memorial  and  the  labour  attendant 
upon  its  construction  by  Mr.  Wyatt,  the  sculptor,  an  idea  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  detail : — The  cost  of  the  statue  was 
upwards  of  30,000/. 

The  quantity  of  plaster  used  for  this  purpose  amounted  in  weight 
to  160  tons;  nor  need  this  excite  surprise,  when  we  consider  that 
the  statue  is  nearly  thirty  feet  high,  and  more  than  twenty-five 
feet  long,  indeed  the  largest  in  Europe,  and  only  comparable  with 
the  gigantic  productions  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  and  Hindoo  chisels. 
The  total  quantity  of  the  metal  used  in  the  construction  has  been 
sixty-five  tons,  the  statue  itself  weighing  thirty-five  tons.  It  was 
not  produced  as  a  whole,  but  in  six  separate  castings,  which  were 
afterwards  rivetted  together.  The  body  of  the  horse  was  cast  in  two 
pieces,  and  the  carcase  thus  formed  easily  contained  eight  persons,  a 
series  of  friends  to  this  amount  having  dined  with  the  artist  in  this 
singular  dining-room ;  fourteen  ladies,  on  one  occasion,  having 
taken  refreshment  together  in  the  same  place.  The  head  of  the  Duke 
was  cast  from  an  English  nine-pounder  brass  gun  that  was  taken  in 
the  battle  of  Waterloo ;  and  there  are  in  other  parts  of  the  statue 
five  tons  of  metal  from  other  guns,  French  as  well  as  English.  After 
the  modelling  was  completed,  and  the  moulds  prepared,  considerable 
anxiety  and  attention  was  still  imposed  upon  the  ingenious  sculptor. 
The  metal  was  fused  in  a  furnace  specially  constructed,  and  the 
heat  imparted  was  so  great  that  the  brick-work  vitrified  and  ran  in 
masses.  This  inconvenience,  however,  was  in  a  great  measure  obviated 
by  substituting  brick  of  fire-proof  manufacture,  but  even  these 
became  soft  and  ductile.  The  moulds  also  were  obliged  to  be  care- 
fully dried,  and  the  place  of  casting  rammed  down  as  hard  as  possible, 
for  the  heated  metal  coming  in  contact  with  any  moisture,  or  inter- 


1846.] 


EQUESTRIAN  STATUE  IN  HYDE  PARK 


237 


rupted  by  rarified  air,  would  have  destroyed  the  labour  of  months 
by  the  consequent  explosion.  The  charger  is  a  faithful  model  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington's  favourite  horse,  "  Copenhagen,"  alluded  to  in 
an  earlier  part  of  this  volume.  It  represents  him  in  his  younger 
days,  and  the  attitude  is  perfectly  characteristic  of  the  man.  He  is 
arrayed  in  a  military  surtout,  over  which  is  thrown  his  cloak.      A 


STATUE    AT   HYDE    PA&K    COENEE. 


sword  is  buckled  around  his  waist,  and  whilst  he  holds  the  horse's 
reins  in  one  hand,  he  extends  his  right,  in  which  is  a  telescope,  as  if 
directing  some  military  movement.  Every  care  was  taken  to  preserve 
correctness  of  detail  in  the  appointments  of  the  horse  and  its  distin- 
guished rider. 

Sir  Robert  Peel's  government  did  not  long  survive  the  extinction 
of  the  Corn  Laws  and  his  other  admirable  measures  of  commercial 
policy.  The  state  of  affairs  in  Ireland  having  rendered  it  necessary 
for  the  Conservative  Ministry  to  bring  in  a  bill  for  the  protection  of 
life,  the  Irish  interpreted  it  into  an  excuse  for  interfering  with  the 
free  exercise  of  opinion.  The  Whigs  adopted  the  same  view,  and 
opposed  the  bill  pertinaciously.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  nevertheless,  car- 
ried it  into  the  House  of  Lords,  where,  however,  it  was  defeated  by 
a  considerable  majority.  Sir  Robert  then  finally  resigned,  and  Lord 
John  Russell  was  appointed  Premier. 


238  LIFE  OF  THE  DUICE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1847 

During  the  ensuing  year,  nothing  transpired  to  bring  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  prominently  before  the  public.  He  was  occasionally 
found  addressing  the  House  of  Lords  on  passing  subjects,  but  his 
time  for  the  most  part  was  divided  between  the  Horse  Guards  and 
^he  pleasures  of  social  intercourse. 

In  1847,  a  pamphlet  appeared  from  the  pen  of  the  Prince  de  Join- 
ville,  one  of  the  sons  of  Louis  Philippe,  the  King  of  the  French.  It 
discussed  in  free  and  confident  terms  the  feasibility  of  an  invasion  of 
England  by  France,  pointing  out  all  the  weak  points  of  our  coast, 
measuring  the  amount  of  our  naval  force,  and  hinting  the  advantages 
which  might  accrue  to  the  French,  in  the  event .  of  a  war,  from  a 
descent  upon  Great  Britain. 

Such  a  pamphlet,  widely  disseminated  by  means  of  translation  and 
press  discussion,  was  eminently  calculated  to  alarm  the  populace  of 
Great  Britain ;  and  a  question  arose  as  to  the  propriety  of  leaving 
England  in  so  defenceless  a  state.  Louis  Philippe  had  shown,  in 
reference  to  the  marriage  of  his  son  the  Due  de  Montpensier  to  the 
Infanta  of  Spain,  that  he  was  not  above  a  paltry  juggle,  and  might 
one  day  revive  the  old  animosities  between  Great  Britain  and  France, 
when,  in  all  human  probability,  an  attempt  would  be  made  upon  the 
British  shores.  Discussions  grew  warm  upon  the  subject,  when, 
towards  the  close  of  1847,  it  suddenly  transpired  that  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  had  for  a  long  time  been  alive  to  the  importance  of 
fortifying  the  coasts,  and  had  endeavoured  to  urge  successive  govern- 
ments to  go  to  the  country  for  the  means  requisite  to  render  us 
invulnerable.  Upon  this  momentous  question,  his  Grace,  in  January, 
1847,  addressed  Major-General  Sir  John  Burgoyne,  the  Inspector- 
General  of  Fortifications,  a  confidential  letter,  which,  however, 
found  its  way  into  the  public  prints  through  the  active  agency  of 
female  hands.     Sir  John  had  given  the  letter  to  be  copied  by  one  of 

the  female  members  of  his  family,  and  a  Lady  S ,  more  curious 

than  sagacious,  transcribed  it  from  the  copy  for  transfer  to  her 
album ! 

In  this  letter  the  Duke  took  a  clear  view  of  the  defenceless  state  of 
England  in  regard  to  the  number  of  troops  employed  at  home, 
pointing  out  that  G5,000  men  at  least  would  be  required  as  garrisons 
for  half-a-dozen  of  our  principal  dockyards  and  naval  arsenals, 
whereas  we  had  but  5000  troops !  He  urged  the  importance  of 
embodying  the  militia,  and  strengthening  the  belt  of  the  country 
with  fortifications,  and  he  stated  with  bitter  regret  that  he  had  "  for 
years"  unavailingly  drawn  the  attention  of  difi'erent  Administrations, 
at  different  times,  to  the  dangerous  position  in  which  he  considered 


1847. f  NATIONAL  DEFENCES.  28t> 

England  to  stand.  "  If  it  be  true,"  wrote  the  old  soldier,  "  that  the 
exertions  of  the  fleet  are  not  sufficient  to  provide  for  our  defence, 
ice  are  7iot  safe  for  a  week  after  the  declaration  of  war. ''^  He  added 
emphatically — 

"  I  am  bordering  on  seventy-seven  years  of  age  passed  in  honour ! 
I  hope  that  the  Almighty  may  protect  me  from  being  the  witness  of 
the  tragedy  which  I  cannot  persuade  my  contemporaries  to  take 
measures  to  avert." 

Sentiments  thus  expressed,  finding  publicity  soon  after  circulation 
had  been  given  to  the  Prince  de  Joinville's  pamphlet,  could  not  fail 
to  produce  a  powerful  effect  in  the  country.  The  opinions  of  the 
Duke  were  caught  up  and  echoed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  land,  and  the  Minister,  yielding  to  the  popular  will,  soon  came 
before  Parliament  with  a  declaration  of  the  necessity  of  taking  steps 
to  place  the  national  defences  upon  a  firm  and  extensive  basis.  The 
principle  was  generally  admitted  excepting  by  the  ultra-Liberals,  or 
Free-trade  members,  who,  having  exhausted  the  popularity  they  had 
acquired  by  procuring  the  destruction  of  the  Corn  Laws,  were  now 
seeking  a  new  source  of  public  admiration  in  their  attempts  to  check 
expenditure.  In  their  eyes  England  was  sufficiently  protected  in 
the  folly  of  tear.  Nations  had  learnt  the  value  of  peace  through  the 
agency  of  Free-trade,  and  there  could  not,  they  maintained,  be  any 
occasion  to  spend  the  public  money  in  preparing  against  a  chimera. 
But  these  feeble  arguments  were  met  by  the  more  cogent  reasoning 
founded  on  a  knowledge  of  mankind.  While  the  passions  of  jealousy, 
envy,  covetousness,  revenge,  and  so  forth,  animate  the  human  heart, 
men  will  make  war  upon  each  other,  and  it  therefore  behoves  nations 
to  maintain  such  an  attitude  of  calm  and  inoffensive  defiance  as  may 
deter  their  neighbours  from  wanton  aggression.  The  wisest  writers 
had  held,  in  all  times,  that  the  way  to  preserve  peace  was  to  be  pre- 
pared for  war,  and  this  doctrine  was  now  to  be  practically  enforced 
in  England.  Circumstances,  however,  occurred  to  cause  at  least 
a  suspension  of  the  measures  the  Minister  was  desirous  of  carrying 
for  the  defence  of  the  nation.  France  was  suddenly  (February, 
1848)  plunged  into  a  new  revolution,  and  the  Princes,  from  whose 
warlike  ambition  everything  was  to  be  apprehended,  lost  for  the  time 
the  power  of  doing  either  political  good  or  political  evil. 

2s 


'>A0 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1846 


CHAPTER  XIX 


The  Chartists— Monster  Meeting  on  Kennington  Common— London  in  "a  state  of  siege"— The 
Duke's  military  dispositions — The  Chartist  Meeting  dissolves  peaceably — Presentation  of  tho 
Chartist  Petition  in  the  House  of  Commons. 


HERE  is  a  strange  affinity  be- 
tween the  groans  of  poverty 
and  the  outpourings  of  political 
discontent.  When  wages  are 
reduced,  and  the  population  finds 
itself  suddenly  disproportioned 
to  the  means  available  for  its 
employment  or  suppQrt,  the 
indigent  labourer  casts  about 
him  for  the  cause  of  his  imme- 
diate distress,  that  he  may  seek 
some  little  consolation  in  anathe- 
mas. A  bad  harvest  affords  a 
pretext  for  quarrelling  with  the 
operation  of  Free-trade,  through 
which  more  corn  leaves  the 
country  than  ever  comes  into  it.  The  suspension  of  work  at  mills 
and  factories  supplies  a  reason  for  quarrelling  with  the  manufacturer 
for  creating  an  excess  of  supply,  and  so  glutting  the  foreign  markets  ; 
while  the  diminution  of  wages  by  master  manufacturers  revives  tho 
hostility  to  machinery  and  its  ingenious  inventors.  These  ebullitions 
of  anger,  however,  are  not  found  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
sufferer — he  may  have  hit  upon  the  true  reason  for  the  state  of 
almost  mendicancy  in  which  he  finds  himself ;  but  inasmuch  as  the 
discovery  of  the  disease  does  not  suggest  a  prompt  remedy,  he  is 
glad  to  find  some  fresh  and  tangible  ground  of  discontent.  In  this 
frame  of  mind  he  is  an  admirable  Bubject  for  tho   demagogue — an 


1848.1  ARTISANS   AND   DEMAGOGUES.  241 

apt  tool  for  the  designing  politician  who  seeks  to  magnify  the 
strength  of  his  individual  cause  by  a  display  of  the  misery,  and  a 
direction  of  the  clamour  of  myriads.  He  points  out  to  them  that 
their  privations  are  traceable  to  other  causes  than  those  they  have 
supposed.  He  tells  them  that  their  destitution  is  the  result  of 
excessive  taxation ;  that  excessive  taxation  arises  from  imperfect 
representation ;  that  imperfect  representation  can  only  be  remedied 
by  an  extension  of  the  franchise,  vote  by  ballot,  and  annual  Par- 
liaments ;  and  that  these  remedies  can  be  forced  upon  Parliament, 
the  Crown,  and  the  aristocracy,  by  a  magnificent  demonstration  of 
physical  and  moral  force ; — in  other  words,  a  monster  crowd  pregnant 
with  the  ingredients  of  extreme  mischief,  so  low  in  their  condition, 
that  every  revolution  of  Fortune's  wheel  must  carry  them  upwai'ds. 
The  distressed  and  dissatisfied  multitude  imbibe  the  word  of 
comfort  poured  into  their  willing  ears  by  the  designing  orator,  and 
declare  their  readiness  to  obey  his  every  command.  They  admit 
the  force  of  his  reasoning,  and  recognize  his  fitness  to  lead  them 
to  '-victory  or  death." 

This  is  the  picture  of  a  periodical  occurrence  of  which  modern 
history  presents  multitudinous  examples.  But  if  the  unemployed, 
the  poor,  and  the  discontented  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  restless 
political  agitator,  when  the  state  of  domestic  trade  has  prepared 
them  for  his  evil  counsels,  how  much  more  facile  is  their  capture 
when  revolution  has  stalked  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
vast  continent  of  Europe,  and  the  foreign  workman  has  asserted 
the  dignity  of  labour  by  violently  destroying  thrones,  and  revelling 
in  idleness  and  vicious  indulgence  at  the  expense  of  the  state  ! 
Then  the  wily  demagogue  points  to  the  nohle  example  set  the  English 
citizen  by  his  contemporary  artisan,  and  asks  him  whether,  with  the 
certainty  of  commanding  the  sympathy  of  the  foreigner,  he  will 
continue  an  ignoble  slave  ? — whether,  with  the  power  of  grasping  a 
pike  or  an  old  musket,  he  will  fear  a  rencontre  with  the  batons  of 
policemen  and  the  bayonets  of  the  Guards,  when  the  valiant  assertion 
of  his  rights  may  ensure  their  prompt  possession?  The  poor 
mechanic,  inspired  by  the  glowing  effusions  of  the  self-styled 
patriot,  answers  in  the  negative.  He  does  not  fear;  he  will  not 
flinch ;  he  is  ready  for  anything ;  he  will  pull  down  the  Throne, 
upset  the  Legislature,  set  the  gutters  running  with  blood,  and 
vindicate  the  rights  of  the  labourer  in  the  name  of  Liberty  ! 

He  is  taken  at  his  word.  The  day  for  the  great  deed  is  named 
and  arrives;  the  thousands  assemble,  and  the  representatives  of 
thousands   more  join    them   from   all   parts  of  the  country.     Their 

VOL.  II.  16 


242  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1848. 

hearts  swell,  their  words  are  big,  their  resolutions  unshaken.  The 
order  for  the  movement  is  given.  A  Commissioner  of  Police  speaks 
in  the  name  of  the  law,  and,  presto!  the  whole  assemblage  is 
dispersed,  without  a  broken  pate  or  a  broken  pane,  to  meditate  on  the 
exceeding  follj  of  leaving  work  and  suspending  business  to  rely 
on  wild  demagogues,  instead  of  placing  a  dependence  on  the  wisdom 
and  integrity  and  constitutional  purposes  of  Parliament. 

The  extraordinary  and  most  unexpected  revolution  which  took 
place  in  France  early  in  1848,  upsetting  the  Orleans  dynasty,  was 
followed  by  similar  great  movements  in  Prussia,  Austria,  and  the 
lower  German  States,  having  been  preceded  by  violent  insurrections 
in  Italy,  all  having  for  their  apparent  object  the  extension  of  the 
liberty  of  the  subject.  Such  a  convulsion  could  not  be  entirely 
without  its  effects  in  Great  Britain,  where,  unhappily,  the  embers  of 
public  discontent  are  constantly  kept  alive  either  by  the  depressed 
state  of  trade,  the  ambition  of  political  aspirants,  or  the  untiring 
displays  of  the  Catholic  leaders  in  Ireland.  However,  the  large 
Bhare  of  national  liberty  enjoyed  by  Englishmen,  and  the  dreadful 
example  before  their  eyes  of  the  consequences  of  a  violent  assault 
upon  established  institutions,  kept  us  free  from  any  furious  outbreak 
simultaneously  with  the  outrages  perpetrated  on  the  Continent.' 

1  A  brilliant  picture  of  the  contrast  between  England  and  the  Continent  at  this  juncture 
was  drawn  by  the  eloquent  IMacaulay  when  he  lately  met  his  constituents  at  Edinburgh : — 
"Never,"  said  he,  "since  the  origin  of  our  race  have  there  been  five  years  more  fertile  in 
great  events,  or  five  years  which  have  left  behind  them  more  useful  lessons.  We  have  lived 
many  lives  in  that  time.  The  revolutions  of  ages  have  been  compressed  into  a  few  months. 
France,  Germany,  Hungary  and  Italy— what  a  history  has  theirs  been !  When  we  met  here 
last,  there  was  the  outward  show  of  tranquility,  and  few  even  of  the  wisest  knew  what  wild 
passions,  what  wild  theories,  were  fermenting  under  that  pacific  exterior.  Obstinate 
resistance  to  all  reasonable  reform— resistance  prolonged  but  one  day  behind  the  time — gave 
the  signal  for  the  explosion.  In  an  instant,  from  the  borders  of  Russia  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  everything  was  confusion  and  terror.  The  streets  of  the  greatest  capitals  in  Eiu-ope 
were  piled  with  barricades,  and  streaming  with  civil  blood.  The  house  of  Orleans  fled  from 
France ;  the  Pope  fled  from  Rome ;  the  Emperor  of  Austria  was  not  safe  in  Vienna ; 
popular  institutions  were  thrown  down  at  Florence ;  popular  institutions  were  thrown  down 
at  Naples.  With  one  democratic  convention  sitting  at  Berlin,  and  with  another  democratic 
convention  sitting  at  Frankfort,  you  remember,  I  am  sure,  well  how  soon  the  wisest  and 
the  most  honest  friends  of  reform — those  men  who  were  most  inclined  to  look  with  indul- 
gence on  the  excesses  inseparable  from  the  vindication  of  public  liberty  by  jjhysical  force — 
began  to  doubt  and  despair  of  the  prospects  of  mankind.  You  remember  how  all 
animosities,  national,  religious  and  social,  were  brought  forth  together  with  the  political 
animosities.  You  remember  how,  with  the  hatred  of  discontented  subjects  to  their  governments 
were  mingled  the  hatred  of  nation  to  nation,  and  of  class  to  class.  In  truth,  for  myself 
I  stood  aghast;  and  naturally  of  a  sanguine  disposition, — naturally  disposed  to  look  with 
hope  to  the  progress  of  mankind,— I  did  for  one  moment  doubt  whether  the  course  of 
mankind  was  not  to  be  turned  back,  and  whether  we  were  not  to  pass,  in  one  generation,  from 
the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  the  barbarism  of  the  fifth.    I  remembered    that 


1848.]  THE  IvATIONAL  CONVENTION.  243 

But  Ireland   saw   her  opportunity,   and    the    Chartists    of  our  own 
country  did  not  conceal  from  themselves  that  they,  too,  might  strike 

Adam  Smith  and  that  Gibbon  had  told  us  that  there  would  never  again  be  a  destruction  of 
civilisation  by  barbarians.  The  flood,  they  said,  would  no  more  return  to  cover  the  earth ; 
and  they  seemed  to  reason  justly ;  for  they  compared  the  immense  strength  of  the  civilised 
part  of  the  world  with  the  weakness  of  that  part  which  remained  savage,  and  asked  from 
whence  were  to  come  those  Iluns,  and  from  whence  were  to  come  those  Vandals,  who  were 
again  to  destroy  civilisation  ?  Alas !  It  did  not  occur  to  them  that  civilisation  itself  might 
engender  the  barbarians  who  should  destroy  it— it  did  not  occur  to  them  that,  in  the  very 
heart  of  great  capitals,  in  the  very  neighbourhood  of  splendid  palaces,  and  churches,  and 
theatres,  and  libraries,  and  museums,  vice,  and  ignorance,  and  misery  might  produce  a  race 
of  Huns  fiercer  than  those  who  marched  under  Attila,  and  Vandals  more  bent  on  destruction 
than  those  who  followed  Genseric.  Such  was  the  danger.  It  passed  by — Civilisation 
was  saved ;  but  at  what  a  price  ?  The  tide  of  feeling  turned.  It  ebbed  almost  as  fast  as  it 
had  arisen.  Impudent  and  obstinate  opposition  to  reasonable  demands  had  brought  on 
anarchy ;  and  as  soon  as  men  saw  the  evils  of  anarchy  they  fled  back  In  terror  to  crouch 
under  despotism!  To  the  dominion  of  mobs  armed  with  pikes  succeeded  the  sterner  and 
more  lasting  dominion  of  disciplined  armies.  The  papacy  rose  again  from  its  abasement — 
rose  more  intolerant  and  more  insolent  than  before — intolerant  and  insolent  as  in  the  days 
of  Hildebrand — intolerant  and  insolent  to  a  degree  that  dismayed  and  disappointed  those 
who  had  fondly  cherished  the  hope  that  its  spirit  had  been  mitigated  by  the  lapse  of  years, 
and  by  the  progress  of  knowledge.  Through  all  that  vast  region  where,  little  more  than 
seven  years  ago,  we  looked  in  vain  for  any  stable  authority,  we  now  look  as  vaiuly  for  any 
trace  of  constitutional  freedom.  And  we,  in  the  meantime,  have  been  exempt  from  both 
the  casualties  which  have  wrought  ruin  on  all  around  us.  The  madness  of  1848  did  not 
subvert  oiu-  throne.  The  reaction  which  followed  has  not  touched  our  liberties.  And  why 
was  this?  Why  has  our  country,  with  all  the  ten  plagues  raging  around,  been  another  land 
of  Goshen?  Everj'where  else  the  thimder  and  the  fire  have  been  running  along  the 
groimd — a  very  grievous  storm— a  storm  such  as  the  like  has  not  been  known  on  earth — 
and  yet  everything  is  tranquil  here.  And  then,  again,  thick  night,  and  darkness  which  might 
be  felt;  and  yet  light  has  been  in  all  our  dwellings.  We  owe  this,  under  the  blessing  of 
God,  to  a  wise  and  noble  constitution,  the  work  of  many  generations,  and  of  great  men. 
Let  us  profit  by  the  lesson  which  we  have  received,  and  let  us  thank  God  that  we  profit  by 
the  experience  of  others,  and  not  by  our  own.  Let  us  prove  that  constitution — let  us 
purify  it — let  us  amend  it;  but  let  us  not  destroy  it.  Let  us  shun  extremes,  not  only 
because  each  extreme  is  in  itself  a  positive  evil,  but  also  because  it  has  been  proved  to  us  by 
experience  that  each  extreme  necessarily  engenders  its  opposite.  If  we  love  civil  and 
religious  freedom,  let  us  in  every  day  of  danger  uphold  law  and  order ;  if  we  are  zealous  for 
law  and  order,  let  us  prize,  as  the  best  security  of  law  and  order,  our  civil  and  religious 
freedom.  Yes,  gentlemen,  the  reason  that  our  liberties  remain  in  the  midst  of  the  general 
servitude,  that  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  has  never  been  suspended,  that  the  press  is  free,  that 
we  have  the  liberty  of  association,  that  our  representative  system  stands  in  all  its-  strength, 
is  this — that  in  the  year  of  revolution  we  stood  firmly  by  government  in  its  peril.  And,  if 
I  may  be  asked  why  we  stood  by  the  government  In  Its  peril,  when  all  around  us  were 
pulling  governments  down,  I  answer,  that  it  was  because  we  knew  our  government  was  a 
good  government ;  that  its  faults  admitted  of  peaceable  and  legal  remedies,  and  that  it  had 
never  been  inflexible  in  opposition  to  our  just  demands ;  that  we  had  obtained  concessions 
from  it  of  inestimable  value,  not  by  the  beating  of  the  drum,  not  by  the  ringing  of  the 
tocsin,  not  by  the  tearing  up  of  the  pavements  of  streets,  not  by  breaking  open  the  gunners' 
shops  in  search  for  arms— but  by  the  mere  force  of  reason  and  public  opinion.  And, 
gentlemen,  pre-eminent  among  these  pacific  victories  of  reason  and  public  opinion,  the 
recollection  of  which  chiefly,  I  believe,  carried  us  safely  through  the  year  of  revolution,  and 


244  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1843 

a  blow  while  yet  Europe  was  in  a  state  of  fermentation.  A  very  few 
weeks  of  haranguing — a  very  few  days  devoted  to  organisation — and 
they  might  march  to  the  House  of  Commons  and  awe  it  by  numbers 
into  an  adoption  of  the  six  points  of  their  new  Magna  Charta.  They 
did  not  want  exactly  to  imitate  the  French,  for  the  suflBciently  good 
reason  that  the  majority  of  the  British  nation  were  against  them,  or 
did  not  understand  them,  or  were  at  all  events  too  much  attached  to 
the  Throne  and  the  Constitution  to  suffer  the  one  to  be  disturbed,  or 
the  other  to  be  violated.  But  they  felt  that  they  might  take  advan- 
tage of  the  alarm  produced  by  events  abroad,  and  hoped  to  wring 
from  the  Government,  by  mere  force  of  demonstration,  what  they 
could  not  expect  would  be  conceded  when  tranquillity  had  been 
restored,  and  England  invested  with  fresh  moral  strength  through 
her  singular  immunity  from  all  political  disturbance. 

Accordingly  it  was  determined  that,  on  the  10th  of  April,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-eight,  the 
Chartists  in  all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  should  send  delegates  to 
London,  armed  with  authority  to  go  up  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  b(jar  with  them  a  petition  signed  by  upwards  of  five  millions  of 
her  Majesty's  subjects — or,  we  should  say,  bearing  five  millions  of 
signatures — how  obtained  or  how  far  representing  honest  opinion,  is 
beyond  our  province  to  inquire.  A  Central  London  Committee, 
styling  itself  the  National  Convention,  was  to  be  the  focus  towards 
which  all  the  country  delegates  were  to  tend,  and  this  miglity 
Convention  was  to  dictate  the  modus  operandi  upon  the  day  in  question. 
And  if  words  could  be  taken  as  the  earnest  of  men's  purposes,  a 
terrible  day  it  was  to  be  ! 

At  one  of  the  preliminary  meetings,  Mr.  G.  M.  Reynolds,  an 
indifferent  author  of  penny-serial  publications,  declared  himself  a 
Republican.  A  Mr.  Ernest  Jones,  a  Yorkshire  delegate,  intimated 
that  his  constituents  were  ready  to  fight.  A  Mr.  Hitchin,  from 
Wigan,  said  that  his  friends  were  for  resorting  to  ]:)hysical  force  at 
once.  A  Mr.  H.  Smith,  from  Liverpool,  avowed  the  resolution  of 
the  Liverpudlians  to  obtain  the  Charter  at  the  2>oint  of  tlie  bayonet 
The  Edinburgh  folks,  according  to  one  Mr.  Gumming,  were  prepared 
to  go  to  tJie  field.  Mr.  Aston  was  for  fighting  for  the  Charter ;  and 
Reynolds,  the  chieftain  aforesaid,  looked  upon  a  "few  drops  of  blood 

through  the  year  of  counter-revolution,  I  would  place  two  great  reforms— inseparably 
associated,  one  with  the  memory  of  an  illustrious  man  who  is  now  beyond  the  reach  of 
envy,  and  tlie  other  as  closely  associated  with  the  name  of  another  illustrious  man,  who 
is  still,  and  I  hope  will  long  be,  living  to  be  a  mark  for  detraction.  I  speak  of  the  great 
commercial  reform  of  1846— the  work  of  Sir  R.  Peel— and  of  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832, 
brought  in  by  Lord  John  Russell." 


1848.]  ALARM  OF  THE  LONDONERS.  245 

as  nothing  in  the  scaled  A  very  ugly  man,  named  M'Carthy,  the 
representative  of  peaceful  Ireland,  talked  of  rifle-clubs,  and  of  the 
readiness  of  forty  thousand  Irishmen  in  London  to  avenge  their 
brethren  in  Ireland.  Mr.  Cuffey,  a  gentleman  even  less  favoured  by 
nature  than  M'Carthy,  "  should  take  the  rejection  of  the  petition  as 
a  declaration  of  war,  and  the  Executive,  Feargus  O'Connor  and  Co., 
would  then  lead  us  to  liberty  or  death  I "  More  of  this  fustian  was 
uttered  at  divers  meetings,  and  lustily  cheered  by  the  parties  present. 
Nor  were  there  wanting  men  who,  like  Jack  Cade  of  old,  avowed 
their  antipathy  to  the  aristocracy,  and  their  resolution  to  pull  them 
down. 

"We  will  not  leave  one  lord,  one  gentleman ; 
Spare  none  but  such  as  go  in  clouted  shoon, 
For  they  are  thrifty,  honest  men." 

All  these  sanguinary  and  revolutionary  resolutions  being  duly 
reported  in  the  public  papers,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
City  of  London,  which  is  a  good  enough  city  in  itself,  peaceable  and 
laborious,  and  full  of  people  who  have  toiled  hard  to  acquire  a  little 
property,  and  who  give  bread  to  thousands  upon  thousands  of  indus- 
trious men  and  women, — we  say,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 
City  of  London  should  have  become  very  much  alarmed,  and  looked 
imploringly  towards  the  Government  for  protection  from  the  con- 
sequences which  it  feared  must  ensue  from  the  congregation  of 
myriads  of  fierce  and  desperate  men.  It  was  not  that  London  does 
not  contain  within  its  bosom  many  hundreds  of  thinking  artisans,  who 
believe  that  the  six  points  of  the  Charter  might  be  conceded  without 
damage  to  the  Crown  or  Constitution,  but  they  think  that  all  those 
points  may  be  achieved,  as  other  great  points  have  been  achieved, 
without  resorting  to  such  an  illegal  and  unconstitutional  proceeding 
as  the  coercing  the  legislature,  alarming  a  million  of  honest  citizens, 
their  wives  and  children,  and  causing  a  total  suspension  of  labour. 
Well,  they,  the  artisans,  and  a  multitude  of  other  craftsmen,  and 
people  of  no  craft  at  all,  but  who  live  upon  their  possessions  in  lands, 
houses,  the  Funds,  and  the  fruits  of  vast  fortunes  and  plantations, 
abroad  and  at  home,  looked  to  the  Government  in  their  extremity, 
and  gave  Ministers  ample  assurance  that  their  efforts  to  preserve  the 
public  peace  should  receive  a  hearty  co-operation. 

The  appeal  was  promptly  answered.  A  proclamation  went  forth 
declaring  the  intended  meeting  illegal,  and  warning  all  well-disposed 
persons  against  attending  it. 

This  proclamation  was   altogether   disregarded   by  the   National 


246  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1848 

Convention,  who  announced,  at  their  head-quarters,  and  at  an  interview 
with  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  Parliament,  by  their  representative, 
Mr.  O'Connor,  that  the  meeting  ivoulcl  take  place,  and  that  the 
Chartists  would  walk  in  procession  to  Westminster  to  deliver  the 
petition. 

The  gauntlet  was  now  thrown  down,  the  Government  took  it  up, 
and  in  a  most  commendable  spirit  proceeded  to  put  London  in  a  state 
of  defence.  In  this  important  duty.  Ministers  had  the  benefit  of 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  Field-Marshal  his  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  who,  generally  loth  to  "  interfere"  in  matters  of  govern- 
ment, had  a  particular  "  stomach  to  the  present  deed."  Like  the  old 
war-horse,  which 

"  at  the  trumpet's  sound, 
Erects  his  mane,  and  neighs,  and  paws  the  ground," 

the  Duke  flew  to  his  maps  of  London,  called  his  staff  around  him, 
and  had  soon  chalked  out  a  plan  of  defence  which  would  have  defied 
the  united  armies  of  Repeal  Ireland  and  Chartist  England.'     Troops 

1  Mr.  Richard  Oastler  has  published  the  following  accoimt  of  an  interview  he  once  had  with 
the  Duke.  It  shows  that  the  Duke  was  always  disinclined  to  employ  physical  force  against 
the  people ;  but  if  their  objects  were  calculated  to  injure  the  Crown,  or  upset  the  government, 
or  disturb  the  peace,  he  had  no  alternative : — 

RICHARD  OASTLER'S  INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

That  I  knew  the  Duke  of  Wellington ;  have  often  been  admitted  to  his  presence ;  enjoyed 
the  high  honour  of  free  conversation  and  correspondence  with  him,  is  now  most  gratifying.  I 
cannot  describe  him  in  the  field  or  in  the  cabinet :  I  have  not  seen  him  there.  I  can  tell  of  him 
at  home,  in  private ;  there  I  have  seen  him. 

To  the  late  Thomas  Thornhill,  Esq.,  I  was  indebted  for  an  introduction  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  through  the  Duke  of  Rutland.  I  had  been  talking  with  my  old  master  on  public 
matters.  He  thought  my  observations  worthy  of  notice — asked  me  if  I  wished  to  see  (among 
other  notables)  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  His  Grace,  of  all  others,  was  the  man  whom  I  longed 
to  see. 

It  was  diiring  the  summer  of  1832,  when,  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from  the  Duke  of 
Rutland,  I  called-  at  Apsley  House.  In  a  few  minutes  the  servant  returned,  saying,  "The 
Duke  of  Wellington  desires  his  compliments  to  you,  and  will  be  happy  to  see  you  to-morrow 
at  eleven  o'clock." 

Twenty  years  have  elapsed  since  then.  I  have  not,  however,  forgotten  what  I  felt  at  the 
prospect  of  meeting,  face  to  face,  with  the  greatest  man  of  the  age.  Five  minutes  before  the 
appointed  time,  I  knocked  at  the  door  of  Apsley  House.  I  was  shown  into  a  room  looking  into 
the  garden  at  the  corner  of  the  park.  In  this  apartment  were  glass  casee  filled  with  a  superb 
service  of  china,  the  gift,  as  I  was  informed,  of  the  King  of  Saxony.  On  each  piece  the  Duke 
was  represented  in  one  of  his  military  exploits.  I  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  these  different 
works  of  art,  but  I  was  chiefiy  intent  upon  the  approaching  interview. 

I  had  before  then,  talked  with  many  noblemen  and  statesmen.  I  am  not  noted  for  bash- 
fulness;  nevertheless,  on  that  occasion,  I  felt  as  I  had  never  felt  before.  My  veneration  for  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  excessive.  I  naturally  wished  to  obtain  a  favourable  hearing,  and 
was  concocting  a  few  sentences  of  introduction,  anticipating  a  very  formal  reception,  when,  as 


1848.1  THE  TENTH  OF  APRIL.  247 

were  sent  for  from  the  several  counties.  The  17th,  the  heroes  of 
Hindostan,  Khelat,  and  Ghuznee ;  the  62ud,  who  fought  at  Nive, 
the  Peninsula,  and  Sobraon ;    the  63rd,  the   Guards,  the   Dragoons, 

the  clock  was  striking  eleven,  I  heard  behind  me  the  opening  of  a  door,  and  a  very  friendly,  but 
rather  a  weak  voice,  saying,  "  Good  morning,  Mr.  Oasllcr,  will  you  walk  this  way  ?"  On  turning 
I  saw  the  opened  door  ;  I  did  not  see  the  Duke;  I,  however,  saw  his  nose  projecting  beyond  the 
edge  of  the  door,  and  was  sure  that  it  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  There  was  a  door  into  each 
room,  the  thickness  of  the  wall  separating  them.  His  Grace,  standing  in  that  space,  smiling, 
said — "Walk  forward,  sir."  I  asked,  "Allow  me  to  shut  the  doors?"  "Oh,  no,  sir,  walk 
forward ;  I'll  close  the  doors,"  was  the  Duke'.s  reply. 

I  was  now  shut  in  vi'ith  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  There  was  no  grandeur  in  this  room.  It 
was  evidently  a  place  of  business.  A  long  table,  nearly  covered  with  books,  papers,  and 
letters,  occupied  the  middle  of  the  floor.  The  different  documents  seemed  placed  in  such 
exact  order,  that  their  owner  might  have  found  any  one  of  them,  even  in  the  dark.  At  the 
end  of  the  table  was  a  sofa,  nearly  covered  with  orderly-arranged  papers,  leaving  sufficient 
space  for  one  person.  On  that  space,  at  the  bidding  of  the  Duke,  I  sat.  His  Grace,  standing 
before  me,  said,  "  Well,  Sir.  Oastler,  what  is  it  you  wish  to  say  to  me  ?"  I  observed,  "  It  is 
very  strange  that  I  should  sit,  while  the  Duke  of  Wellington  stands,  and  in  Apsley  House, 
too!"  "Oh!"  said  his  Grace,  "If  you  think  so,  and  if  it  will  please  you  belter,  I'll  sit." 
So  saying,  he  took  a  seat  on  an  easy  chair,  between  the  sofa  and  the  flre-place.  I  was  then 
desired  to  "proceed."  Being  strangely  affected,  with  a  reception  so  very  different  from  that 
anticipated,  I  expressed  my  surprise,  and  craved  the  Duke's  indulgence.  Placing  his  right 
hand  on  ray  right  shoulder,  his  Grace  said,  "We  shall  never  get  on  if  you  are  embarrassed. 
Forget  that  you  are  here — fancy  yourself  talking  with  one  of  your  neighbours  at  Fixby,  and 
proceed." 

The  ffiendliness  of  this  action,  and  the  encouraging  kindness  of  his  words,  removed  every 
impediment.  I  at  once  entered  into  familiar  conversation.  After  a  few  introductory  remarks, 
I  said — "There  are  two  great  mistakes  prevalent  in  this  country — I  would  rectify  them." — 
"  What  are  they  ?"  asked  the  Duke. — "  One,  that  the  aristocracy  imagine  that  the  working  people 
wish  to  deprive  them  of  their  rank  and  property." — "That's  true,"  said  his  Grace, 
*  they  do." — "  By  no  means,  my  Lord  Duke,"  I  rejoined ;  "  not  any  man  knows  the  working 
men  of  England  better  than  myself;  I  can  assure  you  there  never  was  a  greater  mistake ;  all 
that  the  working  men  want  is  to  be  enabled,  by  honest  industry,  to  provide  for  themselves 
and  their  families." — "  I  rejoice  to  hear  you  say  so,"  answered  the  Duke ;  "  every  honest, 
industrious  working  man  has  a  just  claim  to  that  reward  for  his  labour." — "I  expected  to  hear 
fhat  sentiment  from  your  Grace,  notwithstanding  the  next  mistake  which  it  is  my  object  to 
•ectify." — "  What  is  that  T — "  The  working  people  are,  by  their  enemies  and  yours,  taught  to 
oelieve  that  your  Grace  wishes  to  feed  them  with  bullets  and  steel." — "  Are  they  ?"  exclaimed 
Ihe  Duke. — "  They  are,  your  Grace.  Is  your  Grace  thus  inclined  ?  I  do  not  believe  it." — 
rhe  Duke,  with  serious  emotion,  said,  "  I  am  the  last  man  to  wish  for  war.  I  have  gained  all 
that  the  sword  can  give,  the  Crown  excepted ;  and  it  is  my  duty  to  serve  the  Crown  ?" — "  May  I 
(ell  the  people  so  ?"— "  Certainly.  Tell  them  I  hate  war— that  I  shall  be  the  last  man  to  recom- 
mend the  sword."  '^■■f 

During  that  interview  his  Grace  listened  with  .the  kiudesT  attention  to  my  remarks.  At  its 
close  the  Dulce  gave  me  his  hand  (liow  I  felt  at  that  moment  I  will  not  just  now  describe)— 
thanked  me,  and  desired  me  to  call  again  for  a  longer  interview  next  day. 

In  a  short  while  I  returned  to  Huddersfield,  met  thousands  of  the  people  at  an  out-door 
assembly,  and  told  them  all  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington   had  told  me.    Oh!  how  they 

cheered! But  the  Liberals— the   \\liigs  of  Huddersfield— were  angry.     Never  could 

they  forgive  me  for  having  obtained  the  cheers  of  the  people  for  one  whom  they  had  taught 
their  dupes  to  execrate— his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  R-  0« 

Boiling  Hail,  Bradford,  Yorkshire. 


248  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1848. 

the  Marines,  were  summoned  to  march  to  town  two  days  before  the 
intended  congregation,  and  their  respective  billets  and  rendezvous 
duly  settled.  Meanwhile  the  Bank  of  England  (rioters  always 
rush  to  the  great  depositories  of  gold)  was  prudently  fortified,  and 
cover  for  infantry,  iu  the  shape  of  sand-bags  and  loop-holed  boards, 
disposed  along  the  parapet  and  at  the  angles.  Revolving  clievauz  de 
frise  were  placed  over  the  gates  of  Somerset  House.  Additional 
locks,  bolts,  and  bars  were  attached  to  the  gates  of  the  Mint,  the 
Tower,  the  Admiralty,  and  all  the  other  great  public  buildings. 
The  war-steamers,  well  armed,  were  placed  at  different  points  of  the 
Kent  and  Essex  coast  in  a  state  of  preparation,  to  move  up  to  town 
with  additional  troops  and  stores.  Arms  of  all  kinds  and  abundance 
of  ammunition  were  conveyed  into  the  different  public  offices ;  the 
clerks,  porters,  servants,  &c.,  were  sworn  in  as  special  constables, 
and  so  vested  with  authority  to  resist  the  onslaught  of  the  expected 
enemy.  The  commissioners  of  police  received  instructions  to  dis- 
tribute their  force  in  such  a  manner  that  the  first  attacks  should  be 
borne  by  them  ;  the  troops,  who  were  to  lie  in  ambush,  only  coming 
up  as  a  coiys  de  reserve  in  case  of  extreme  necessity. 

This  was  of  itself  a  formidable  array  to  oppose  to  a  body  of  men 
unskilled  in  the  art  of  war,  and  unprovided  with  the  means  of  making 
a  dangerous  attack,  excepting  by  plundering  gunsmiths'  and  iron- 
mongers' shops,  and  arming  themselves  with  fowling-pieces,  pitch- 
forks, &c.  But  it  did  not  amount  to  half  what  was  yet  to  be 
done.  Full  of  loyalty  and  valour ;  inspired  by  a  strong  attachment 
to  didce  domum ;  anxious  to  make  some  figure  upon  the  eventful 
day,  and  deter  the  audacious  Chartists  from  attacks  on  private 
property,  thousands  of  noblemen,  gentlemen,  merchants,  lawyers, 
attorneys,  tradespeople,  clerks,  servants,  draymen,  coalwhippers,  and 
men  of  no  particular  calling,  rushed  to  the  police-offices,  and  caused 
themselves  to  be  sworn  in  as  special  constables.  The  magistrates  had 
so  many  oaths  to  administer  that  they  got  heartily  sick  of  the 
formula,  and  found,  in  the  irksomeness  of  the  duty,  a  new  motive  for 
detesting  Chartists  and  all  other  disturbers  of  public  order.  The 
demand  for  truncheons^,  became  so  great  that  the  turneries  at  the 
dockyards  could  not  i^Aacture  them  fast  enough.  Sunday,  the 
9th  of  April,  the  precursor  of  the  great  day  of  physical  demonstration, 
arrived.  The  Queen  and  Royal  Family  had  left  London  for  Osborne 
House,  Isle  of  Wight,  on  the  previous  Saturday.  The  royal  example 
was  now  followed  by  numerous  respectable  but  timid  individuals. 
Locking  up  the  cellars,  the  wardrobes,  and  the  store-rooms,  and 
taking  the  keys  with  them,  responsible  housekeepers   evacuated  the 


1848.]  THE   DUKE'S   DEFENCE   OF  LONDON.  249 

devoted  city,  and  confided  the  care  of  their  proporty  to  trustworthy 
domestics  ;  while  they,  with  anxious  hearts,  and  ears  pricked  up, 
awaited  the  booming  of  the  cannon  which  should  proclaim  the  com- 
mencement of  the  strife  and  the  peril  of  their  worldly  goods.  It  was 
a  curious  illustration  of  the  superior  value  attaching  to  existence. 
As  Mrs.  Hai-dcastlc  says  in  the  play,  "  Take  all  we  have,  but  spare 
our  lives." 

The  scared  heads  of  families  having  abdicated  and  fled,  the  provi- 
sional governments  of  the  several  domiciles  deemed  they  could  not 
do  better  than  pass  the  Sabbath  in  reconnoitring  the  town,  and 
observing  the  character  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  preparations. 
Accordingly,  after  service,  the  streets  swarmed  with  curious  groups 
of  lacqueys  and  femmcs  cle  chamhre^  while  the  tigers,  the  pages,  and 
sundry  little  girls,  daughters  of  small  green-grocers  and  indefatigable 
laundresses,  kept  possession  of  the  deserted  mansions. 

The  night  before  "  the  siege"  was  passed  in  a  state  of  oscillation 
between  hope  and  fear.  The  middle  classes  were  watchful  and 
wakeful ;  they  knew  not  what  the  morrow  might  produce.  Bankers 
prepared  themselves  for  a  stubborn  resistance  to  the  attacks  upon  the 
iron  chest.  Bakers  saw  in  imagination  the  violent  mis-appropriation 
of  countless  four-pound  loaves.  Mechanics  pledged  soldiers,  in  sub- 
urban beer-shops,  in  a  fraternal  spirit ;  and  the  soldiers  pledged  the 
mechanics,  when  the  beer  was  drank,  and  the  mechanics  had  paid  for 
it,  that  '•  soldiers  were  but  soldiers,  and  must  obey  orders,  whatever 
their  feelings  might  be."  Special  constables  hung  together  for 
company's  sake,  forming  a  sort  of  mutual  assurance  society  for  the 
protection  of  life.  They  sat  grandly  and  gloomily,  speaking  in  short 
disjointed  sentences,  and  ever  and  anon  reminding  each  other  that 
England  expected  every  man  to  do  his  duty,  and  that  as  far  as  they 
were  personally  and  individually  concerned,  the  expectation  should 
not  be  disappointed.  Here  and  there,  in  dark  alleys  and  dim  recesses, 
under  archways,  and  on  the  kerb-stones  of  broad  suburban  roads, 
groups  of  boys  and  men,  whose  occupations  no  one  would  have  been 
bold  enough  to  define,  discoursed  cheerfully  upon  the  prospects  of  the 
morrow ;  and  a  quick-eared  passenger  might  occasionally  detect  that 
cant  phrases,  having  reference  to  the  operation  of  pick-pockets  and 
burglars,  formed  the  staple  of  the  conversation  of  the  innocent 
assemblage.  At  length  the  mantle  of  night  pressed  heavily  upon  the 
multitude,  afiecting  alike  the  garrison  and  the  citizens ;  and  the 
murmur  of  street  gossip  died  away  into  deep  silence,  as  each  boozy 
idler,  impoverished  by  moistening  his  superficial  patriotism,  staggered 
homewards. 


250  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1843 

The  eventful  day  was  ushered  in  by  a  beautiful  dawn  ;  and  the 
prevalence  of  a  westerly  wind  tempted  people  to  say — "  Dear  me, 
this  is  quite  a  holiday  !  What  a  very  warm  spring !"  Opinion  was 
somewhat  divided  as  to  the  advantage  of  fine  weather  upon  such  an 
occasion.  Opinion,  however,  could  not  alter  the  fact.  There  was 
Phoebus,  all  smiles  and  glitter,  treating  the  day  as  the  peculiar  prop- 
erty of  holiday  people,  and  holding  out  the  greatest  possible,  en 
couragement  to  her  Majesty's  subjects  to  quit  their  dwellings  and 
see  "  the  fun"  which  political  fervour  had  provided  for  them  !  The 
troops  were  marched  at  daybreak  from  their  several  bivouacs ;  and 
by  ten  o'clock  it  would  have  puzzled  a  conjuror  to  say  where  one  of 
the  seven  thousand  was  to  be  found.  The  Duke  had  carried  his 
science  of  ambushing  his  men  to  the  highest  point  of  military  perfec- 
tion. It  was  only  by  excoriating  their  noses  between  the  iron  bars 
of  the  gates  that  the  people  could  detect  the  bear-skin  caps  of  the 
Coldstreams  at  Somerset  House.  The  Park  gates  were  kept  closed, 
and  the  strong  garrison  at  Buckingham  Palace  was  lodged  in  the 
riding-school  and  the  mews,  unseen  by  a  single  idler.  Now  and  then, 
at  the  window  of  a  house  on  the  Surrey  side  of  Blackfriars'  Bridge, 
the  blue  coat  of  the  armed  pensioner  might  be  observed  ;  and  at  the 
Admiralty  eastern  gate  the  flitting  of  a  marine  sentinel  gave  token  that 
there  was  stout  garrison  within  that  venerable  and  stately  building. 

If  the  troops  were  perdu,  however,  not  equally  screened  from 
public  view  was  the  force  under  Colonel  Rowan  and  Mr.  Mayne. 
Formidable  bodies  of  the  police  filled  the  interior  area  of  Trafalgar- 
square.  Large  detachments  occupied  the  southern  sides  of  the 
bridges  ;  and  Kennington  Common,  which  was  to  be  the  rendezvous 
of  the  Chartists,  actually  swarmed  with  the  "Peelers,"  pedestrian 
and  equestrian. 

The  plan  of  defence  by  the  police  force  was  this : — An  advanced 
post  of  500  men,  was  placed  at  Ball's  livery  stables,  Kennington, 
concealed  from  view,  but  ready  to  act  at  a  moment's  notice,  if 
required.  The  main  strength  of  the  force,  amounting  to  2290  men, 
was  concentrated  on  the  bridges :  500  at  Westminster ;  500  at 
Hungerford  ;  500  at  Waterloo,  and  500  at  Blackfriars'  Bridge.  At 
the  last-mentioned  bridge  a  large  body  of  the  City  police  were  also 
posted  on  the  Middlesex  side  of  the  river.  In  Palace  Yard  there  was 
a  reserve  of  545  man ;  in  Great  George-street,  of  445 :  in  Traftilgar- 
square,  of  690,  and  at  the  Prince's-mews,  of  40, — making  a  total  of 
1680  men.  The  number  of  police  of  all  ranks  in  position  was  3970, 
The  Thames  division  was  disposed  in  ten  boats,  placed  at  the  bridges 
and  at  Whitehall-stairs. 


1848.]  THE  CHARTIST  PETITION.  251 

But  it  was  in  the  arrangement  of  the  military  and  artillery  forces, 
and  the  special  constabulary,  that  the  skill  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
— now  for  the  first  time  engaged  in  defending  an  unprotected  town — 
was  seen.  There  were  400  of  the  pensioners  at  Battersea  Bridge ; 
500  at  Vauxhall ;  200  or  300  at  the  Pantechnicon ;  and  a  detachment 
at  Blackfriars,  so  placed  in  the  house  on  each  side  of  Chatham-place 
that  their  fire  would  command  the  passage  of  the  bridge.  The 
whole  number  out  amounted  to  1500  men.  The  62nd  and  17th 
regiments  of  infantry  were  stationed  at  Milbank  Penitentiary ;  a 
battalion  of  the  Guards  occupied  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  and 
another  was  posted  at  Charing-cross ;  a  body  of  infantry  was  placed 
in  some  houses  which  command  Westminster  Bridge;  and  the  rest 
of  the  troops  of  the  line,  amounting  in  all  to  8000,  were  stationed  at 
the  difi'erent  public  ofiaees  and  in  other  positions  extending  to  the 
City  and  Tower,  which  had  been  carefully  selected,  as  aflFording 
facilities  for  military  operations,  should  these  become  unavoidable. 
A  strong  detachment  of  Life  Guards  was  placed  under  the  command 
of  General  Brotherton,  at  Blackfriars'  Bridge ;  and  another  detach- 
ment occupied  a  position  on  the  Surrey  side  of  Westminster  Bridge. 
There  was  also  an  advanced  post  of  cavalry  close  to  Kennington 
Common.  The  12th  Light  Dragoons  occupied  Chelsea  ;  and  another 
cavalry  regiment  was  stationed  at  the  Regent's  Park  barracks. 
There  were  twelve  pieces  of  artillery  at  the  Royal  Mews,  along  with 
500  infantry  ;  and  thirty  pieces  of  artillery  had  been  brought  up  to  the 
Tower,  with  their  wagons  and  the  proper  complement  of  artillery- 
men. On  the  river  three  steamers  had  notice  to  convey  1200  troops 
from  the  dockyard  at  Deptford  to  any  point  where  their  presence 
might  be  required.  There  were  also  pieces  of  artillery  placed  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Westminster  Bridge,  ready  to  do  deadly  service,  if 
required. 

From  two  o'clock,  when  the  bridges  were  closed  up,  to  prevent  the 
meeting,  as  it  dispersed,  from  pouring  down  tumultuous  masses 
of  the  people  upon  the  northern  side  of  the  river,  the  streets 
were  patrolled  by  the  mounted  police  from  Vauxhall  Bridge  to 
Temple  Bar. 

Happily  for  the  deluded  people  who  assembled  at  Kennington, 
the  fear  inspired  by  the  "  Old  Duke's  "  preparations  deterred  them 
from  coming  into  collision  with  the  troops.  At  the  instance  of  the 
inspectors  of  police  the  meeting  dissolved ;  and  the  monster  petition 
was  carried  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  a  cab,  and  presented  by 
Mr.  Feargus  O'Connor,  M.  P.  for  Nottingham.  The  signatures  to  the 
petition  were  said  to  exceed  five  millions  and  a  half ;  but  when  they 


252 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1848. 


came  to  be  examined,  it  was  found  that  great  numbers  were  purely . 
nonsensical.  The  names  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  and  other  men  of  rank  and  station,  had  been  inserted  innumer- 
able times !  Mr.  Feargus  O'Connor's  eccentricity  in  this  matter, 
followed  by  a  course  at  once  mischievous  and  absurd,  eventuated  in 
a  mental  hallucination,  which,  three  years  subsequently,  led  to  the 
permanent  confinement  of  the  unfortunate  gentleman. 


8AND0WN    CASTLE. 


1849.] 


THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION. 


Q53 


CHAPTEE  XX. 


The  French  Revolution— The  Death  of  Sir  R.  Peel— The  Great  Exhibition— Prince  Louis  Napo- 
leon—The embodiment  of  the  Militia— Death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington— Tributes— Appoint- 
ments consequent  on  his  Death— Public  Funeral. 


FTEK,  several  sanguinary  struggles  in 
the  streets  of  Paris,  arising  out  of  the 
attempts  of  various  clubs  and  asso- 
ciations to  establish  a  government  upon 
the  extravagant  principles  which  found 
favour  in  the  days  of  Robespierre, 
Marat,  and  Danton,  the  French  suc- 
ceeded in  converting  a  mild  monarchy 
into  a  despotic  republic,  of  which  Prince 
Louis  Napoleon,  the  nephew  of  the  Em- 
peror, was  elected  President.  During 
this  period  and  for  some  time  sub- 
sequently, the  relations  of  the  British 
with  the  French  cabinet  became  difficult 
this  more  readily  than  the  Duke  of 
hira,  he  guarded  the  British  Ministry 
against  the  consequences  of  their  not  appearing  to  be  supported  by 
public  opinion.  He  met  every  movement  of  the  Opposition  in  a 
conciliatory  spirit,  always  pointing  to  the  importance  of  domestic 
tranquillity,  as  affording  England  the  best  means  of  giving  aid  in 
maintaining  the  peace  of  Europe. 

In  the  course  of  1849,  the  Duke  found  occasion  to  justify  and  to 
laud  the  conduct  of  the  Marquis  of  Dalhousie  in  conducting  a  war 
against  the  Sikhs,  which  eventuated  in  the  annexation  of  the  Punjaub 
to  the  British  dominions  in  India.  The  only  instances  in  which  his 
Grace  appeared  to  act  with  the  Opposition  was  against  the  Railways 
Abandonment  Bill,  and  the  Pilotage  Bill.     He  was  of  opinion  that 


to   manage.      No   one   saw 
Wellington,  and,  as  became 


254  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON.  [1850. 

the  first  would,  in  effect,  repeal  tlie  vast  number  of  Acts  of  Parliament 
which  had  been  past  during  the  last  few  sessions,  which  involved 
the  outlay  of  millions  of  money  and  the  interest  of  millions  of  per- 
sons !  and  that  it  would  wipe  away  the  whole  of  the  property  which 
had  been  invested  on  the  faith  of  those  Acts  of  Parliament.  And  in 
respect  to  the  Pilotage  Bill,  he  said,  speaking  as  Lord  Warden  of  the 
Cinque  Ports,  that  it  was  calculated  to  put  down  the  fellowship  of  the 
pilots,  who  had  hitherto  contribuled  to  the  safety  and  usefulness  of 
our  navigation. 

In  1850  the  Duke  of  Wellington  experienced  a  shock  in  the 
sudden  and  accidental  death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  who  was  thrown 
from  his  horse  in  the  Park.  It  is  said  to  this  hour,  in  many  quarters, 
that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  very  little  real  regard  for  Sir 
Robert  Peel;  that  the  pliancy  of  the  distinguished  commoner  on 
one  occasion,  his  firmness  upon  others,  opposition  to  the  Duke's 
wishes,  and  his  plebeian  origin,  had  combined  to  close  the  avenues  to 
the  Duke's  heart  against  him.  The  Duke  regarded  him  only  as  a 
necessity.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  seems  impossible  that  his  Grace 
should  have  been  long  associated  in  public  life,  and  especially  in  office, 
with  Sir  Robert,  giving  him  his  confidence  the  while,  without  enter- 
taining some  respect  for  his  character  ;  and  we  do  not,  therefore, 
wonder  that,  when  the  death  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  alluded  to  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  should  have  been  deeply 
affected,  and  almost  incapable  of  joining  in  the  testimonies  freely 
offered  by  Lords  Lansdowne,  Stanley,  and  Brougham,  to  the  virtues 
of  the  deceased  statesman.  When  the  Duke  rose  to  take  his  share  in 
the  mournful  ceremony,  his  feelings  so  overcame  him  that  it  was  some 
time  ere  he  could  acquire  the  command  of  speech.  He  at  length 
said,  after  a  great  effort  at  articulation  : — "  My  Lords,  I  rifee  to  give 
expression  to  the  satisfaction  with  which  I  have  heard  this  conver- 
sation on  the  part  of  your  lordships,  both  on  the  part  of  those  noble 
lords  who  were  opposed  to  Sir  Robert  Peel  during  the  whole  course 
of  their  political  lives,  and  on  the  part  of  those  noble  friends  of  mine 
who  have  been  opposed  to  him  only  lately.  Your  lordships  must  all 
feel  the  high  and  honourable  character  of  the  late  Sir  Robert  Peel. 
I  was  long  connected  with  him  in  public  life.  We  were  both  in  the 
councils  of  our  Sovereign  together,  and  I  had  long  the  honour  to 
enjoy  his  private  friendship.  In  all  the  course  of  my  acquaintance 
with  Sir  Robert  Peel,  I  never  knew  a  man  in  whose  truth  and  justice 
I  had  a  more  lively  confidence,  or  in  whom  I  saw  a  more  invariable 
desire  to  promote  the  public  service.  In  the  whole  course  of  my 
communication  with  him.  I  never  knew  an  instance  in  which  he  did 


1851.]  THE  GREAT  EXHIBITION.  255 

not  show  the  strongest  attachment  to  truth  ;  and  I  never  saw,  in  the 
whole  course  of  my  life,  the'  smallest  reason  for  suspecting  that  he 
stated  anything  which  he  did  not  firmly  believe  to  be  the  fact.  My 
Lords,  I  could  not  let  this  conversation  close  without  stating  that 
which  I  believe  to  have  been  the  strongest  characteristic  feature  of  his 
character.  I  again  repeat  to  you,  my  Lords,  my  satisfaction  at  hearing 
the  sentiments  of  regret  which  you  have  expressed  for  his  loss." 
This  speech  produced  a  marked  sensation  amongst  the  Peers. 

The  British  public  gave  itself  up  in  1851  to  a  long  holiday.  It 
was  the  year  of  the  "  Great  Exhibition "  par  excellence.  All  the 
nations  of  the  earth  sent  tribute  to  England  in  the  shape  of  the 
fruits  of  ingenuity  or  the  wondrous  products  of  nature.  The  highest 
imaginable  compliment  was  paid  to  this  country  in  the  recognition  by 
the  rest  of  the  world  of  her  right  to  oflFer  herself  as  the  temporary 
emporium  of  the  results  of  the  industry  of  the  universe — the  point 
of  rendezvous  of  delegates  from  the  inhabitants  of  all  parts  of  the 
globe.  From  the  Queen  of  England,  down  to  the  poorest  and 
humblest  of  her  subjects,  every  one  made  a  point  of  visiting,  as  often 
as  their  circumstances  would  admit,  the  glorious  Crystal  Palace  in 
Hyde  Park.  Among  the  most  frequent  visitors  to  this  enchanting 
repository  of  wealth,  and  abode  of  good  taste,  was  the  Duke  of 
Wellington.  He  seemed  to  take  the  mest  lively  interest  in  the 
various  departments  of  manufacture,  and  was  himself  no  less  an 
object  of  the  curiosity  and  affectionate  solicitude  of  the  people. 
"  When,"  said  the  Keverend  Dr.  Emerton,  of  Hanwell,  in  an  eloquent 
and  impressive  funeral  sermon  preached  at  Ealing,  "  I  saw  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  moving  through  the  Palace  of  Industry  that  was  lately 
erected  in  the  metropolis — which  men  of  all  nations  viewed  with 
admiration  and  delight — and  the  dense  crowds  making  way  at  his 
approach,  I  could  not  help  regarding  him  as  the  presiding  genius  of 
that  Temple  of  Peace  which  seemed  erected  for  his  especial  glorifica- 
tion. It  is,  at  least,  certain  that  without  the  blessing  of  the  long 
peace  which  his  victories  had  secured,  such  a  building  would  have 
been  raised  in  vain ;  his  presence  there  was  hailed  by  men  of  all  the 
nations  which  he  had  delivered  from  bondage — and  those  who  might 
have,  years  gone  by,  regarded  him  as  an  enemy,  looked  upon  him  with 
veneration  and  delight."  Upon  the  opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace — 
the  1st  of  May,  1851 — his  own  birth-day,  and  the  first  anniversary  of 
the  birth  of  Prince  Arthur,  to  whom  he  had  stood  sponsor' — the 

1  There  is  a  charming  picture  by  Winterhalter  (of  which  an  exquisite  engraving  has  been 
published,  by  P.  and  D.  Colnaghi,  of  Pall  Mall  East),  representing  the  Duke,  in  his  military 
uniform,  presenting  a  cadeau  to  the  infant  Prince,  who,  with  outstretched  anns,  is  supported 
by  her  iSlajesty.     Prince  Albert  is  in  the  background,  with  head  averted,  looking  at  the 

2t 


256  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON,  [1851. 

Duke  was  seen  parading  the  platform  of  the  marvellous  edifice  in 
company  with  the  marquis  of  Anglesey ;  and  the  appearance  of  the 
veteran  chieftains,  arm  in  arm,  excited  deep  interest  and  lively 
emotion.  Everybody  "unbonnetted"  to  them  as  they  passed,  and 
"  God  bless  your  Grace ! "  proceeded  from  more  than  one  honest 
heart  and  mouth  as  the  Duke  was  seen  by  some  country  stranger 
for  the  first  time.  Amongst  the  little  incidents,  preparatory  to  the 
opening  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  may  be  mentioned  as  singular  and 
apposite,  that,  while  the  Duke  was  observing  the  process  of  unpacking 
some  cases,  intended  for  the  French  department  of  argentefrie^ 
statuettes  in  silver  of  the  Duke  himself  and  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
were  disclosed. 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  French  National  Assembly  to 
arrange  for  the  election  of  a  President  of  the  Republic,  in  succession 
to  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  whose  term  of  office  was  expiring,  that 
Prince,  determining  to  anticipate  the  decision,  procured  with  an 
unparalleled  degree  of  secrecy  and  promptitude,  the  fealty  of  the 
troops  in  and  about  Paris ;  and  upon  the  plea  of  crushing  conspiracies 
levelled  at  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the  country,  he  trampled 
those  liberties  under  foot,  and,  in  a  few  hours,  established  a  fierce 
military  despotism.  France,  crouching  and  terrified,  yielded  without 
striking  a  blow,  and  the  people  awaited  the  moment  (which  has  since 
arrived)  when  the  Prince,  scorning  the  mockery  of  a  Republic,  should 
take  upon  himself  the  monarchical  authority  and  procure  the  revival 
of  the  Empire.  Fearful  lest  the  army,  which  had  thus  aided  Louis 
Napoleon  in  his  crusade  against  political  freedom,  should  demand,  as 
the  recompense  of  its  devotion,  that  it  be  led  across  the  Channel,  the 
British  Ministry  prepared  to  enroll  the  militia.  Lord  John  Russell's 
plan,  however,  for  this  wholesome  measure  appeared  so  very  defective 
that  upon  an  amendment  by  Lord  Palmerston,  the  Militia  Bill  was 
thrown  out,  and  Lord  John  Russell  and  his  colleagues  resigned  in 
disgust.  They  were  succeeded  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  the  Con- 
servatives, who,  deriving  experience  from  the  failure  of  the  Whigs, 
brought  in  a  bill  of  a  different  complexion,  which  the  country  at 
once  accepted.  When  the  bill  went  up  to  the  House  of  Lords,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  gave  it  a  cordial  support.  His  Grace  at  length 
beheld  the  first  great  step  to  the  realisation  of  the  projects  on  which 
his  mind  had  long  dwelt.*     It  was  universally  admitted  that  he  never 

Crystal  Palace.  The  group  baa  eridenlly  been  suggested  by  the  study  of  some  picture  of  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

1  In  his  admirable  letter  to  Sir  John  Burgoyne  on  the  national  defence  (see  Appendix),  tho 
Duke  of  Wellington  had  laid  great  stress  on  the  importance  of  a  Militia. 


1861.]  THE  MILITIA  BILL.  257 

spoke  better  than  on  this  occasion — he  had  rarely,  indeed,  spoken  so 
■well.  His  heart  was  in  the  cause.  His  speech,  said  the  United 
Service  Gazette^  "  might  be  registered  as  the  most  striking  proof  of 
the  constancy  of  that  pure  patriotism,  which,  since  he  first  embraced 
the  profession  of  arms,  had  been  the  most  distinguishing  trait  in  the 
illustrious  Duke's  career."     He  said — 

"  I  am  certainly  the  last  man  to  have  any  hesitation  of  opinion  as 
to  the  relative  advantage  of  meeting  an  enemy  with  disciplined  or 
with  undisciplined  or  half-disciplined  troops.  The  things  are  not  to 
be  compared  at  all.  With  disciplined  troops  you  are  acting  with  a 
certain  degree  of  confidence  that  what  they  are  ordered  to  perform 
they  will  perform.  With  undisciplined  troops  you  can  have  no  such 
confidence ;  on  the  contrary,  the  chances  are  that  they  will  do  the 
very  reverse  of  what  they  are  ordered  to  do.  But  we  must  look  a 
little  at  the  state  in  which  we  stand  at  the  present  moment.  This 
country  is  at  peace  with  the  whole  world,  except  in  certain  parts,  or 
on  the  frontiers  of  its  own  distant  dominions,  with  which  operations 
of  war  are  carried  on  by  means  of  our  peace  establishment.  You  are 
now  providing  for  a  peace  establishment ;  you  are  at  peace  with  the 
whole  world ;  you  are  providing  for  a  peace  establishment.  I  say 
that  peace  establishment  ought  to  have  been  efiectually  provided  for 
long  ago.  If  it  had  been,  we  should  not  have  needed  now  to  be  told, 
as  we  have  been  by  the  noble  marquis,  about  the  number  of  days  and 
weeks  it  will  take  to  train  the  militia  recruits ;  or  about  the  futility  of 
expecting  anything  to  the  purpose  from  troops  with  their  three 
weeks'  or  their  six  weeks',  or  what  time  it  may  be,  training.  We 
have  never,  up  to  this  moment,  maintained  a  proper  peace  establish- 
ment— that's  the  real  truth  ;  and  we  are  now  in  that  position  in 
which  we  find  ourselves  forced  to  form  a  peace  establishment  such  as 
this  country  requires.  I  tell  you,  for  the  last  ten  years  you  have 
never  had  in  your  army  more  men  than  enough  to  relieve  the 
sentries  on  duty  of  your  stations  in  the  different  parts  of  the  world ; 
such  is  the  state  of  your  peace  establishment  at  the  present  time ; 
such  has  been  the  state  of  your  peace  establishment  for  the  last  ten 
years.  You  have  been  carrying  on  war  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  in 
the  different  stations,  by  means  of  this  peace  establishment ;  you 
have  now  a  war  at  the  Cape,  still  continuing,  which  you  carry  on 
with  your  peace  establishment;  yet  on  that  peace  establishment,  I 
tell  you,  you  have  not  more  men  than  are  enough  to  relieve  the 
sentries  at  the  different  stations  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  to 
relieve  the  different  regiments  in  the  tropics  and  elsewhere,  after 
services  there — of  how  long  do  you  suppose? — of,  in  some  cases, 
VOL.  n.  17 


258  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1851. 

twenty-five  years,  io  none  less  than  ten  years,  and,  after  which,  you 
give  them  five  years  at  home,  nominally—for  it  is  only  nominally  in 
a  great  many  cases.  There  were,  for  instance,  the  last  troops  who 
were  sent  out  to  the  Cape ;  instead  of  keeping  them  five  years  at 
home,  after  their  long  service  abroad,  I  was  obliged  to  send  them 
out  after  they  had  only  been  sixteen  months  at  home.  My  Lords,  I 
tell  you  you  have  never  had  a  proper  peace  establishment  all  this  time. 
"We  are  still  at  peace  with  all  the  world ;  let  us,  then,  have  a  peace 
establishment — our  constitutional  peace  establishment ;  and  when 
you  have  got  that,  see  what  you  will  do  next.  The  noble  marquis, 
my  noble  friend,  if  he  will  allow  me  so  to  call  him,  says  he  thinks  he 
should  prefer  an  army  of  reserve.  An  army  of  reserve  !  What  is 
an  army  of  reserve  ?  Is  it  an  army  to  cost  less  than  40/.  each  man  all 
round  'I  If  he  thinks  that  possible,  I  tell  him  that  we  can  have  no 
such  thing.  But  what  I  desire — and  I  believe  it  is  a  desire  the  mosfc 
moderate  than  can  be  formed — is,  that  you  shall  give  us,  in  the  first 
instance,  the  old  constitutional  peace  establishment.  When  we  have 
got  that,  then  you  may  do  what  you  please.  The  noble  marquis  says, 
very  truly,  that  these  50,000,  or  80,000,  or  150,000  militiamen  won't 
be  fit  for  service  in  six  months,  or  twelve  months,  or  eighteen  months ; 
but  I  say  they'll  be  fit,  at  all  events,  for  some  service ;  and  certainly 
they'll  enable  us  to  employ  in  the  field  others  who  are  fit  for  service  ; 
and  in  time  they  will  themselves  become  fit  for  service.  In  the  last 
war  we  had  in  service  several  regiments  of  English  militia,  and  they 
were  in  as  high  a  state  of  discipline,  and  as  fit  for  service,  as  any  men 
I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  It  was  quite  impossible  to  have  a  body  of 
troops  in  higher  order,  or  in  higher  discipline,  or  more  fit  for  dis- 
cipline than  these  bodies  of  British  militia  were,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century,  up  to  1810;  they  were  as  fine  corps  as  ever 
were  seen ;  and,  I  say,  no  doubt,  these  bodies  of  50,000  or  80,000 
men,  whatever  the  number  may  be,  will  be  so  too,  in  the  course  of 
time.  Everything  has  its  beginning,  and  this  is  a  commencement. 
You  must  make  a  beginning  here,  and  see  that  it  will  take  some 
months  before  you  can  form  reserve  regiments.  The  armies  of 
England,  who  have  served  the  country  so  well, — are  your  lordships  so 
mistaken  as  to  suppose  that  they  were  ever  composed  of  more  than 
one-third  of  real  British  subjects — of  natives  of  this  island  ?  No 
such  thing.  Look  at  the  East  Indies.  Not  more  than  one-third  of 
the  soldiers  there  are  British  subjects.  Look  at  the  Peninsula ;  not 
one-third  of  the  men  employed  there  were  ever  British  soldiers.  Yet 
I  beg  your  lordship  to  observe  what  services  those  soldiers  per- 
formed.    They  fought  great  battles  against  the  finest  troops  in  the 


1852.]  THE  DUKE  ON  "THE  MILITIA."  259 

world;  they  went  prepared  to  face  everything — ay,  and  to  be 
successful  against  everything,  or  this  country  would  not  have  borne 
with  them.  Not  one-third  of  those  armies  were  British  troops,  but 
they  were  brave  troops,  and  not  merely  brave — for  I  believe  every 
man  is  brave  —  but  well-organised  troops.  Take  the  battle  of 
Waterloo — look  at  the  number  of  British  troops  at  that  battle.  I 
can  tell  your  lordships  that  in  that  battle  there  were  sixteen 
battalions  of  Hanoverian  militia,  just  formed,  under  the  command  of 
the  late  Hanoverian  Ambassador  here — Count  Kielmansegge,  who 
behaved  most  admirably — and  there  were  many  other  foreign  troops 
who  nobly  aided  us  in  that  battle,  avowedly  the  battle  of  giants — 
whose  operations  helped  to  bring  about  the  victory,  which  was 
followed  by  the  peace  of  Europe,  that  has  now  lasted  for  thirty-six  or 
thirty-seven  years.  I  say  that  however  much  I  admire  highly- 
disciplined  troops,  and  most  especially  British  disciplined  troops,  I 
tell  you  you  must  not  suppose  that  others  cannot  become  so  too ; 
and  no  doubt  if  you  begin  with  the  formation  of  Corps  under  this 
Act  of  Parliament,  they  will  in  time  become  what  their  predecessors 
in  the  militia  were ;  and  if  ever  they  do  become  what  the  former 
militia  were,  you  may  rely  on  it  they  will  perform  all  the  services 
they  may  be  required  to  perform.  I  recommend  you  to  adopt  this 
measure  as  the  commencement  of  a  completion  of  the  peace  establish- 
ment. It  will  give  you  a  constitutional  force ;  it  will  not  be,  at 
first,  or  for  some  time,  everything  we  could  desire,  but  by  degrees  it 
will  become  what  you  want — an  efficient  auxiliary  force  to  the  regular 
army." 

With  one  trivial  exception,  this  was  the  last  speech  ever  made  by 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  the  House  of  Lords.  Finis  coronat  opus. 
It  was  worthy  to  be  the  last :  the  subject  and  the  manner  were  in 
perfect  harmony,  and  the  Duke  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

Parliament  was  dissolved  in  July,  1 852,  and  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton, after  a  short  stay  in  London,  proceeded,  as  usual,  to  his  marine 
residence,  Walmer  Castle. 


The  autumn  had  scarcely  set  in,  when,  upon  the  evening  of  the 
14th  of  September,  a  rumour  ran  through  London  which  an  affec- 
tionate people  were  indisposed  to  credit — that  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  dead ! 

"  There  are  few  persons  of  any  reflection  in  England  who  have  not 
frequently — perhaps  continually — speculated  on  such  an  event.  The 
solemn  announcement—'  Death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,'  accom- 


260  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1S52 

panied  with  the  usual  signs  of  national  respect  and  concern,  has  long 
been  as  familiar  to  the  British  imagination  as  the  inscriptions  we 
have  read  a  thousand  times  on  the  walls  of  our  churches.  The  gap 
that  the  Duke  would  leave  in  our  councils  or  our  arms — the  universal 
solicitude  that  would  surround  his  death-bed — the  grief  and  dismay- 
all  would  feel  should  he  die  at  some  crisis  of  national  peril — and  the 
magnificence  of  the  obsequies  with  which  England  would  carry  to  the 
grave  the  noblest  of  her  sons,  were  thoughts  that  have  occurred  over 
and  over  again,  not  only  to  us,  but  to  our  fathers,  and  to  multitudes 
who  have  long  since  themselves  been  gathered  to  the  grave.  Eighteen 
years  previously  it  was  commonly  said  that  the  work  of  the  Peninsula 
was  beginning  to  tell  on  that  iron  frame,  and  subsequently  to  that, 
men  had  predicted — till  they  were  wearied  or  ashamed  of  predicting 
— that  each  Waterloo  banquet  would  prove  the  last.  Of  late  years, 
increasing  infirmities — manifest,  though  energetically  resisted — the 
treacherous  ear,  the  struggling  utterance,  and  the  tottering  step,  all 
told  their  tale,  and  suggested  even  a  fear  that  the  greatest  man  of  his 
age  might  live  to  illustrate  the  decay  from  which  no  greatness  is 
secure.  Yet  the  event,  so  long  in  sight  as  it  were,  came  upon  the 
public  by  surprise."  * 

And  there  were  few  persons  disposed  at  first  entirely  to  believe  in 
its  occurrence.  But  with  the  morning  of  the  15th  September  all  doubt 
evaporated.  The  Duke  had  died  at  Walmer,  after  a  succession  of 
convulsive  fits.  Several  versions  of  the  circumstances  attending  the 
event  found  their  way  into  the  papers ;  but  when  the  painful  excite- 
ment attending  the  national  calamity  had  somewhat  subsided,  and 
time  had  been  allowed  to  collect  details,  the  following  appeared  to 
comprehend  the  entire  truth  of  the  melancholy  story : — 

The  health  of  his  Grace  had  been  unusally  good  for  some  days, 
and  on  Monday,  the  13th  September,  it  was  remarked  that  he  took  a 
longer  walk  than  usual  through  the  grounds  attached  to  the  Castle. 
During  his  walk  he  entered  the  stables,  and  made  several  inquiries  of 
his  groom  in  reference  to  his  stud. 

On  Monday  evening  the  Duke  addressed  a  note  to  the  Countess  of 
Westmoreland,  promising  to  meet  her  ladyship  on  her  arrival  at 
Dover  at  six  o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening. 

On  Monday  evening  the  Duke  dined  with  Lord  and  Lady  Charles 
Wellesley.  His  Grace  was  in  good  spirits  during  dinner,  and  was 
observed  to  eat  rather  heartily.  His  food  consisted  of  mock-turtle 
Boup,  turbot,  and  venison.  While  at  table,  the  Duke's  vivacity  of 
manner  was  such  as  to  call  forth  a  congratulatory  remark  from  his 

1  Tho  Times,  September  16th,  1852. 


1852.]  DEATH  OF  THE  DUKE,  261 

son  and  daughter-in-law.  His  Grace  retired  to  rest  on  Monday 
night  shortly  after  ten  o'clock. 

It  had  been  customary  for  the  Duke's  valet,  Kendall,  to  call  his 
Grace  about  sis  o'clock  every  morning.  On  Tuesday  morning, 
Kendall,  on  knocking  at  his  Grace's  door  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after 
the  usual  time,  did  not  receive  the  customary  response.  After 
waiting  a  few  moments,  he  fancied  he  heard  a  strange  kind  of  noise 
in  the  Duke's  apartment.  On  opening  the  door,  the  Duke  appeared 
to  recognise  him  as  usual,  and  did  not  complain  of  illnes.s.  Kendall, 
however,  soon  observed  that  his  Grace  was  restless  and  uncomfort- 
able ;  and,  in  a  few  moments,  the  fact  of  the  noble  Duke's  illness 
was  made  apparent  by  his  Grace  exclaiming,  somewhat  abruptly, 
"  Send  for  Mr.  Hulke."  A  messenger  was  instantly  despatched  to 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Hulke,  a  medical  resident  in  the  town  of  Deal, 
who  has  been  accustomed  to  attend  the  Duke  when  at  Walmer. 
Mr.  Hulke  arrived  at  the  castle  at  twenty  minutes  to  eight  o'clock. 
The  Duke  was  then  reclining  on  his  bed,  and  on  his  introduction,  his 
Grace  entered  into  conversation  with  him  in  a  perfectly  calm  and 
collected  manner,  observing  that  he  was  suffering  from  an  affection 
of  the  chest  and  stomach.  The  doctor  prescribed  forthwith,  and 
informed  Lord  Charles  Wellesley  that  he  did  not  consider  there 
were  any  dangerous  symptoms  in  his  Grace's  condition  ;  adding,  that 
he  had  seen  him  much  worse  on  former  occasions.  Mr.  Hulke  was 
then  particularly  alluding  to  an  attack  of  a  similar  description 
years  since. 

Mr.  Hulke  left  the  castle  for  Deal  at  eight  o'clock,  and  he  had 
not  been  at  home  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  a  second 
messenger  arrived  with  the  information  that  the  Duke  had  been 
seized  with  what  was  described  as  an  epileptic  fit.  On  this  occasion 
Mr.  Hulke  was  accompanied  by  Dr.  M'Arthur,  of  Walmer,  and 
Mr.  Hulke,  jun.  They  found  that  the  Duke  had  been  seized  with 
a  fit  of  the  nature  described,  and  that  his  servants  had  already 
adopted  some  remedial  measures,  by  the  application  of  mustard 
poultices.  The  medical  gentlemen  adopted  every  remedy  that  science 
could  suggest,  but  the  attack  failed  to  yield  to  their  professional 
skill.  His  Grace,  from  the  moment  he  was  seized  with  the  fit, 
became  speechless  ;  but  by  gestures  he  appeared  to  desire  a  removal 
to  a  bed-chair,  in  which  he  was  placed  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  so  he 
continued  until  twenty  minutes  past  three  o'clock,  when  he  expired  as 
quietly  as  if  falling  into  a  slumber.  There  was  present  at  this  solemn 
moment  Lord  and  Lady  Charles  Wellesley,  the  three  medical  gentle- 
men. Mr.  Collins,  the   house-steward,  and  Kendall,  his  Grace's  valet. 


262  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

Ou  no  one  occasion  since  the  death  of  Lord  Nelson,  if  wc  except, 
perhaps,  that  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales,  has  public  grief 
manifested  itself  in  a  more  striking  and  extensive  form.  Every 
newspaper  in  the  United  Kingdom  came  out  in  a  deep  mourning 
edge,  and  continued  to  wear  the  emblem  of  sorrow  for  several  days. 
Numerous  shops  were  closed ;  bells  tolled ;  the  flags  of  vessels  in  the 
river  were  mounted  half-mast  high ;  plarces  of  public  entertainment 
shut  their  doors ;  and  thousands  of  people,  requiring  no  other  signal 
than  their  own  hearts  suggested,  put  on  "  the  trappings  and  the  suits 
of  woe."  Memoirs  of  the  Duke  which  had  been  prepared  in  antici- 
pation of  the  calamity,  filled  hundreds  of  columns  of  the  public 
papers,  or  came  forth  in  every  form  that  could  be  calculated  to  suit 
the  immediate  demand.  The  volumes  of  Maxwell,  which  still  encum- 
bered the  shelves  of  booksellers;  the  "  Lives  "  which  only  extended 
to  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  and  had  long  been  consigned  to  back 
warehouses  as  "  dead  stock,"  were  restored  to  the  light ;  and  these, 
with  a  great  number  of  impromptu  biographies,  found  an  immediate 
demand.     Pictures'  and  busts,  so  varied  in  their  resemblances  that 

•  Speaking  from  a  perfect  familiarity  with  tlie  lineaments  of  the  Illustrious  Duke,  we 
should  say  that,  unquestionably,  the  best  likeness  of  him,  when  in  the  vigour  of  manhood,  is 
that  taken  from  the  picture  of  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  and  commonly  called  the  Arbuthnot 
portrait,  because  it  was  painted  for  the  Duke's  friend,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Arbuthnot.  Of  resem 
bl.^nces  in  later  life,  the  daguerreotype  representing  him  in  evening  dress,  and  Mr.  Black's 
excellent  portrait,  published  by  Ackermann,  the  latter  an  improvement  upon  the  daguerreotype, 
are  the  most  to  be  commended.  Count  D'Orsay  sketched  the  Duke  in  profile,  in  an  evening 
dress,  and  the  Duke  is  said  to  have  rather  liked  the  picture,  because  it  "made  him  look 
like  a  gentleman."  As  a  likeness,  however,  tho  picture  is  very  faulty.  The  portrait  painted 
by  Lawrence  for  Mr.  Arbuthnot,  in  18 IG,  is  a  half-length,  representing  the  Duke  in  a  military 
cloak,  with  the  right  hand  thrown  across  to  the  left  shoulder.  This  has  been  repeatedly 
engraved :  in  mezzotint,  by  Cousins  and  Jackson ;  in  line,  by  Dean  Taylor  and  by  Charles 
Smith ;  and  in  smaller  sizes,  in  mezzotint,  by  M'Innes,  Burgess,  and  others. 

"This  last  was  the  favourite  portrait  with  the  Duke;  and  vfc  (fllusiratcd  J\rews)  think 
not  without  reason,  for  the  expression  is  very  pleasing,  comljining  manliness  with  delicacy  and 
refinement  of  sentiment.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Great  Commander,  though  never  betraying 
a  particle  of  personal  vanity  in  the  little  sense,  was  proud  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was 
held  both  by  the  put>li?,  and  a  numerous  circle  whom  he  honoured  with  liis  friendship  ;  and  a 
very  common  mode  of  marking  his  esteem  was  the  presentation  of  a  print  of  himself,  generally 
the  Arbuthnot  one,  with  his  autograph  affixed,  and  in  a  plain  little  maplewood  frame.  This, 
for  instance,  was  his  usual  souvenir  to  the  hundreds  of  brides  whom  he  has  'given  away,'  and, 
probably,  the  most  gratifying  testimonial  he  could  bestow.  Only  a  few  days  before  his  death, 
he  gave  one  of  these  modest  keepsakes  to  an  individual  of  illustrious  rank.  It  happened  that, 
in  September  last,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Mecklenbur^-Strelitz,  on  their  return  from  England 
to  the  Continent,  paid  a  visit  to  tlie  Duke  at  Walmer,  when,  in  the  course  of  conversation, 
the  Duchess  asked  'the  Duke'  which  of  the  many  portraits  existing  of  him  he  considered  the 
best.  The  latter  immediately  pointed  to  tho  little  maple  frame  hanging  from  the  wall,  in 
which  was  a  print  of  the  'Arbuthnot  picture,'  and  announced  his  preference  for  it.  Upon  the 
Duchess  remarking  tliat  she  would  send  to  London  for  a  copy,  'Ihe  Duke,'  with  his  usual 
gallantry,  declared  she  need  not  do  bo  ;  and,  taking  the  print  down  from  tho  nail  whereon  It 


1852.]  THE  QUEEN'S  SENTIMENTS.  263 

such  of  the  public  as  had  never  seen  the  Duke  were  puzzled  which  to 
select  as  the  most  faithful  resemblance,  filled  the  windows  of  pub- 
lishers, print-sellers,  and  porcelain-venders  ;  autographs  were  up  at 
an  enormous  premium,  and  whether  they  were  the  bond-fide  cali- 
graphy  of  the  Duke,  or  the  spurious  productions  of  Mr.  Greville,  his 
secretary,  they  commanded  equally  good  priceS. 

At  the  moment  of  the  melancholy  occurrence  the  Queen  and  Prince 
Albert  were  at  Balmoral,  in  Scotland.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  the  intelligence  was  received  by  the  illustrious  personages  with 
deep  and  unaffected  concern.  The  sincere  devotion  of  the  Duke  of 
"Wellington  to  his  sovereign,  the  paternal  care  (if  the  term  may  not 
inappropriately  be  used)  with  which  his  Grace  had  watched  over  the 
welfare  and  upheld  the  glory  of  the  monarch,  the  friendly  interest 
with  which  he  had  inspired  the  Queen  (manifested  in  all  the  more 
private  relations  of  court  life),  rendered  his  sudden  departure  a 
subject  of  the  most  acute  sorrow,  in  which  all  the  younger  members 
of  the  royal  family  completely  shared.  The  Earl  of  Derby,  Prime 
Minister,  hastened  to  Balmoral  immediately  after  the  event,  and 
within  five  days  of  the  Great  Duke's  death  the  subjoined  letter  ap- 
peared in  the  public  prints : — 

"Balmoral,  September 'iOth,  1852. 

"  Sir, — Her  Majesty  received  with  the  deepest  grief,  on  Thursday 
last,  the  afflicting  intelligence  of  the  sudden  death  of  his  Grace  the 
late  Duke  of  Wellington. 

"  Although  the  Queen  could  not  for  a  moment  doubt,  but  that  the 
voice  of  the  country  would  be  unanimous  upon  the  subject  of  the 
honours  to  be  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  greatest  man  of  the  age, 
her  Majesty  considered  it  due  to  the  feelings  of  his  Grace's  surviving 

hiing,  begged  her  to  accept  it,  which  she  did.  No  sooner  had  his  visitors  left  the  room, 
however,  than  the  Duke  took  thought  of  the  blank  space  which  he  had  made  on  his  wall,  and 
also  the  absence  of  his  portrait  from  the  line  of  Prime  Wardens,  Pitt,  and  others,  which  he 
had  arranged  thereon,  and,  with  his  usual  love  of  order,  promptly  set  about  refilling  it.  The 
very  next  morning  a  note  reached  Messrs.  Graves  &c  Co.,  in  the  Duke's  hand — '  F.  M.'s  corapts,' 
&c. — requesting  that  they  would,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  procure  for  him  a  copy 
of  the  Arbuthuot  portrait,  framed  in  maplewood,  and  forward  it  to  Apsley  House,  whence 
it  would  be  transmitted  to  Walmer.  No  time  was  lost  in  putting  into  execution  his  Grace's 
order,  and  a  message  was  sent  to  the  steward  at  Apsley  House,  announcing  that  the  print 
framed,  would  be  ready  for  delivery  on  the  following  day.  In  the  mean  time,  four  days  only 
after  the  first  note,  came  another  from  the  Duke,  dated  '7th  September,  1852,'  in  which  he 
referred  to  the  order  already  given,  and  '  begged  to  know  if  it  had  been  received,  and  what  pro- 
gress had  been  made  in  the  execution  thereof?'  The  print,  framed  as  ordered,  crossed  his 
second  note  on  the  road,  and  was  hung  up  by  the  Duke  in  the  place  of  the  former  one,  only  one 
little  week  before  he  died," 


264  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852 

relatives,  that  no  step  should  be  taken,  even  in  his  honour,  ■without 
their  previous  concurrence  ;  and,  accordingly,  on  the  same  evening, 
in  obedience  to  her  Majesty's  commands,  I  wrote  to  Lord  Charles 
Wellesley  (the  present  Duke  having  not  then  returned  to  England). 
to  ascertain  whether  the  late  Duke  had  left  any  directions  ;  or  whether 
his  family  desired  to  'express  any  wish  upon  the  subject ;  and  sug- 
gesting the  course  which  appeared  to  her  Majesty  best  calculated  to 
give  effect  to  the  expressions  of  those  feelings  in  which  the  nation,  as 
one  man,  will  sympathise  with  her  Majesty. 

"  Having  this  day  received  letters  from  the  present  Duke  and  his 
brother,  to  the  effect  that  the  late  Duke  has  left  no  directions  on  the 
subject,  and  placing  themselves  wholly  in  her  Majesty's  hands. 
I  hasten  to  relieve  the  public  anxiety,  by  signifying  to  you,  for 
general  information,  the  commands  which  I  have  received  from  her 
Majesty. 

"  The  great  space  which  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  has 
filled  in  the  history  of  the  last  fifty  years  ;  his  brilliant  achievements 
in  the  field ;  his  high  mental  qualities  ;  his  long  and  faithful  services 
to  the  Crown ;  his  untiring  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  country, 
constitute  claims  upon  the  gratitude  of  the  nation,  which  a  public 
funeral,  though  it  cannot  satisfy,  at  least  may  serve  to  recognise. 

"  Her  Majesty  is  well  aware  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Lord  Nelson, 
she  might,  of  her  own  authority,  have  given  immediate  orders  for 
this  public  mark  of  veneration  for  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 
Duke,  and  has  no  doubt  but  that  Parliament  and  the  country  would 
cordially  have  approved  the  step.  But,  her  Majesty,  anxious  that 
this  tribute  of  gratitude  and  of  sorrow  should  be  deprived  of  nothing 
which  could  invest  it  with  a  thoroughly  national  character — anxious 
that  the  greatest  possible  number  of  her  subjects  should  have  an 
opportunity  of  joining  it,  is  anxious,  above  all,  that  such  honours 
should  not  appear  to  emanate  from  the  Crown  alone,  and  that  the 
two  Houses  of  Parliament  should  have  an  opportunity,  by  their 
previous  sanction,  of  stamping  the  proposed  ceremony  with  increased 
solemnity,  and  of  associating  themselves  with  her  Majesty  in  paying 
honour  to  the  memory  of  one  whom  no  Englishman  can  name  without 
pride  and  sorrow. 

"  The  body  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  will,  therefore,  remain, 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  family,  under  proper  guardianship,  until 
the  Queen  shall  have  received  the  formal  approval  of  Parliament 
of  the  course  which  it  will  be  the  duty  of  her  Majesty's  servants  to 
submit  to  both  Houses  upon  their  reassembling. 

"As  sooa  as  possible  after  that  approval  shall  have  been  obtained, 


1852.]  THE  FLAG  HALF-MAST-HIGH.  265 

it  is  her  Majesty's  wish,  should  no  unforeseen  impediment  arise,  that 
the  mortal  remains  of  the  late  illustrious  and  venerated  Commander- 
in-Chief  should,  at  the  public  expense,  and  with  all  the  solemnity  due 
to  the  greatness  of  the  occasion,  be  deposited  in  the  cathedral  church 
of  St.  Paul's,  there  to  rest  by  the  side  of  Nelson — the  greatest 
military  by  the  side  of  the  greatest  naval  chief  who  ever  reflected 
lustre  upon  the  annals  of  England. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be 

"  Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  Derby." 

"Right  Hon.  S.  H.  Walpole,  M.P." 

The  "proper  guardianship"  here  alluded  to  was  that  which  the 
Rifle  Brigade — of  which  the  Duke  had  been  Colonel-in-Chief — could 
effectually  afford.  Suitably  enclosed  in  a  magnificent  coffin,  the  body 
for  some  time  lay  in  the  little  room  in  which  the  Duke  expired  ;  and 
sentinels  kept  anxious  watch  over  the  incomparable  Field-Marshal's 
remains.  Samuel  Lover,  the  Irish  poet,  beautifully  described  the 
scene  in  these  lines : — 

"  THE  FLAG  IS  HALF-MAST-HIGH. 

"  A  GUARD  of  honour  keeps  its  watch  in  Walmer's  ancient  hall. 
And  sad  and  silent  is  the  ward  beside  the  Marshal's  pall : 
The  measured  tread  beside  the  dead,  through  echoing  space  may  tell 
How  solemnly  the  round  is  paced  by  lonely  sentinel ; 
But  in  the  guard-room,  down  below,  a  war-worn  vet'ran  grey, 
Recounts  with  pride  The  Hero's  deeds,  thro'  many  a  glorious  day: 
How,  'neath  the  red-cross  flag,  he  made  the  foes  of  Britain  fly — 
'  Though  now  for  him,  the  vet'ran  said, '  that  flag  is  balf-mast-high.' 

"  And  truly  m-ay  the  soldier  say  his  presence  ever  gave 
Assurance  to  the  most  assured,  and  bravery  to  the  brave. 
His  prudence-tempered  valour — his  eagle-sighted  skill, 
And  calm  resolves,  the  measure  of  a  hero  went  to  fQl. 
Fair  Fortune  flew  before  him — 'twas  conquest  where  he  came. 
For  Victory  wove  her  chaplet  in  the  magic  of  his  name  ; 
But  while  his  name  thus  gilds  the  past,  the  present  wakes  a  sigh, 
To  see  his  flag  of  glory  now — but  drooping  half-mast-high. 

"  In  many  a  by-gone  battle,  beneath  an  Indian  sun, 
That  flag  was  borne  in  triumph  o'er  the  sanguine  plains  he  won  ; 
Where'er  that  flag  he  planted,  it  impregnable  became. 
As  Torres  Vedras'  heights  have  told  in  glittering  steel  and  flame. 
Twas  then  to  wild  Ambition's  Chief  he  flung  the  gauntlet  down, 
And  from  his  giant  grasp  retrieved  the  ancient  Spanish  crown ; 
He  drove  him  o'er  the  Pyrenees  with  Vict'ry's  swelling  cry, 
Before  the  red-cross  flag— that  now  is  drooping  half-mast-high. 


266  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1852 

"  And  when  once  more  from  Elba's  shore  the  Giant  Chief  broke  loose, 
And  startled  nations  waken'd  from  the  calm  of  hollow  truce, 
In  foremost  post  tlio  British  host  soon  sprang  to  arms  again, 
And  Fate,  in  final  balance,  held  the  world's  two  foremost  men. 
The  chieftains  twain  might  ne'er  again  have  need  for  aught  to  do, 
So,  once  for  all,  we  won  the  fall  at  glorious  Waterloo. 
Tlie  work  was  done,  and  Wellington  his  saviour-sword  laid  by. 
And  now,  in  grief,  to  mourn  our  chief,  our  flag  is  half-mast-high." 

These  are  touching  verses,  worthy  of  the  poet  and  his  theme. 
Innumerable  pens  started  up  to  render  similar  homage  to  the  Duke's 
great  merit  in  prose  and  verse  ;  but  scarcely  any  were  equal  to  the 
occasion.  Certainly  none  approaches  in  brilliancy  and  correctness 
the  following  vigorous  lines  by  Mr.  Archer  Poison : — 

«  WELLINGTON ! 

"Fbom  where  the  Scheldt  with  sluggish  tide  bathes  Holland's  oozy  shore, 
From  where  the  palm-tree  topes  make  glad  the  plains  of  far  Mysore, 
Fpom  Tagus'  amber  waters  bright,  renown'd  in  classic  song. 

From  sunny  hills  where  Douro  rolls  his  laughing  waves  along,  • 

From  battle-flelds  of  old  Romance  in  high  heroic  Spain, 
From  Belgium's  fertile  soil  where  late  nodded  the  golden  grain — 
From  every  land  his  victor-sword  redeem'd  from  tyrant's  sway 
Will  rise  on  high  the  waiUng  cry— Our  hero's  pass'd  away ! 

"  Soldier  immatch'd !  unequall'd  Chief!  how  shall  thy  praise  be  sung, 
Whose  glorious  deeds  so  long  have  been  familiar  to  each  tongue  ? 
■Whose  courage,  wisdom,  patriot  worth  to  none  have  been  imknown — 
From  the  reaper  in  the  harvest-field  to  the  monarch  on  the  throne. 
Ilonour'd  not  only  for  the  hand  that  bore  the  conqu'ring  sword, 
But  honour'd  for  the  voice  that  spake  high  truths  at  Council  board — 
Honour'd  for  that  in  Senate-hall  thy  course  was  Arm  and  true. 
As  that  ye  broke  the  tyrant's  yoke  at  blood-stained  Waterloo ! 

"  Not  soon  shall  that  appalling  time  by  mankind  be  forgot. 
When  slavish  chain  and  slavish  toil  seem'd  Europe's  fated  lot ; 
When  from  bleak  Bothnia's  ice-bound  waves  to  Nilus'  sandy  flood, 
Strelch'd  fnr  the  fell  dominion  of  the  dark  man  of  blood  ; 
■When  Prussia  wept  her  humbled  state,  and  Hapsburg's  eagle  lay 
With  talon's  clipped  and  wounded  wing,  the  foul  oppressor's  prey  ; 
When  Russia  bent  the  minion  knee,  Italia  hugg'd  her  chain. 
And  plundering  hordes  made  desolate  the  vineyard  hiUs  of  Spain ! 

"  Who  shall  forget  how  English  tongues — and  that  on  English  ground ! — 
To  counsel  base  submisssion  to  the  Anarch  then  were  found — 
How  lying  prophets  raised  the  voice  foretelling  England's  fall. 
And  the  triumph  over  king  and  laws  of  the  Moloch  of  the  Gaul ; 
And  who  the  rapture  will  forget  reviving  Europe  knew, 
When  the  war-note  of  defiance  loud,  inspiring-England  blew. 
Sending  o'er  Biscay's  restless  seas  her  sons  to  gather  fame. 
And  add  new  laurels  to  the  wreath  that  circled  Wellesley's  name ! 


1852.]  POETICAL  TRIBUTE.  267 

'  Ho !  Children  of  rich  Beira,  noae  more  than  ye  can  tell 
What  memories  with  Rolica,  with  Vimiero  dwell ! 
How  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  by  soldier-wisdom  plann'd, 
Kept  back  the  surging  tide  of  Gauls  would  desolate  your  land  ! 
How  fierce  the  conflict  raged  for  long,  how  wild  the  war-cries  rung, 
When  Britain  fought  for  Portugal  Busaco's  heights  among, 
And,  fighting,  how  she  conquer'd,  and  how  Braganza's  lord 
To  the  throne  of  great  Sebastian  by  Wellesley  was  restored ! 

"  Speak  we  of  Talavera,  of  Roderick's  iron  town, 
Of  Badajoz  from  mountain  steep  that  looks  so  grimly  down, 
Salamanca's  learned  cloister,  or  Tormes'  grassy  shore, 
Castile's  once  gorgeous  capital— though  gorgeous  now  no  more — 
Sebastian's  fortress  frowning  on  Guipuscoa's  bay, 
Vittoria,  hidden  deep  among  the  hills  of  wild  Biscay — 
Can  we  but  with  a  patriot  pride  pronounce  each  well-known  name, 
For  each  to  lasting  time  is  link'd  with  Wellksley's  warrior  fame  ? 

"  Yet  not  for  fame  the  hero  fought— to  '  liberate,'  not '  defy,' 
To  burst  the  bonds  of  nations  thrall'd— fAis  was  his  purpose  high ; 
To  hound  the  proud  oppressor  back,  give  freedom  to  the  world, 
For  this  was  Wellesley's  sword  unsheath'd  and  England's  flag  unfurl'd  ; 
•  For  this,  through  Pyrenean  glen,  did  he  our  arms  advance, 

Till  our  meteor  standard  waved  once  more  on  sunny  plains  of  France, 
For  this  from  Adour's  purple  stream  he  made  his  terrors  known 
To  Aquitania's  capital — grey  pride  of  the  Garonne ! 

"  Ay  t  praise  like  this  is  no  mean  praise,  yet  praise  that  is  thy  due ! 
Twas  no  vain  lust  of  glory  fired  thy  soiU  at  Waterloo — 
Gave  thee  heroic  calmness  in  that  terrific  hour, 
When  British  courage  almost  quail'd  beneath  the  iron  shower ; 
And  British  soldiers,  all  unused  to  yield  them  or  to  fly. 
Believed  no  other  course  was  theirs  than  gallantly  to  die ! 
In  that  dread  hour  within  thy  breast  one  single  thought  arose — 
How  by  a  glorious  victory  to  give  the  world  repose ! 

"  Oh,  blessing  to  the  country !  oh,  honour  to  thy  race  ! 
From  Britain's  heart  the  thoughts  of  thee  no  ttme  shall  e'er  efface  ; 
And  when  the  dark  clouds  arise  and  boding  tempests  gloom, 
We'U  sigh  to  think  how  thou  art  held  within  the  narrow  tomb ! 
But  thy  spirit  shall  be  with  us — though  danger's  direst  form 
May  threat  us,  as  it  did  before,  with  anarchy's  wild  storm, 
Well  nerve  us  for  the  battle,  to  our  standards  we'll  be  true — 
One  war-cry  shall  bo  Wkllisoton— the  other,  Waterloo  I" 

While  the  remains  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  lay  at  Walmer,  and 
the  public  funeral  was  preparing,  all  the  arrangements  for  filling  the 
various  ofl&ces  vacated  by  his  Grace  were  considered,  and  as  rapidly 
as  circumstances  would  allow,  the  vacancies  were  filled  up.  The 
office  of  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports  was  given  to  Lord  Derby ; 
the  Constableship  of  the  Tower  to  Viscount  Combermere ;  the 
Colonelcy  of  the  Rifle  Brigade  and  the  Grenadier  Guards  devolved 


268 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF    WELLINGTON. 


[1862. 


on  Prince  Albert,  and  that  of  the  Coldstream  Guards  on  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge.  The  members  of  the  Trinity  House  elected  Prince 
Albert  their  Master ;  the  University  of  Oxford  installed  the  Earl  of 
Derby  in  the  Chancellorship.  To  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry  the 
Queen  gave  the  vacant  Garter.  Thus  all  reasonable  expectations 
were  satisfied ;  and  the  two  oldest  soldiers  who  had  served  under  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  received  a  mark  of  the  approbation  and  good-will 
of  the  Sovereign. 

Regarding  the  probable  succession  to  the  command-in-chief,  much 
speculation  went  abroad.  It  was  believed  in  some  quarters  that  the 
highest  personage  in  the  nation  entertained  a  wish  to  confide  this 
trust  to  the  Prince  Consort  or  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge ;  and  the 
idea  was  not  without  advocates ;    for  the  position  of  the  illustrious 


LORD    UABDINGE. 


princes  rendered  them  independent  of  the  Cabinet  and  parliamentary 
influences  which  had,  in  other  days,  been  perniciously  exercised  at  the 


1852.]  MILITARY  MOURNING.  209 

Horse-Guards.  Very  many  of  the  oflScers  of  the  army  desired  to 
see  the  mantle  of  the  Duke  fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  distin- 
guished friend,  secretary,  and  faithful  companion-in-arms,  Lord  Fitz- 
roy  Somerset ;  and  some  few  pointed  to  the  claims  which  seniority 
and  rank  gave  to  the  Marquis  of  Anglesey.  But  the  critical  state 
of  the  country  in  reference  to  the  position  of  foreign  powers  ;  the 
necessity  for  a  firm  mind  and  a  vigorous  hand  at  the  Horse-Guards, 
at  a  time  when  it  was  of  the  last  importance  that  the  science  of 
war  and  the  devices  of  armament  should  be  placed  upon  a  level 
with  the  improvements  made  in  foreign  countries  ;  induced  the  ad- 
visers of  the  Queen  to  recommend  that  her  choice  should  fall  upon 
the  most  capable  soldier  of  the  kingdom.  Her  Majesty,  with  a  de- 
gree of  wisdom  and  self-denial  worthy  of  the  lofty  patriotism  of  the 
Sovereign,  at  once  conferred  the  responsible  office  upon  Lord  Hard- 
inge  ;  and  the  army  gratefully  accepted  the  new  chief,  whose  renown 
in  the  field  was  only  equalled  by  the  talent,  courage,  and  industry  he 
bad  manifested  in  all  the  civil  offices  it  had  been  his  fortune  to 
fill.  On  the  22nd  of  September  the  following  General  Orders  were 
issued : — 

MOURNING  FOR  THE  ARMY.— GENERAL  ORDERS. 

"Horse-Guards,  September  22nd,  1852. 

"  The  Adjutant-General  has  received  her  Majesty's  most  gracious 
commands  to  issue  the  following  General  Orders  to  the  army : — 

"  1.  The  Queen  feels  assured  that  the  army  will  participate  in  the 
deep  grief  with  which  her  Majesty  has  received  the  intelligence  of  the 
irreparable  loss  sustained  by  herself  and  by  the  country,  in  the  sud- 
den death  of  Field-Marshal  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

"  In  him  her  Majesty  has  to  deplore  a  firm  supporter  of  her  throne, 
a  faithful,  wise,  and  devoted  counsellor,  and  a  valued  and  honoured 
friend. 

"  In  him  the  army  will  lament  the  loss  of  a  Commander-in-Chief 
unequalled  for  the  brilliancy,  the  magnitude,  and  the  success  of  his 
military  achievements  ;  but  hardly  less  distinguished  for  the  indefatig- 
able and  earnest  zeal  with  which,  in  time  of  peace,  he  laboured  to  main- 
tain the  efficiency  and  promote  the  interests  of  that  army  which  he 
had  often  led  to  victory. 

"  The  discipline  which  he  exacted  from  others,  as  the  main  founda- 
tion of  the  military  character,  he  sternly  imposed  upon  himself ;  and 
the  Queen  desires  to  impress  upon  the  army,  that  the  greatest  Com- 
mander whom  England  ever  saw  has  left  an  example  for  the  imita- 


270  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

tion  of  every  soldier,  in  taking  as  his  guiding  principle  in  svery 
relation  of  life  an  energetic  and  unhesitating  obedience  to  the  call 
of  duty. 

"  It  is  her  Majesty's  command  that  this  General  Order  shall  be  in- 
serted in  the  Order-books,  and  read  at  the  head  of  every  regiment  in 
her  Majesty's  service. 

"  2.  The  Queen  does  not  require  that  the  officers  of  the  army 
should  wear  any  other  mourning  with  their  uniforms,  on  the  present 
melancholy  occasion,  than  black  crape  over  the  ornamental  part  of 
the  cap  or  hat,  the  sword-knot,  and  on  the  left  arm,  with  the  following 
exceptions,  viz. : — 

"  Officers  on  duty  are  to  wear  black  gloves,  black  crape  over  the 
ornamented  part  of  the  cap  or  hat,  the  sword-knot,  and  on  the  left  arm, 
the  sash  covered  with  black  crape,  and  a  black  crape  scarf  over  the 
right  shoulder. 

"  The  drums  of  regiments  are  to  be  covered  with  black,  and  black 
crape  is  to  be  hung  from  the  pike  of  the  colour-staff  of  infantry,  and 
from  the  standard-staff  and  trumpets  of  cavalry. 

"  3.  The  Queen  has  been  most  graciously  pleased,  under  the  present 
afflicting  circumstances,  to  direct  that  Lieutenant-General  Viscount 
Hardinge,  G.C.B.,  shall  be  placed  on  the  Staff  of  her  Majesty's  army, 
and  that  all  matters  respecting  her  Majesty's  military  service,  which 
have  heretofore  been  transacted  by  his  Grrace  the  late  Commander-in- 
Chief,  shall  henceforth  be  performed  by  Lieutenant-General  Viscount 
Hardinge,  G.C.B. 

"  By  her  Majesty's  command, 

"G.  Brown, 

"  Adjutant-General." 
GENERAL  ORDER. 

"  Horse-GoARDS,  September  ^rd,  1852. 

"  In  obedience  to  her  Majesty's  most  gracious  commands,  Lieuten 
ant-General  Viscount  Hardinge  assumes  the  command  of  her  Majesty's 
army,  and  all  matters  relating  to  her  Majesty's  military  service  which 
have  heretofore  been  performed  by  his  Grace  the  late  Commander-in- 
Chief,  will  henceforth  be  transacted  by  his  Lordship. 

"  He  confidently  hopes  that,  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  en- 
trusted to  him  by  her  Majesty's  favour,  he  will  receive  the  assistance 
and  support  of  the  general  and  other  officers  of  the  army,  and  be  en- 
abled to  maintain  its  discipline  and  high  character  by  a  continuance  of 
those  services  which  have  identified  the  British  army  with  the  honoui 
power,  and  prosperity  of  their  country. 


1825.]  PUBLIC  FUNERAL  VOTED.  271 

"  The  Queen  having,  in  the  General  Order  to  the  army  of  yester- 
day's date,  expressed  her  Majesty's  sentiments  on  the  irreparable  loss 
sustained  by  her  Majesty,  the  country,  and  the  army,  in  the  sudden 
death  of  Field-Marshal  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Viscount  Hardinge 
presumes  only  on  this  occasion  to  give  utterance  to  his  devoted 
attachment  to  the  memory  of  '  the  greatest  Commander  whom  Eng- 
land ever  saw,'  and  whose  whole  life  has  afforded  the  brightest  ex- 
ample by  which  a  British  army  can  be  guided  in  the  performance  of 
its  duties. 

"  By  command  of  the  Right  Honourable 

"  Lieutenant-General  Viscount  Hardinge, 

"  Commander-ia  -Chief. 

"  G.  Brown, 

"  Adjulant-General." 

Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset  was  appointed  Master-General  of  the 
Ordnance  in  the  room  of  Lord  Hardinge  —  who  had  held  the 
office  since  the  accession  of  Earl  Derby  to  the  Premiership — and 
Lord  Fitzroy  was  also  raised  to  the  peerage  by  the  title  of  Baron 
Raglan. 

Parliament  met  early  in  the  month  of  November,  1852,  and  gave 
a  formal  assent  to  the  public  funeral  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,' 
which  took  place  upon  the  18th  of  the  same  mouth.  Within  the 
memory  of  man  no  ceremonial  has  produced  so  great  a  commotion  in 
London  as  that  which  attended  the  funeral  obsequies  of  the  mighty 
chief.  It  was  not  mei'ely  that  the  pageant  was,  according  to  the  pub- 
lic programmes,  to  rival  the  gorgeous  scenes  peculiar  to  coronations 
— it  was  not  simply  an  interest  of  curiosity  that  caused  vast  multi- 
tudes to  throng  the  metropolis,  and  seek  advantageous  points  of 
view  ; — a  profound  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  departed  warrior 
supplied  an  honourable  motive  to  the  humblest  individuals  to  en- 
deavour to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  while  all  who  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  high  rank  and  station  claimed  and  obtained  the  priv- 
ilege of  either  accompanying  the  remains  to  the  tomb,  or  assisting 
at  the  last  offices  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  Nor  was  the  enthusiasm 
limited  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain.  All  the  foreign  Powers 
deemed  it  becoming  in  them  to  mark  their  sense  of  the  universal  loss 
by  the  performance  of  funeral  ceremonies  in  the  principal  churches 
of  their  respective  capitals,  and — with  the  melancholy  exception  of 

I  Mr.  Disraeli,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  made  an  admirable  speech  on  the  occa- 
sion of  proposuig  that  the  nation  should  bear  the  cost  of  the  funeral.  It  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix. 

2u 


272  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

Austria — to  despatch  delegates  to  England  to  represent  them  upon 
the  occasion.'     Belgium  sent  her  Royal  Princes — Spain,  Portugal, 

1  The  omission  of  the  Austrian  Government  to  send  a  representative  elicited  the  following  ob- 
servations from  the  United  Service  Oaiette.  The  Marshal  alluded  to  is  Haynan,  who  some 
months  ago  came  to  England,  and  on  being  recognised  on  his  visit  to  the  brewery  of  Meaars. 
Barclay,  Perkln,  &c.  Co.,  was  assaulted  by  the  draymen : — 

"The  Austrian  Government. — With  mingled  emotions  of  pity  and  contempt  we  record 
that  Austria  sent  no  representative  to  follow  the  remains  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  One  of 
her  Marshals,  who  rivalled  the  most  sanguinary  Generals  of  uncivilized  warfare  in  his  cruelties 
to  women,  pays  a  visit  to  this  country  ;  a  number  of  honest  draymen,  hearing  that  he  has 
profaned  the  locality  of  their  occupation  with  his  footsteps,  seize  their  cart-whips  and  ruthlessly 
offer  a  retributive  violence  to  the  foreign  visitor.  He  is  protected  by  the  police,  and  is 
watched  and  guarded  with  care  until  his  exit  from  England  has  Jbeen  secured.  His  govern- 
ment, ignorant  as  it  always  has  been  of  the  laws  and  institutions  which  guarantee  our  freedom, 
demand  extrajudicial  vengeance  upon  the  brewer's  people.  It  is  impossible  to  afford  it — it 
is  impossible  even  to  recognise  the  outrage,  excepting  through  the  ordinary  agency  of  the  law, 
which  demands  the  IdentiJication  of  offenders — and  Austria  forthwith  becomes  sullen  and 
savage.  She  declares  that  the  uniform  of  the  Empire  has  been  insulted,  and  charges  upon 
a  whole  country  the  rude  vindictiveness  of  a  fragment  of  the  most  ignorant  part  of  its  popu- 
lation. She  offers  every  possible  annoyance  to  English  travellers  for  months  together,  and 
when  the  occasion  arises  for  putting  an  end  to  the  quarrel — the  reciprocity  of  which  Is  all 
on  her  side,  she  studiously  neglects  it.  Many  a  hostile  hand  has  been  shaken  over  the  grave 
— the  very  situation  is  suggestive  of  the  mortality  of  human  enmity  ;  but  Austria  is  angry  to 
the  last. 

"  We  do  not  care — Austria  is  the  loser.  She  has  disgraced  her  army  and  herself.  Wellington 
■was  an  Austrian  Field-Marshal — an  Austrian  regiment  took  its  name  from  Wellington.  It 
was  in  Austria  that  the  Duke  was  appointed  to  command  in  chief  the  armies  raised  to  resist 
Napoleon  in  1815.  Covered  as  he  was  with  orders,  he  was  not  the  least  proud  of  that  of 
Maria  Theresa.  To  deny,  then,  to  this  great  Austrian  leader  the  simple  tribute  which  every 
foreign  nation  hastened  to  pay,  was  an  outrage  upon  decency — an  obliviousness  of  what  waa 
due  to  the  dignity  of  the  army  of  the  Empire  and  the  grandeur  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg.  It 
was  an  error  of  the  most  grievously  stupid  character,  and  stamps  with  utter  Vandalism  a 
nation  which  has  never  shown  itself  mighty  in  arms,  since,  in  its  scarcely  less  barbarian  In- 
fancy, it  devastated  Italy.  The  Attilas  and  Alarics  of  old  were  not  greater  rufBans  than  the 
Haynaus  and  Gorgeys  of  modern  times  ;  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  in  sanctioning  the 
outrages  of  the  Marshal  against  the  Hungarians,  and  in  refusing  a  tribute  to  the  highest  char- 
acter of  military  and  political  virtue,  has  established  that  he  is  enamoured  of  the  ruthless 
systems  of  war  which  have  covered  the  memories  of  the  Kings  of  the  Goths  and  Hims  with 
eternal  infamy." 

It  is  only  fair  to  the  Austrian  Government  to  state,  that  though  it  would  not  send  a  representa- 
tive to  England,  the  memory  of  the  Duke  was  much  honoured  in  the  capital  of  the  Austrian 
dominions : — 

"Vienna,  October  1. — Homage  to  the  late  Duke  of  Wellinoton. — The  Emperor  waj 
unwilling  to  leave  his  cai)ital  again  before  paying  his  tribute  to  the  manes  of  the  Groat  Duke, 
whom  the  great-grandfather  of  Francis  Joseph,  in  common  with  the  potentates  of  Europe, 
delighted  to  honour.  When  it  became  known  that  funeral  honours  would  be  paid  to  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  Austrian  Field-Marshal,  and  Grand  Cross  of  Maria  Tlieresa,  a  great  crowd 
ai'sembled  to  witness  the  proceedings.  Tlie  whole  of  the  garrison  tnrned  out  with  muffled 
drums  and  the  other  insignia  of  mourning,  and  in  addition  to  the  usual  crape  on  the  arm,  it 
was  remarked  that  the  flags  of  the  lancers  and  the  regimental  banners  were  trimmed  with 
black  crape.  The  Emperor  appeared  also  in  mourning,  and  his  Majesty  gave  express  orders 
for  the  observance  of  the  same  military  ceremonial  in  all  the  chief  towns  of  the  Empire.    When 


LYING    IN    STATE 


p.  274 


1852.]  THE   FUNERAL   PROCESSION.  277 

Russia.  Prussia/  Sweden — her  oldest  Generals  and  their  chosen  staff — 
and  even  France  gracefully  recognised  the  merits  of  the  noble  old 
soldier  by  commanding  the  presence  of  her  Ambassador  at  the  service 
in  the  cathedral. 

The  Duke's  body  lay  in  state  in  the  hall  of  Chelsea  Hospital  for 
six  days,  and  was  visited  by  many  thousands,  preparatory  to  its 
removal  to  the  Horse  Guards,  where  the  funeral  procession  was  to 
commence. 

The  weather  had  been  unusually  bad  for  many  weeks  preceding  the 
day  appointed  for  the  funeral  rites — but,  as  if  to  favour  the  occasion, 
the  sun  came  out  with  great  brilliancy  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  of 
November,  and  continued  to  cast  its  rays  upon  the  metropolis  until 
the  ceremonial  had  completely  terminated  !  During  the  whole  of  the 
previous  week,  the  most  extraordinary  preparations  had  been  made 
along  the  whole  line  of  route  for  affording  the  public  a  perfect  view 
of  the  pageant.  Scaffoldings  were  erected  in  front  of  the  houses — 
every  window — every  nook — every  house-top — every  inch  of  pavement 
was  occupied  by  a  dense  but  orderly  crowd,  exceeding — by  the  best 
computation — two  millions  of  human  beings.  And  the  most  perfect 
contentment  was  afforded  by  the  magnificent  spectacle.  The  people 
felt  that  justice  had  been  done  to  the  remains  and  the  memory  of  their 
lost  and  long-loved  hero.  Two  entire  regiments  of  the  Line,  a  battalion 
of  the  Royal  Marines,  the  Household  troops,  cavalry,  and  infantry, 
squadrons  and  detachments  from  every  regiment  in  the  United  King- 
dom, a. representative  from  every  corps  in  the  British  army,  seventeen 
guns,  with  an  appropriate  number  of  gunners  and  officers  from  the 
Horse  and  Foot  Artillery — Chelsea  pensioners — staff  officers  bearing 
banners  or  escorting  the  Duke's  insignia  of  office — formed  a  most 
imposing  military  array,  admirably  ordered  and  commanded  by  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge.  The  "  people  "  of  London  had  never  before 
beheld  the  Line  or  the  Artillery — the  real  field  strength  of  the 
British  army — and  they  now  saw  how  fully  those  branches  of  the 
service  merited  all  the  eulogy  that  had  ever  been  bestowed  upon 
them.  Following  the  troops  were,  in  their  carriages,  the  Ministers, 
great  officers  of  State,  numerous  generals  who  had  served  under  the 
Duke,  the  Speaker,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  Bishops,  representatives 
of   all   the   great   corporations;    and,   crowning   the   whole,    by   the 

the  dead  march  was  played,  and  the  defile  over,  the  twelve  batteries  discharged  their  farewell, 
and  volleys  from  the  walls  of  the  city  responded  to  the  mournful  salute  over  the  imaginary  bier. 
Lord  Westmoreland  and  a  brilliant  assemblage  of  officers  were  in  immediate  attendance  upon 
the  Emperor." 
1  See  Appendix  for  the  opinions  formed  by  the  Prussians  of  the  British  army. 


278 


LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1852 


magnificent  compliment  involved,  came  his  Royal  Highness  Prince 
Albert,  in  whose  train  also  were  the  carriages  of  her  Majesty  the 
Queen.  Never  was  British  subject  so  honoured  ! — never  was  earthly 
honour  so  well  deserved  I  The  car,  which  bore  the  remains  of  the 
Duke,  was  a  superb  structure,  as  well  adapted  to  the  occasion  as  time 
and  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  necessity  for  its  passing  beneath  the 
low  arch  of  Temple  bar  would  allow. 

At  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  upwards  of  ten  thousand  privileged  persons 
had  assembled  to  render  final  homage  to  the  manes  of  the  Duke.  When 
all  had  taken  their  places,  including  those  who  had  formed  the  pro- 
cession, the  coffin  was  removed  from  the  car.  "  And  thus,  with  the 
hoarse  roar  of  the  multitude  without,  as  they  saw  their  last  of  Arthur, 
Duke  of  Wellington,  with  the  grand  and  touching  service  of  our 
church  sounding  solemnly  through  the  arched  dome  and  aisles  of  the 


THE   CEYTT    OF   ST.    PAULS. 


noble  church,  with  the  glistening  eye  and  hushed  breath  of  many  a 
gallant  as  well  as  of  many  a  gentle  soul  in  that  vast  multitude — with 
the  bell  tolling  solemnly  the  knell  of  the  departed,  taken  up  by  the 
voice  of  the  distant  cannon,  amid  the  quiet  waving  of  bannerol  and 
flag,  surrounded  by  all  the  greatness  of  the  land — with  all  the  pomp 
and  glories  of  heraldic  achievement,  escutcheon  and  device — his  body 
was  borne  up  St.  Paul's.     At  1-40  the  coffin  was  slid  off  the  moveable 


1852.]  SCENE  IN  ST.  PAULS.  279 

carriage  in  which  it  had  been  conveyed  up  the  nave,  to  the  frame  in 
the  centre  of  the  area  under  the  dome,  which  was  placed  almost 
directly  over  the  tomb  of  Nelson,  which  lies  in  the  crypt  below.  Tlie 
Marshal's  hat  and  sword  of  the  deceased  were  removed  from  the 
coffin,  and  in  their  place  a  ducal  coronet,  on  a  velvet  cushion,  was 
substituted. 

"  The  foreign  Marshals  and  Generals  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
coffin  ;  at  the  south  side  of  it  stood  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert, 
with  his  baton  of  Field-Marshal  in  his  hand,  and  attired  in  full 
uniform,  standing  a  little  in  advance  of  a  numerous  staff  of  officers. 
At  each  side  of  the  coffin  were  British  Generals,  who  had  acted  as 
pall-bearers.  After  the  psalm  and  anthem,  the  Dean  read  with  great 
solemnity  and  impressiveness  the  lesson,  1  Cor.  xv.,  20,  which  was 
followed  by  the  Nunc  Dwiittis,  and  a  dirge,  with  the  following  words 
set  to  music  by  Mr.  Goss  : — 

"  And  tha  King  said  to  all  the  pei)ple  that  were  with  him,  Rend  your  clothes,  and  gird  you 
with  sackcloth,  and  mourn.     And  the  King  himself  followed  the  bier. 

"  And  they  buried  him.  And  the  King  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept  at  the  grave,  and  all  the 
people  wept. 

"And  the  King  said  unto  his  servants,  Know  ye  not  that  there  is  a  Prince  and  a  great  man 
fallen  this  day  in  Israel  ?" 

And  now  came  the  roll  of  muffled  drums,  and  the  wailing  notes  of 
horn  and  cornet,  and  the  coffin  slowly  sank  into  the  crypt  amid  the 
awful  strains  of  Handel's  "  Dead  March."  The  ducal  crown  dis- 
appeared with  its  gorgeous  support,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  group  of 
generals  and  nobles  was  left  a  dark  chasm,  into  which  every  eye 
glanced  sadly  down,  and  all  knew  indeed  that  a  prince  and  a  great 
man  had  that  day  gone  from  Israel.  The  remaining  portions  of  the 
funeral  service  were  then  performed.  The  congregation  were  requested 
to  join  in  the  responses  to  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  effect  of  many 
thousand  voices  in  deep  emotion,  repeating  the  words  after  the  full 
enunciation  of  the  Dean,  was  intensely  afffccting. 

"  His  body  is  buried  in  peace,  ' 

But  his  name  liveth  evermore," 

from  Handel's  funeral  anthem  was  then  most  effectively  performed  by 
the  choir.  And  then  Garter  King  at  Arms,  standing  over  the  vault, 
proclaimed  the  titles  and  orders  of  the  deceased,  "  whom  Heaven  was 
pleased  to  take  from  us." 

Then  the  late  Duke's  Comptroller  having  broken  in  pieces  his  staff 
of  office  in  the  household,  handed  it  to  the  Garter  King  at  Arms 


280 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON. 


[1852. 


who  cast  the  fragments  into  the  vault.  The  choir  and  chorus  sang 
the  hymn,  '  Sleepers,  awake ! '  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  standing 
by  the  side  of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  pronounced  the  blessing  which 
concluded  the  ceremony." 

And  thus  was  buried,  with  all  state  and  honour,  the  great  Duke  of 
Wellington. 


TAMPELUNA. 


1852.1 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  DUKE. 


281 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 


Character  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 


EW  public  men  have  presented 
greater  facilities  to  the  biographer 
for  the  formation  of  an  estimate  of 
their  character  than  Arthur,  the 
first  Duke  of  Wellington. 

Living  from  a  very  early  period 
of  his  remarkable  career  in  the 
presence  of  his  countrymen,  con- 
stantly committing  his  sentiments 
to  paper,  or  giving  them  utterance 
in  the  Houses  of  Parliament ;  cher- 
ishing no  arrieres  pc7isees^  and 
squaring  his  conduct  with  his  de- 
clared opinions,  his  heart  was  bared 
To  say  that  no  faults  were  disclosed 
by  the  exposure,  were  to  predicate  of  the  Duke  that  he  was  raised 
above  humanity.  He  undoubtedly  had  failings  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  mankind,  but  they  were  almost  lost  to  ordinary  perception  in 
the  presence  of  the  numerous  virtues  which  adorned  his  existence,  and 
which,  more  than  his  successes,  raised  him  to  the  unexampled  pre- 
eminence he  enjoyed  for  nearly  half  a  century. 

The  quality,  perhaps,  which  Englishmen  value  the  most  in  public 
characters  is  Honesty,  and  with  this  quality  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  singularly  endowed.  Receiving  the  pay  of  his  Sovereign  at  a 
very  early  period  of  his  life,  he  conceived  that  it  became  him  to  earn 
it  conscientiously,  and  this  principle  led  him  to  regard  everything  in 
life  as, subservient  to  his  "duty"  to  the  State.  Duty  was  his  pole- 
star.  Under  its  guiding  influences  he  endured  privation  and 
mortification   with    cheerfulness ;    prompted   by    its    suggestions   he 


to  the  most  minute  inspection. 


282  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE  OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

ventured  upon  great  enterprises ;  yielding  to  its  irresistible  claims, 
he  forsook  friends,  abjured  political  associates,  put  aside  prejudices 
and  prepossessions,  and  incurred  obloquy  and  insult.  But  the  all- 
absorbing  principle  of  action  seldom  led  him  wrong.  Happily  for 
the  interests  of  this  great  country,  whose  devoted  servant  he  took 
pride  in  proclaiming  himself,  his  perception  of  what  was  right  and 
proper,  in  many  varieties  of  circumstance,  was  almost  invariably 
correct.  His  acuteness  enabled  him  to  discern  what  he  ought  to  do, 
and  his  sense  of  duty  supported  him  in  its  accomplishment,  or  in  the 
attempt  at  its  accomplishment,  however  formidable  the  obstacles 
which  presented  themselves  to  the  undertaking.  Nothing  personal, 
selfish,  nor  sinister  would  turn  him  from  the  path  to  the  right. 
Whatever  he  designed  to  effect,  when  exercising  military  command 
abroad,  he  "  laid  it  justly  and  timed  it  seasonably,  and  thus  won 
security  and  dispatch." 

But  this  rigid  honesty  of  purpose  did  not  simply  characterise  the 
government  of  his  conduct  in  relation  to  the  Sovereign  and  the 
country  by  whom  he  was  trusted.  It  was  the  ruling  principle  of  his 
life,  in  relation  to  all  classes  of  his  fellow-creatures  ;  and  fortunately 
he  found  that  perfect  integrity  in  his  general  public  dealings  was 
quite  compatible  with  the  allegiance  he  delighted  to  pay  to  liis 
employers.  In  the  rectitude  of  his  heart,  he  repudiated  the  distinction 
which  professed  politicians  have  ofttimes  endeavoured  to  establish 
between  public  and  private  virtue.  What  was  morally  wrong  he 
could  not  think  was  politically  right.  Thus,  although  numerous 
writers  on  international  law  have  contended  for  the  principle  of 
making  war  support  war,  and,  confounding  the  ambition  or  indis- 
cretion of  the  governors  of  a  country  with  its  helpless  inhabitants, 
have  justified  the  appropriation  of  the  property  of  the  people,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  from  the  first  hour  when,  as  Colonel  Wellesley, 
he  commanded  at  Seringapatam,  down  to  his  entry  into  Toulouse, 
never  would  sanction  the  slightest  infringement  of  private  rights. 
He  felt,  and  often  said,  that  the  security  of  the  British  rule,  and  the 
friendliness  of  its  reception,  depended  upon  the  impression  entertained 
of  our  justness  and  morality.  It  jumped  with  his  notions  of  justice 
that  nothing  should  be  taken  from  unarmed  people  unless  due 
equivalent  was  tendered,  and  he  found  his  justification  of  this  policy 
not  alone  in  the  applause  of  his  own  conscience,  but  in  the  good-will 
which  it  generated. 

So  little  is  known  of  the  early  characteristics  of  the  Duke  of 
We  lington — for  none  of  the  contemporaries  of  his  youth  survive — 
ihat  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  much  of  the  inflexibility  which  distin- 


1852.]  THE   DUKE  AS   HEAD   OF   THE  ARMY.  283 

guJshed  hira  in  military  and  political  life  was  constitutional,  and  how 
much  the  result  of  self-discipline.  By  those  who  served  under  him 
in  the  Peninsula  he  was  generally  accounted  cold  and  impassive  but 
his  immediate  friends  usually  found  him  gay  and  animated,  addicted 
to  lively  pursuits,  fond  of  the  chase  and  of  female  society ;  and  a 
hundred  examples  are  extant  of  the  activity  of  his  benevolence. 
Probably  something  may  by  allowed  to  the  faculty  of  self-command 
and  much  to  the  convictions  of  necessity.  Discerning  what  was 
essential  in  the  situations  in  which  he  was  placed,  he  steeled  himself 
against  all  suggestions  which  might  interfere  with  his  designs,  and 
practised  a  sternness  of  manner  which  ultimately,  for  a  long  time  at 
least,  became  habitual. 

In  his  management  of  the  heterogeneous,  ill-organised,  and  undis- 
ciplined army  committed  to  his  care  in  1809,  and  which  carried  him 
through  six  years  of  unparalleled  difficulty,  this  sternness  of  carriage, 
accompanied  by  brevity  of  speech  and  occasional  severity  of  tone, 
became  almost  indispensable.  His  quick  apprehension  had  satisfied 
him,  while  yet  a  regimental  officer,  that  too  much  freedom  with  the 
British  soldier  was  inconsistent  with  order  and  discipline.  He  saw 
that  it  was  only  by  distance  and  reserve  that  authority  could  be 
habitually  maintained ;  and  thus,  when  he  came  to  exercise  supreme 
command,  he  folded  himself  in  an  austerity  which  forbade  the 
approach  of  familiarity  from  any  quarter.  Associating  this  coldness 
of  demeanour  with  a  rigid  exaction  of  obedience  to  his  orders,  and 
the  maintenance  of  a  profound  silence  regarding  his  plans  up  to  the 
very  moment  when  their  execution  became  expedient,  the  Duke 
acquired  a  reputation  for  frigidity  and  severity,  and  those  who  could 
not  comprehend  his  motives  of  action,  or  estimate  the  perfect  adap- 
tation of  his  reserve  to  the  men  he  commanded,  and  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  was  placed,  drew  unfavourable  comparisons  between 
their  situation  and  that  of  the  French  soldiery  who  enjoyed  the 
smiles,  the  bonhommie  and  camaraderie  of  Napoleon.  Yet  a  study  of 
the  admirable  despatches  and  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington — of 
which  a  few  very  slight  examples  have  been  given  in  the  earlier  pages 
of  this  memoir — will  show  how  entirely  he  was  animated  by  the 
finest  dictates  of  human  nature — how  completely  his  studied  severity 
was  subordinate  to  his  noble  impulses.  If  he  rigidly  enforced 
discipline  among  his  followers,  it  was  to  prevent  rapine ;  if  his  troops 
endured  suffering,  it  was  in  spite  of  his  strenuous  exertions  to  prevent 
it ;  and  if  he  appeared  to  treat  human  ills  lightly,  it  was  because  he 
felt  that  it  was  folly  to  be  troubled  by  disappointments  when  they 
could  be  recovered,  or  to  grieve  over  those  which  could  not.    Carefully 


fi84  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [185? 

calculating  the  effect  of  Lis  planned  operations,  he  was  naturally 
irritated  if  they  were  thwarted  by  misconception  or  disobedience. 
He  could  forgive  the  former,  but  he  allowed  no  wilful  infringement 
of  his  orders  to  pass  with  impunity.  As  he  had  habitually  rendered 
obedience  to  his  superiors,  even  when  his  judgment  rebelled  against 
their  measures,  so  did  he  enforce  it  when  time  and  fortune  had  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  armies  ;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  the 
wonderful  prescience  with  which  he  was  gifted,  that  any  unauthorised 
departure  from  his  instructions  was  attended  by  a  heavy  loss  of 
hiunan  life,  and  failure  of  the  objects  he  had  in  view. 

As  the  Duke  has  found  the  British  army  in  the  field  equal  to  all 
that  he  required  at  its  hands,  he  was  entirely  averse  to  any  altera- 
tions in  its  composition,  or  to  the  laws  by  which  it  was  governed 
•when  the  great  European  contest  was  at  an  end.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  believe  in  what  he  saw  was  good,  and  had  no  taste  for 
experiments  which  promised  to  make  the  good  better.  "  Let  well 
alone "  was  his  axiom.  Thus  he  was  opposed  to  a  reduction  in  the 
term  of  service,  because  he  had  great  faith  in  old  soldiers.  He  could 
not  perceive  the  advantage  of  abolishing  corporal  punishment  in  the 
army  at  the  instance  of  clamorous  humanity-mongers.  There  was 
much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  that  form  of  chastisement.  It  operated 
as  a  public  example ;  it  was  summary,  and  did  not  interfere  for  any 
injurious  length  of  time  with  the  public  service.  Solitary  confine- 
ment removed  a  soldier  from  his  duty,  and  cast  an  extra  burden 
upon  the  well-conducted  men,  beside  that  it  was  an  impracticable 
punishment  on  the  line  of  march.  To  the  ignorant  and  illiterate 
man  a  brief  confinement  was  no  penalty  ;  to  the  intelligent  soldier  it 
far  transcended  in  cruelty  the  infliction  of  the  lash.  But  public 
opinion  was  too  strong  for  the  Duke ;  and  he  yielded  to  a  compro- 
mise. The  maximum  of  corporal  punishment  was  reduced  to  fifty 
lashes.  In  the  matter  of  costume  and  equipment  the  Duke  was 
inflexible.  He  had  won  battles  with  ill-clad  and  heavily-laden 
soldiers,  and  was  therefore  indisposed  to  see  the  clothing  improved, 
or  the  burdens  reduced.  He  told  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gore,  in  reply 
to  some  suggestions  to  change  a  part  of  the  dress  of  the  33rd  regi- 
ment, of  which  the  Duke  was  Colonel,  that  it  had  gone  on  very  well 
for  twenty  years  as  it  was,  and  he  did  not  know  where  changes  would 
stop  if  once  commenced.  So  of  the  knapsack.  When  new  projects, 
calculated  to  diminish  the  annoyances  of  the  soldier  were  submitted, 
the  official  answer  was,  that  "  the  knapsack  question  had  been 
exhausted. "  All  this  <»conveyed  an  impression  that  the  Duke  was 
insensible  to  the  sufferings  of  the  troops ;  and  the  idea  of  his  pre- 


1852.]  THE  DUKE'S  PIETY.  285 

sumed  apathy  received  a  confirmation  from  his  refusal  to  encourage 
applications  for  a  medal  commemorative  of  service  in  the  Peninsula. 
But  the  inference  on  this  head  was  unfair.  The  Duke  did  not  ask  for 
medals  for  his  troops  (excepting  in  the  case  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo) 
because,  in  the  first  place,  he  believed  that  the  value  of  those  distinc- 
tions would  be  deteriorated  by  their  becoming  too  general — an  idea 
also  cherished  by  the  Duke  of  York ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  because, 
when  he  was  called  upon  to  move  in  the  matter,  he  felt  he  was  no 
longer  in  the  positi'^n,  relatively  to  the  applicants,  which  would  have 
justified  the  procedure.  It  was  not  "  his  duty."  In  reply  to  a  memo- 
rial from  the  captains  and  subalterns  of  the  army,  his  Grace  dwelt 
strongly  upon  this  point.  He  told  them  that  when  commanding  the 
army  in  the  field  it  was  "  his  duty"  faithfully  to  report  the  services  of 
officers :  and  it  was  "  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  settle  whether 
any  and  what  reward  should  be  conferred.  When  commanded  by 
the  Sovereign  to  recommend  corps,  battalions,  and  officers  for  honor- 
ary distinctions,  he  obeyed  those  orders  and  performed  all  those 
duties ;"  but  excepting  when  so  ordered,  he  did  not  consider  it  '•  any 
part  of  his  duty"  to  interfere  in  the  matter.  These  were  his  very 
words. 

In  the  sense  in  which  "  serious  people"  would  apply  the  term,  the 
Duke  was  not,  perhaps,  a  strictly  pious  man ;  but  if  conclusions  are 
to  be  drawn  from  the  actions,  rather  than  the  expressions,  of  a  human 
being,  he  was  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  beauty  and  importance 
of  religion.'  He  obeyed  the  Christian  precepts  in  the  relations 
of  life, — he  was  assiduous  in  his  attendance  at  Divine  Service ;  and 
he  always  evinced  a  laudable  anxiety  that  the  soldiery  should  have 
the  assistance  of  chaplains  of  orthodox  principles  and  exemplary 
conduct.' 

1  See  a  Clergjinan's  estimate  of  the  Duke's  character  !u  the  Appendix. 

J  In  a  despatch  addressed  to  Lieutenant-General  Calvert,  the  Adjutant-General  dated  Cartaxo, 
6th  of  February,  1811,  the  Duke  wrote  for  good  array  chaplains,  and  said — 

"  I  am  very  anxious  upon  this  subject,  not  only  from  the  desire  which  every  man  must  have 
that  so  many  persons  as  there  are  in  this  army  should  have  the  advantage  of  religious  instruc- 
tion, but  from  a  knowledge  that  it  is  the  greatest  support  and  aid  to  military  discipline  and 
order." 

And  again,  speaking  of  the  spread  of  Methodism  in  the  army,  and  of  the  Methodist  meetings 
which  were  taking  place  in  the  regiments,  his  Grace  wrote — 

"Here,  and  in  similar  circumstances,  we  want  the  assistance  of  a  respectable  clergj-man. 
By  his  personal  influence  and  advice,  and  by  that  of  true  religion,  he  would  moderate  the 
zeal  and  enthusiasm  of  the  gentlemen,  and  would  prevent  these  meetings  from  being 
mischievous,  if  he  did  not  prevail  upon  them  to  discontinue  them  entirely.  This  vs  the 
only  mode,  in  my  opinion,  in  which  we  can  touch  these  meetings.  Tlie  meeting  of  soldiers 
m  their  cantonments  to  sing  psalms,  or  hear  a  sermon  read  by  one  of  their  comrades,  is,  in 
the  abstract,  perfectly  innocent ;  and  it  is  a  better  way  of  spending  their  time  than  many 


286  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF  WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

The  condition  of  the  British  soldier  has  been  amazingly  improved 
since  the  war.  The  hope  of  reward  has  been  substituted  for  the  fear 
of  punishment,  as  a  stimulus  to  conduct.  Diminished  service,  com- 
fortable barracks,  good-conduct  pay  and  medals,  gratuities,  pensions, 
and  annuities,  facilities  of  colonial  settlement,  and  a  preference  over 
other  civilians  in  selection  for  employment  after  discharge,  are  among 
the  benefits  conferred  upon  the  troops  since  1815.  It  maybe  that 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  did  not  originate  any  of  these  measures — he 
may  not  have  considered  it  to  come  within  the  scope  of  his  duty  to  do 
so.  As  Commander-in-Chief,  however,  he  must  have  been  consulted 
by  the  Secretary  at  War  and  the  War  Minister ;  and  had  he  not  con- 
sented to  the  improvements  it  is  doubtful  whether  etiquette  would 
have  allowed  of  their  adoption.  Hence,  to  the  Duke  belongs  a  large 
portion  of  the  merit  of  having  ameliorated  the  condition  of  the  English 
soldier. 

In  the  disposal  of  his  patronage  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  just, 
— and  more  than  this,  he  recommended  justice  to  others.'  There  was 
scarcely  one  officer  who  served  under  him,  and  remained  in  the  army 

others  to  which  they  are  addicted ;  but  it  may  become  otherwise ;  and  yet,  till  the  abuse 
has  made  some  progress,  the  commanding  officer  would  have  no  knowledge  of  it,  nor  could 
he  interfere.  Even  at  last  his  interference  must  be  guided  by  discretion,  otherwise  he  will 
do  more  harm  than  good  ;  and  it  can  in  no  case  be  so  effectual  as  that  of  a  respectable 
clergyman." 

'  A  recent  writer   says: — "Tlie   Duke  would   not   do    an   unjust   act  to  please   his  own 

sovereigu.     George  IV.  said  to  him  one  day,  '  Arthur,  the regiment  is  vacant,  gazette 

Lord .' 

" '  Impossible,  and  please  your  Majesty ;  there  are  officers  who  have  served  the  country  foi 
many  years  whose  turn  comes  first.' 

" '  Never  mind,  Arthur,  gazette  Lord .' 

"  The  Duke  came  up  to  town,  and  gazetted  Sir  Ronald  Fergusson.  lie  was  then  all  powerful  in 
the  cabinet  as  well  as  in  the  army,  and  the  King,  whose  character  the  Duke  well  tmderstood,  was 
obliged  to  take  the  matter  with  as  good  a  grace  as  he  was  able. 

"  An  officer  in  the  army,  still  alive,  expressing  his  wonder  that  the  Duke  should  lend  his  papers 
to  Buch  a  radical  as  the  present  Sir  William  Napier,  to  assist  him  in  composing  his  admirable 
history  of  the  Peninsular  War,  he  replied, '  And  what  if  he  is  a  Radical ;  he  will  tell  the  truth, 
and  that  is  all  I  care  about.'  " 

The  annexed,  among  many  other  letters,  present  imdeniable  proofs  of  the  spirit  of  justice  which 
animated  the  Duke : — 

"to  likutenant-colonel  close. 

"Camp,  3rd  J«/y,  1803. 
"  In  exercising  the  power  given  me  by  government,  in  regard  to  the  subsidiary  force  at  Poonah, 
I  shall  consider  it  a  duty,  and  it  certainly  is  my  inclination,  to  select  those  officers  for  the  situa- 
tions which  are  to  be  filled,  who  may  be  agreeable  to  you.  The  gentleman  you  now  have  recom- 
mended to  me  is  one  for  whom  I  have  a  respect,  and  in  whose  advancement  and  welfare  I  am 
materially  interested ;  as  he  has  been  frequently  recommended  to  me  In  the  strongest  terms  by 
his  relation.  General  Mackenzie,  a  very  old  friend  of  mine. 
"  But  both  you  and  I,  my  dear  Colonel,  must  attend  to  claims  of  a  superior  nature  to  those 


1852.]  THE  DUKE'S  SENSE  OF  JUSTICE.  28'7 

long  enough  to  be  eligible  for  responsible  command,  who  did  not 
receive  some  token  of  the  Duke's  approbation.  They  were  either 
appointed  colonels  of  regiments,  or  governors  of  colonies,  or  com- 
manders of  districts,  divisions,  or  branches  of  the  army  in  India,  or 
good-service  pensions  were  granted  to  them.  Where  disappointment 
was  experienced,  it  resulted  from  the  absence  of  the  Duke's  opportu- 
nities to  serve  them.  If  ofl&cers  and  soldiers  did  well,  who  so  ready 
to  laud  them  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  the  Duke? — making  amends 
by  the  warmth  of  his  commendations  as  a  peer  for  the  brevity  of  his 
approbations  as  a  general  in  the  field.  If  ill,  or  erring  from  miscon- 
ception, who  so  prompt  to  vindicate  them  to  the  country  1 

brought  forward,  either  in  consequence  of  our  private  feelings  of  friendship  or  of  reccommenda- 
tion.    Of  this  nature  are  the  claims  founded  upon  service. 

Mr.  Giknour  has  done  all  the  duty  of  the  staflf-surgeon  greatly  to  my  satisfaction  and  the 
general  good ;  and  when  the  subsidiary  force  comes  to  be  established  at  Poonah,  I  think  that 
I  could  not  disappoint  the  expectation  which  he  has  had  a  right  to  form,  that  he  should  be  its 
permanent  staff-surgeon,  without  doing  him  great  injustice,  and  in  his  person  violating  a 
principle  which  ought  always  to  guide  those  who  have  the  disposal  of  military  patronage,  viz., 
that  those  who  do  the  duty  of  the  army,  ought  to  be  promoted,  and  also,  enjoy  its  benefits  and 
advantages." 

"to    GENERAI,   ,   IN   THE    SERVICE    OF   THE    KINO   OF    SPAIN. 

"Paris,  Snd  December,  1814. 

"  I  did  not  recommend  you  to  the  King  of  Spain  for  promotion,  not  from  any  doubt  of  your 
zeal  and  gallantry  in  his  Majesty's  service  and  cause,  of  which  I  had  witnessed  so  many 
instances,  but  from  having  known  that  you  had  not  made  the  military  profession  your  study, 
and  from  having  observed  that  you  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  discipline  and  good  order  of 
the  troops,  which  are  those  qualities  of  which  his  Majesty's  troops  are  much  in  want. 

"  If  I  had  now  anything  to  say  to  the  Spanish  army  (excepting  in  the  interest  I  feel  for  its 
honour),  I  should  consider  it  my  duty  for  the  same  reasons  still  to  be  silent  regarding  your 
promotion.  Zeal  and  gallantry  are  indispensable  qualities  for  an  officer,  and  you  possess  both 
and  activity  and  intelligence  to  an  extraordinary  and  exemplary  degree ;  but  it  is  my  opinion — 
and  I  have  always  acted  upon  that  opinion — that  an  officer  appointed  to  command  others 
should  have  other  qualities ;  and  1  cannot  with  propriety  recommend  for  promotion  one  who,  in 
my  opinion,  does  not  possess  them. 

"  In  regard  to  your  complaint  that  your  name  was  not  mentioned  in  my  despatches,  it  appears 
extraordinary,  as  you  are  aware  that  you  happened  not  to  fill  any  responsible  situation  in  the 
army.  It  is  certainly  true  that  your  conduct  was  most  gallant  upon  both  these  occasions  that 
you  mention;  but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  report  the  name  of  every  individual  who  pu'^ 
himself  at  the  head  of  the  troops." 

"to  major-general  darling. 

Bruxelles,  2nd  May,  1815. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  say  to  any  appointment  to  the  staff  of  this  army  of  any  rank. 

"  However  flattered  I  may  be,  and  however  I  may  applaud  the  desire  of  an  officer  to  serve 
under  my  command  in  the  field,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  recommend  officers  for  employment 
with  whose  merits  I  am  not  acquainted,  in  preference  to  those  to  whose  se'vices  I  am  so 
much  indebted,  particularly  if  the  latter  desire  to  serve  again.  But,  as  I  before  stated,  I  have 
no  choice ;  and  I  beg  you  to  apply  in  the  quarter  in  which  you  will  certainly  succeed,  without 
reference  to  my  wishes,  whenever  there  shall  be  a  command  vacant  for  you,  which  there  is  not 
at  present." 

2y 


288  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

The  14th  Light  Dragoons,  from  some  misapprehension  of  an  order 
given  at  the  battle  of  Chillianwallah,  in  the  Punjaub,  had  given  way 
to  a  momentary  panic,  and  obloquy  was  cast  upon  that  distinguished 
regiment  by  some  ill-informed  persons.  The  noble  Duke  took  an 
opportunity  of  extenuating  their  temporary  retreat.  He  did  so  in 
these  words : — "  My  Lords,  it  is  impossible  to  describe  to  you  the 
variety  of  circumstances  which  may  occasion  mistake  or  disarrange- 
ment during  an  engagement,  in  the  operations  of  any  particular  force 
at  any  particular  moment.  An  inquiry  into  these  circumstances  has 
been  instituted,  and  I  have  seen  the  report  of  that  inquiry.  It 
happens  that  these  cavalry  had  to  conduct  their  operations  over  a 
country  much  broken  by  ravines  and  rough  jungles,  which  rendered 
it  impossible  for  the  troops  to  move  in  their  usual  regular  order.  It 
happened  that  the  officer  commanding  the  brigade  of  which  this  corps 
formed  a  part,  was  wounded  in  the  head  during  the  advance,  and  was 
obliged  to  quit  the  field.  The  officer  next  in  command  being  at  a 
distance  from  the  spot,  was  not  aware  that  his  commanding  officer 
was  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  field.  Under  these  circumstances, 
the  word  of  command  was  given  by  some  person  not  authorised,  and 
of  whom  no  trace  can  be  found;  and  some  confusion  took  place, 
which  from  the  crowd,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  moment,  could 
not  easily  be  remedied.  But  it  was  removed  at  last,  and  all  were  got 
in  order,  and  the  corps  successfully  performed  its  duty,  as  I  and 
other  noble  lords  around  me  have  seen  them  perform  it  on  other 
occasions.  My  Lords,  these  things  may  happen  to  any  troops  ;  but 
we  whose  fortune  it  has  been  to  see  similar  engagements  in  the  field, 
feel  what  must  be  felt  by  all  your  lordships — that  the  character  of  a 
corps  must  not  be  taken  from  them  from  scraps  in  the  newspapers ; 
but  the  facts  must  be  sought  in  the  report  of  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  in  the  inquiry  made  by  the  proper  parties — an  inquiry 
very  different  to  that  made  by  the  publishers  of  newspapers.  The 
order  was  made ;  and  it  needs  no  one  to  be  informed  that  a  move- 
ment in  retreat  is  not  a  movement  in  advance ;  but  your  lordships 
may  be  convinced,  as  I  myself  am,  that  the  movement  in  retreat  was 
one  of  those  accidents  which  must  occur  occasionally,  and  that  the 
corps  to  which  it  happened  are  as  worthy  of  confidence  then  as  they 
have  been  since,  as  they  were  before,  and  as  I  hope  they  always 
wiU  be." 

Upon  a  previous  occasion  the  Duke  earnestly  defended  the  62nd 
Foot  from  a  similar  charge  of  panic.  The  regiment  had  got  into 
momentary  disorder  at  the  battle  of  Fcrozeshah. 

Major-General  Sir  Harry  Smith,  an  old  officer,  formerly  in  the 


1852.]  DEFENCE  OF  SIR  H.  SMITH.  289 

Rifles,  held  the  government  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  for  five  or  six 
years.  A  war  broke  out  with  the  Kaffirs,  and  was  prolonged 
beyond  the  expected  term.  The  impatience  of  the  public  at  length 
broke  out  in  animadversions  upon  Sir  Harry's  capacity  for  command 
in  irregular  and  savage  warfare  ;  and  the  subject  was  alluded  to  in  a 
debate  in  the  House,  in  an  Address  in  answer  to  the  Royal  Speech. 
The  Duke  seized  the  occasion  of  pronouncing  in  favour  of  Sir  Harry's 
tactics  with  more  than  wanted  energy  of  manner.  "  Sir  Harry 
Smith,"  he  said,  "  is  an  officer  who,  from  his  high  reputation  in  the 
service,  ought  not  to  require  any  commendation  from  me ;  but  having 
filled  a  high  command  in  several  important  military  operations  long 
before  carried  on  under  his  direction,  and  having  now  been  recalled 
by  her  Majesty's  Government,  it  is  but  justice  to  him  to  say  that  I, 
who  am  his  commanding  officer,  though  at  a  great  distance,  entirely 
approve  of  all  his  operations,  of  the  orders  which  he  has  given  to  his 
troops,  and  of  the  arrangements  which  he  has  made  for  their  success. 

*  *  *  My  firm  belief  is,  that  everything  has  been  done  by  the  com- 
manding general  of  the  forces  and  the  other  officers,  in  order  to  carry 
into  execution  the  instructions  of  her  Majesty's  Government." 

To  the  sons  of  deserving  old  officers  the  Duke  was  kind  and  con- 
siderate, and  gave  away  many  commissions  to  orphans  and  others 
upon  the  simple  plea  that  their  fathers  had  done  their  duty  to  the 
State.' 

1  The    following   letter    lately   appeared   in  an    Irish    newspaper,  the    Saunders^s    J^ewe- 
Letter : — 

"to  thb  editor  of  ' Saunders's  news-letter.' 
"Sir, — As  anecdotes  characteristic  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  may  not  be  unacceptable 
to  your  readers,  now  that  the  earthly  remains  of  that  truly  great  and  illustrious  man  are 
about  to  be  laid  in  the  grave,  may  I  beg  leave  to  give  you  one  on  which  you  may  place  every 
reliance,  being  myself  the  recipient  of  the  noble  Duke's  impartial,  generous,  and  most  kind 
dispensation  of  the  patronage  of  the  army.  Having  claims  on  the  country^  for  services 
rendered  in  the 'field' — having  a  large  family  then  to  provide  for,  and  not  having  then  at 
my  disposal  what  would  purchase  an  ensigncy  for  my  son,  then  a  young  gentleman  about, 
eighteen  years  old,  I  memoralised  his  Grace  on  behalf  of  my  son,  for  an  ensigncy  without 
purchase,  merely  stating  the  services,  the  age  of  the  young  gentleman,  education,  &c.,  and 
forwarded  it  by  post.  I  did  not  even  get  it  handed  in  by  any  great  man,  or  one  in  power,  but 
simply  relied  on  its  merits,  and  confiding  it  to  the  well-known  justice  and  generosity  of  his 
Grace's  character.  The  memorial  lay  over  for  some  time,  and  all  hope  of  any  good  result  was 
nearly  abandoned,  when  one  day  a  person  paid  me  a  visit,  and,  among  other  subjects,  mentioned 

•  that  the  commanding  officer  of  —  Regiment,  then  stationed  in  the  town  in  which  I  resided, 
had  been  making  some  searching  inquiries  as  to  the  respectability  of  my  family,  and  the  good 
character  of  the  young  gentleman  mentioned  in  the  memorial  to  his  Grace,'  all  which  being 
answered  most  satisfactorily,  with,  indeed,  the  uncalled-for  .addition,  that  the  young  gentle- 
man was  a  Roman  Catholic,  the  report  was  forwarded  to  his  Grace  by  the  commanding  officer, 
and  in  about  twelve  months  after  my  son  was  recommended  by  his  Grace  to  her  Majesty  for 
ensigncy  without  purchase,    and   gazetted  accordingly;  thereby  making  me,  a  stranger,   an 

VOL.   II.  19 


290  LIFE  OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLIKGTOX.  [1852. 

Although  some  hundreds  of  general  orders  and  instructions 
emanated  from  the  Duke's  pen,  many  of  them  embracing  very  small 
matters,  but  all  conducive  to  the  general  interest  of  discipline,  he 
never  worried  the  troops  with  needless  reproofs  and  injunctions. 
He  cared  nothing  for  a  man's  dress — he  never  fretted  himself  about 
the  length  of  a  beard  or  a  whisker,  or  the  number  of  buttons  upon  a 
coat — he  knew  exactly  where  to  draw  the  line  between  the  trivialities 
which  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  martinet  and  the  minute  points 
which  afi'ected  the  economy  of  an  army.  Certainly  no  army  could  be 
in  a  worse  state  of  discipline  than  was  the  British  army  when  the 
Duke  succeeded  to  the  Peninsular  command  ;  and  as  certainly  there 
never  was  an  army  in  a  finer  and  more  efficient  condition  than  ours 
at  the  moment  of  the  Duke's  death.  It  is  quite  true  that,  in  his 
latter  days,  he  committed  the  principal  part  of  his  duties  of  the 
command-in-chief  to  his  Military  Secretary  and  the  adjutant-General, 
but  they  had  served  long  enough  under  him  to  become  so  inoculated 
with  his  system  and  familiar  with  his  thoughts,  that  all  went  on  as  if 
he  were  still  the  active  head  of  military  affairs. 

The  "  Despatches "  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  published  some 
years  since,  after  careful  collation,  by  Colonel  Gurwood,  the  Duke's 
esquire,  are  the  most  remarkable  compositions  of  the  kind  extant. 
As  contributions  to  history — indeed  no  correct  history  of  the  time 
could  be  written  without  access  to  them — as  vindications  of  the 
reputation  of  the  Duke,  to  the  extent  not  only  of  making  clear 
what  was  doubtful,  but  of  giving  to  all  the  finer  points  of  his 
character  a  remarkable  salience — as  guides  to  future  commanders — 
they  are  of  incalculable  value.  No  man  in  the  universe  could  form  an 
approach  to  an  estimate  of  the  Duke's  true  worth  until  these  extra- 
ordinary "  Despatches  "  were  made  public.  Mr.  Charles  Phillips,  once  a 
celebrated  barrister,  now  honourably  and  faithfully  holding  the  scales 
of  justice 'as  a  Commissioner  of  the  Metropolitan  Insolvent  Court, 
speaking  of  them,  says — 

"  To  what  are  we  to  attribute  prosperity  so  unparalleled? — to  merit 
or  to  fortune  ?  Most  strange  to  say,  this  seemingly  self-answering 
question  has  been  asked  !     But  let  the  darkest  bigot  to  the  creed  of 

Irishman,  and  a  Roman  Catholic,  a  compliraeul  of  450/^  the  reflation  price  for  an  ensigncy. 
Mine  is  not  a  single  instance  of  his  Grace's  impartiality  and  justice  in  the  dispensation  of  the 
patronage  of  the  army ;  but  now  that  obloquy  has  been  attempted  to  be  cast  upon  the  memory 
of  the  lato  illustrious  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  that  the  country  is  mourning  over  his  bier,  I 
may  be  allowed  to  drop  on  his  tomb  the  only  tribute  in  my  power  to  pay  his  memory — a 
grateful  tear.  "  Your  obedient  servant, 

'•'•  JiTovcmber  4tli,  1852.  "An  Old  CAMPiiQNER." 

[This  letter  is  duly  authenticated.] 


1852.]  THE  DUKE'S  DESPATCHES.  291 

chance  open  his  marvellous  '  Despatches,'  and  be  satisfied.  He  may 
there  read  the  solution  of  his  mystery.  He  will  there  find  it  was 
not  on  the  battle-field  alone  this  great  commander  gained  his 
victories.  It  was  over  the  map,  and  in  the  tent,  at  midnight.  It 
was  in  the  careful  retrospect  of  past  campaigns,  studious  of  expe- 
rience. It  was  in  the  profound  reflection,  '  looking  before  and  after' 
— in  a  sagacity  almost  instinctive — in  a  prescience  all  but  inspired — 
in  the  vigilance  that  never  slumbered — the  science  that  never  erred 
— the  cautious,  well-digested,  deeply-pondered  purpose,  slow  in 
formation,  but,  once  formed,  inflexible.  These  were  the  chances 
which  enslaved  renown — these  were  the  accidents  which  fettered 
fortune.  All  extraordinary  as  these  '  Despatches '  are,  perhaps  the 
most  curious  feature  they  present  is  the  immediate  and  immutable 
maturity  of  character.  Instant,  yet  permanent — of  a  moment's 
growth,  yet  made  of  adamant.  Time  has  not  touched  it.  What  he 
was  at  Seringapatam — such  was  he  at  Waterloo, — and  what  he  was  at 
Waterloo,  he  is  at  this  very  moment.  The  first  of  these  '  Despatches  ' 
dated  in  1800,  from  the  camp  at  Currah,  exhibits  him  precisely  as  be 
appears  through  twelve  volumes,  down  to  the  last  at  Paris  i  *  *  *  * 
Almost  every  man  imagines  that  he  knows  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
because  of  those  exploits  which  have  become  as  household  words 
amongst  us.  But  no  man  can  be  said  to  know  him  truly  who  has 
not  pored  and  pondered  over  these  '  Despatches.'  Lucid,  eloquent, 
copious,  and  condensed,  they  take  their  stand  beside  the  immortal 
Commentaries.  They  must  ever  remain,  at  once,  the  army's  marvel,' 
and  of  the  gifted  author  the  most  enduring  monument.  The  records 
of  his  glory,  they  are  also  the  revelations  of  the  qualities  which 
ensured  it." 

How  far  these  sentiments  are  also  those  of  the  writer  of  this 
biography  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  twelve  years  since,  he 
took  the  pains  to  offer  a  small  abridgment  of  them  to  the  officers  of 
the  Indian  army,  which  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  preface  in  the 
words  given  below. 

"  When  the  editor  of  the  following  compilation  first  resolved  upon 
offering  the  army  an  abridgment  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  De- 
spatches, he  entertained  an  idea  that  he  would  find  in  that  remark- 
able work  innumerable  detached  opinions,  isolated  aphorisms,  and 
incidental  sentiments,  which  of  themselves  would  constitute  a  work 
of  reference  of  great  utility  to  military  men.  It  was  scarcely  to  be 
supposed — the  Duke's  position,  his  power  and  right  to  dictate,  his 
means  of  acquiring  information,  and  the  voluminousness  of  the 
despatches  considered — ^'that  in  a  work  comprising  twelve  volumes, 


292  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

of  upwards  of  six  hundred  pages  each,  his  Grace  should  seldom  be- 
fouud  expressing  opinions  upon  genez'al  subjects,  or  proposing  rules 
for  the  government  of  others ;  that,  in  a  word,  his  numerous  letters 
should  prove  to  be  merely  suggested  by  the  circumstances  which 
immediately  engaged  his  attention,  and  to  be  limited,  almost  entirely, 
to  the  subject  which  originated  them.  But  such  is  nevertheless  the 
fact.  No  man  of  his  station  seems  less  to  have  purposed  to  dress 
himself  '  in  an  opinion  of  wisdom,  gravity,  profound  conceit,'  than 
the  Duke  of  Wellington.  A  man  of  business — and  a  modest  man  to 
boot — he  appears  rather  to  have  offered  suggestions  and  to  have 
dictated  a  course  of  proceeding  adapted  to  a  peculiar  exigency,  than 
to  have  laid  down  rules  of  conduct  for  general  evidence  on  all 
occasions.  His  sentiments  are  more  to  be  inferred  than  positively 
cited.  His  mind  is  fixed  on  the  object  immediately  before  him,  and 
if  he  does  happen  to  enlarge  upon  it  in  his  '  Despatches,'  it  is  obviously 
because  he  apprehended  a  recurrence,  during  the  prosecution  of  the 
campaign  in  which  he  is  directly  engaged,  of  the  circumstances  which 
elicit  his  remonstrances.  The  Duke  never  seems  to  have  dreamed, 
that  the  words  which  flowed  from  his  pen,  would  have  been  treasured 
in  after-years  as  pearls  of  inestimable  price :  he  apparently  wrote 
with  no  other  view  than  to  get  the  business  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
effectively,  expeditiously,  economically,  and  honourably  performed. 

'•  These  characteristics  of  the  Duke's  Despatches  have  rendered  the 
editor's  task  in  selecting  a  sufficiency  to  constitute  a  hand-book,  or 
volume  of  reference,  one  of  difficulty  and  delicacy.  He  has  fouud 
only  precedents  where  he  expected  to  have  discovered  laivs ;  and  iu 
the  absence  of  aphorisms  and  comprehensive  opinions,  which  would 
have  been  accepted  as  oracles  by  every  British  soldier,  he  has  been 
obliged  to  choose  portions  of  remarkable  despatches,  leaving  it  to  the 
intelligent  military  reader  to  apply  the  general  principles  which 
governed  the  Duke,  to  such  circumstances  and  situations  of  a  similar 
character  as  he  may  happen  to  be  placed  in.  Thus,  if  the  possessor 
of  the  '•ManuaV^  is  not  able  to  say,  '  I  will  do  so  and  so,  because 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  says  it  is  the  proper  course  to  pursue,'  he 
can  at  least  quote  his  Grace's  proceedings  on  a  parallel  occasion  and 
take  them,  safely  take  them^  as  the  best  guide  of  his  own  immediate 
conduct. 

"With  these  brief  observations,  the  editor  humbly  submits  this 
compilation  (which,  as  involving  the  careful  perusal  of  the  whole  of 
the  '  Despatches '  has  literally  been  a  delightful  task)  to  the  patronage 
of  his  friends,  the  officers  of  the  Indian  army. 

"  It  would  perhaps  have  been  appropriate  to  have  introduced  it  by  a 


1852.]  THE  DUKE  AND  WASHINGTON.  293 

Bketch  of  the  career  of  the  soldier  to  whom  the  army  is  indebted  for 
the  words  of  wisdom  to  be  found  in  each  page  ;  but  apart  from  a  consid- 
eration of  the  difficulty  of  compressing  such  a  sketch  within  reason- 
able limits  without  injustice  to  the  mighty  subject,  it  has  occurred 
to  the  editor,  that  the  '■  ManuaV  itself  supplies  evidence  enough  of 
the  character  of  the  Duke's  mind,  and  the  qualities  of  his  heart,  to 
render  the  preparation  of  a  brief  history  in  this  place,  altogether 
supererogatory.  If  one  of  the  purposes  with  which  we  study  the 
records  of  the  past  be  to  possess  ourselves  of  ample  and  unerring 
guides  for  the  future,  the  reader  will  have  no  difficulty  in  adopting 
and  applying,  as  occasion  offijrs,  the  sentiments  of  the  greatest  captain 
of  the  age,  because  his  Grace's  professional  advancement  and  extra- 
ordinary success,  were  the  consequence  of  the  combination  of  military 
virtue   herein    developed.     His   '  Despatches '   are   a   monument   of 

SAGACITY,  DEVOTEDNESS,  PATIENCE,  OBEDIENCE,  DECISION,  HUMANITY, 
TEMPERANCE,  MODESTY,  JUSTICE,  COURAGE,  FIRMNESS,  and  PURE  PAT- 
RIOTISM, for  which  we  may  seek  in  vain  in  the  annals  of  our  own  or 
any  other  country  " 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  did  not  die  ejaculating  "  My  country — 
save  my  country,  Heaven ! " — but  no  one  who  has  attentively 
followed  him  in  his  civil  and  military  career  can  hesitate  to  believe 
that  he  was  an  ardent  patriot  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart — alive  to 
the  honour  and  the  interests  of  Great  Britain — fighting  for  them — 
suffering  for  them — and  perpetually  meditating  their  preservation  or 
advancement.  England  has  already  placed  him  above  Chatham. 
America  compared  him  to  her  Washington.  "  The  two  men,"  writes 
Mr.  Rush,  formerly  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's,  "  were  still 
alike  in  truthfulness  and  honesty  ;  alike  in  straightforward  conduct  and 
perpetual  honour,  that  ever  rose  above  intrigue,  all  selfishness,  and 
little  jealousies  ;  all  thought  of  small  ambitions,  or  playing  a  small 
game  under  any  circumstances ;  alike  in  that  wisdom  of  vast  affairs, 
which  looks  at  men  as  they  are  and  events  as  they  exist,  with  no 
misleading  thoughts  to  mistake  either  in  planning  and  executing 
momentous  measures ;  alike  in  that  enduring  resolution,  those  self- 
relying  resources  of  inborn  and  well-trained  virtue,  bravery,  and 
patriotism,  which  never  think  of  yielding ;  but  going  on  amidst  mis- 
representations and  difficulties,  no  matter  how  many  or  stubborn  or 
complicated,  that  overset  the  weak  and  vacillating,  but  which  the 
intrinsically  strong  heed  not,  but  turn  to  final  success  and  glory,  in 
fighting  great  battles  and  undergoing  other  great  trials,  whether  for 
a  country  or  to  found  a  country;  those  were  the  grand  qualities 
that  Wellington  and  Washington  possessed  in  common.     The  former 


294  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852. 

served  Britain  as  she  was — the  latter  made  America  what  she  has 
become,  and  what  she  is  to  be." 

We  can  add  but  little  to  this  in  attempting  an  estimate  of  the 
character  of  the  illustrious  individual  whose  life  we  have  endeavoured 
to  pourtray  ;  and  that  little  is  to  be  found  charmingly  expressed  in  an 
extract  from  a  drama  lately  quoted  by  Lord  Ellesmere.  A  monk 
is  speaking  of  Gonzalvo  di  Cordova,  the  Spanish  prototype  of 
Wellington — 

"  He  died 

y 

As  he  had  lived,  his  country's  boast  and  pride — 

Statesman  and  warrior,  who,  with  patient  toil, 

Scant  and  exhausted  legions  taught  to  foil 

Skill,  valour,  numbers.    One  who  never  sought 

A  selfish  glory  from  the  fields  he  fought. 

Lived,  breathed,  and  felt  but  for  his  country's  weal, 

Her  power  to  'stablish,  and  her  wounds  to  heal. 

The  dread  of  France,  when  France  was  most  the  dread," 


1852.] 


HABITS  OF  THE  DUKE. 


295 


CHAPTER  XXn. 


Habits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 


HE  habits  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
formed  in  the  camp,  and  originating 
in  those  public  demands  upon  his 
time  and  energies  to  which  he  held 
it  obligatory  upon  him  to  yield,  were 
preserved  to  the  last  hour  of  his 
existence ;  and  had,  in  all  proba- 
bility, a  material  influence  in  the 
preservation  of  his  health  and  the 
prolongation  of  his  days.  No  change 
of  circumstances  induced  a  change 
of  usage.  The  simplicity  of  the 
soldier  on  the  field  of  fight  adhered 
to  the  recognised  chief  of  the  British 
aristocracy  when  time  and  circum- 
stance placed  every  imaginable  luxury  within  his  reach. 

His  bed  was  narrow  and  more  simple  than  that  of  a  subaltern. 
The  bedstead  of  iron  without  canopy  of  any  kind — the  bed  a  simple 
mattress  covered  with  a  wash-leather  sheet — to  which,  when  he  felt 
cold,  he  added  a  blanket, — a  hard  pillow,  also  enclosed  in  wash- 
leather, — constituted  the  couch  to  which  the  venerable  man  retired  at 
a  late  hour  and  quitted  with  the  early  dawn.  After  a  healthy  and 
invigorating  shower-bath,  in  which  he  invariably  indulged,  he  would 
perform  his  own  toilet  without  the  aid  of  a  valet,  always  shaving 
himself,  for  his  hand  was  steady,  if  not  strong.  The  toilet  was  simple 
and  uniform.  In  winter  a  black  or  blue  frock  and  dark  grey  or 
black  trowsers — in  summer  the  same  frock  and  white  tmwsers,  and 
always  a  white  stock  confined  by  a  steel  buckle.     After  dressing,  the 


296 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[185i 


Duke  would  read  or  write  before  he  proceeded  to  breakfast ;  aud  how 
much  he  read — how  much  he  wrote  !  His  various  offices,  and  his  duty 
as  a  peer,  entailed  upon  him  the  necessity  of  perusing  many  voluminous 


mm  ^J^^.>  j plif    n '1  '^m  m  1^  ■  'SMfe 


THE  DUELS  KOOM  AT  WALMER. 


documents,  and  he  not  unfrequently  pored,  conscientiously,  over 
every  line  of  the  Blue  Books,  which  were  printed  by  order  of 
Parliament.  At  a  very  late  period  of  his  life  he  went  through  the 
whole  of  the  Report,  comprising  some  hundreds  of  pages,  on  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Universities.  Then  the  news- 
papers amused  him.  If  he  continued  to  hold  their  opinions  in  un- 
deserved contempt,  he  was  not  indifferent  to  the  news  they  contained. 
To  the  advertisements  of  new  objects  and  inventions  he  paid  particu- 
lar attention,  and  would  often  go  and  see,  and  possibly  purchase,  some 
modern  piece  of  ingenuity. 

Breakfast  dismissed — and  it  was  always  of  the  simplest  character — 
the  Duke  would  go  forth  to  ride  or  walk  or  pay  a  visit  to  some 
valued  friend.  If  he  rode,  he  was  attended  by  a  single  groom,  the 
man  who  enjoyed  the  melancholy  honour  of  leading  his  master's  old 
horse  at  the  funerah  In  the  afternoon,  the  Duke,  when  commanding 
in  chief,  and  residing  in  town,  would  go  to  the  IIorse-Guards  and 
remain  for  an  hour  or  so,  handing  to  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset  the 
name  of  some  officer  on  whom  he  wanted  to  confer  a  colonelcy  or  a 
colonial  or  district  command.     After  dinner,  at  which  he  generally 


1852.]  THE  DUKE-S   PASSIO]!^  FOR  MUSIC.  207 

ate  heartily,  rarely  toucliiag  wine  or  spirits,  the  Duke,  if  any  question 
of  interest  or  importance  was  coming  on,  would  wend  his  way  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  where  he  was  always  received  with  marked  respect ; 
or  the  Opera  offered  him  attractions,  although  he  had  become  latterly 
very  deaf  indeed.  The  cheerful  scene — the  certainty  of  meeting  some 
one  whose  society  he  relished — the  •'  duty"  to  the  public  of  counten- 
ancing by  his  presence  any  great  and  well-conducted  establishment — 
all  supplied  motives  for  the  visits  to  Her  Majesty's  Theatre.  In  the 
"  season,"  the  Duke  of  "Wellington  continually  honoured  the  parties  of 
the  nobility  with  his  presence.  It  was  a  strong  proof  of  his  great 
strength,  and  his  zest  for  social  intercourse,  that  he  was  often,  on  the 
same  night,  at  two  or  three  different  reiinio?is. 

Before  the  Duke  had  lost  his  hearing,  and  while  the  Ancient  Con- 
certs were  yet  in  vogue,  his  passion  for  music,  which  he  inherited 
from  his  father,  was  allowed  full  latitude.  He  preferred  "  massive 
harmony"  as  developed  in  the  works  of  Handel ;  and  when,  as  a 
director  of  the  Ancient  Concerts,  he  had  the  selection  of  the  pro- 
gramme, he  invariably  chose  the  productions  of  the  great  choral  mas- 
ters. This  was  in  complete  harmony  with  the  grandeur  of  his  mind. 
His  niece,  the  Countess  of  Westmoreland,  had  a  fine  taste  for  mu- 
sic, and  her. husband,  long  known  as  the  accomplished  Lord  Bur- 
ghersh,  was  a  composer  of  no  mean  taste  and  ability.  The  Duke 
was  always  interested  in  his  works,  and  a  constant  attendant  at  the 
Countess's  soirees  musicales.  The  Royal  Academy  engaged  a  large 
share  of  the  Duke's  countenance.  He  generally  subscribed  200/.  per 
annum  to  'the  institution,  and  his  purse  was  always  open  to  distressed 
musicians.  And  "  although  it  may  have  been  supposed  that  the 
Duke  would  only  have  given  his  name  as  a  director  or  patron  of 
the  Ancient  Concerts,  Sir  Henry  Bishop,  the  conductor,  states  that 
he  never  knew  any  director  of  that  institution  (which,  unfortunately, 
no  longer  exists),  or  of  any  other  musical  societies  with  which 
Sir  Henry  has  been  connected,  who  gave  more  thorough  business- 
like attention  to  the  whole  matter.  Whatever  the  Duke  undertook, 
having  undertaken  it,  he  seemed,  however  it  might  be  thought  out 
of  his  own  immediate  sphere,  to  think  that  it  was  his  '  duty'  (and 
that  was  the  great  idea  always  before  him)  to  carry  it  out  to 
the  fullest  extent  of  his  abilities.  His  correspondence  and  '  pro- 
grammes,' which  he  corrected  and  altered  with  his  own  hand,  are 
singularly  clear  and  specific  in  the  directions  for  his  night,  each  of 
the  directors  having  in  turn  the  selection  of  the  music  and  of  the 
chief  singers  for  the  eight  concerts.  The  Duke's  night  was  generally 
one  of  the  most  expensive  of  the  series.     The  dii-ectors  laid  down 


298  LIFE  OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852 

rules  for  theii'  guidance  as  to  the  outlay  j  but  the  Duke's  first  remark 
to  Sir  Henry  Bishop  used  to  be,  '  I  must  have  a  good  concert.' 
When  Sir  Henry  gently  hinted  at  times  that  his  Grace  was  exceed- 
ing the  prescribed  limits,  the  Duke  used  to  reply,  '  Never  mind  the 
expense — I  will  pay  the  difference.'  It  is  stated,  that  if  the  amount 
of  excess  thus  incurred  by  the  Duke  had  been  charged,  it  would  be 
no  inconsiderable  sum.  The  punctuality  of  his  Grace  in  his  attend- 
ance was  very  remarkable.  It  was  customary  for  each  director  to 
give  a  dinner  to  his  brother  directors  prior  to  the  concert ;  to  these 
dinners  the  conductor  was  invited.  The  first  time  Sir  Henry  (then 
Mr.  Bishop)  dined  at  Apsley  House,  in  the  evening  of  the  concert,  he 
kept  looking  at  his  watch  after  the  dinner,  anxious  not  to  be  over 
time  for  the  departure  to  the  Hanover-square  Rooms.  The  Duke 
looked  at  Sir  Henry  Bishop  and  asked  if  it  were  time  to  go.  Sir 
Henry  replied,  '  There  is  yet  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  spare.'  '  Very 
well,'  rejoined  his  Grace ;  '  remember,  Mr.  Bishop,  we  are  under 
your  orders.'  Sir  Henry  was  conversing  with  Lord  Ellenborough, 
and  the  Duke  got  into  earnest  conversation  with  a  noble  director, 
when  suddenly  his  Grace  broke  off  and  turned  round  to  the  conductor 
and  said,  '  It  is  time.'  Sir  Henry  looked  at  his  watch,  and  found 
the  quarter  of  an  hour  had  elapsed  to  a  second  ;  a  fact  which  the 
Duke  was  conscious  of  without  reference  to  a  time-piece,  and  in  the 
midst  of  talking  !" 

And  this  brings  us  to  a  feature  in  the  Duke's  character  which 
occupies  nearly  the  highest  place  among  the  Christian  virtues — his 
charity.  With  him  particularly  the  word  had  a  large  signification. 
He  gave  freely — but  his  right  hand  knew  not  the  actions  of  the  left. 
He  abhorred  ostentatious  benevolence,  and  if  he  did  not  positively 
enjoin  silence,  he  distributed  aid  in  such  a  way  that  it  was  always 
inferred  he  did  not  desire  publicity.  He  loved  "  to  do  good  by 
stealth,"  and  did  not  care  to  "  find  it  fame."  His  generosity  caused 
him  to  be  victimised  occasionally  by  misrepresentation  ;  but  he  rather 
preferred  being  swindled  to  magnifying  the  importance  of  his  bounty 
by  too  minute  an  inquiry  into  the  justice  of  its  application  Nor  was 
the  Duke's  charity  confined  to  his  pecuniary  ''  largcsse,^^ — he  employed 
it,  in  its  largest  and  noblest  sense,  to  "  cover  a  multitude  of  sins." 
He  reproved  gently  and  sorrowfully  —  endeavored  to  find  excuses 
for  the  erring — and  never  allowed  himself  to  repeat  the  evil  words 
which  found  currency  at  the  expense  of  others.  Look  at  his  De- 
spatches and  Orders.  The  name  of  every  man  whom  the  Duke 
found  occasion  to  praise  is  given  at  full  length  ;  the  name  of  every 
object  of  reprehension  is  carefully  concealed  from  public  view.     VV^as 


1852.]  HIS   LOVE   OF   CHILDREN.  299 

not   this   lofty  ?  —magnanimous  ? — the  highest  effort  of  the  noblest 
charity  ? 

But  there  was  yet  another  circumstance  which  indicated  the 
excellence  of  the  old  soldier's  heart  and  the  gentleness  of  his  manner. 
He  loved  children,  and  children  loved  him.  His  presents  to  them 
were  continual — he  was  the  godfiither  of  a  great  many  of  the  offspring 
of  the  nobility.  He  always  kept  a  drawer  full  of  half-sovereigns,  to 
which  pieces  of  ribbon  were  attached,  and  when  a  cluster  of  the 
olive-branches  of  some  noble  house  paid  him  a  visit,  he  would  invest 
them  with  these  insignia,  which  became  heir-looms  as  it  were — ^jewels 
beyond  all  price.  Nor  was  it  to  the  scions  of  noble  houses  alone  that 
he  was  kind.  At  Walmer  and  its  vicinity  the  village  children  knew 
'•  the  old  Duke,"  and  for  all  he  had  a  nod,  or  a  smile,  a  small  coin,  or 
a  passing  word.  An  incident  has  been  related  of  his  making  the 
little  son  of  his  valet,  whom  he  accidentally  fell  in  with,  dine  at  his 
table  and  pass  the  day  with  him ;'  and  the  reader  of  our  first  volume 

1  About  ten  years  ago  the  son  of  Mr.  Kendall,  the  Duke's  valet,  was  placed  at  school  with 
Mr.  Fleet,  who  keeps  an  establishment  for  boarders  in  the  village  of  Hayes,  near  Uxbridge. 
During  one  of  his  vacations,  the  boy  was  spending  a  day  at  Apsley  House,  and  on  his  father 
answering  the  bell,  ran  up  stairs  after  him.  The  boy  unconcernedly  entered  the  room  where 
his  father  was  receiving  his  orders,  and  "  seeing  a  gentleman  with  very  white  hair,"  as  the 
little  fellow  afterwards  said,  when  relating  the  circumstance,  "I  went  back  immediately." 
The  movement  of  the  boy  had  not  escaped  the  quick  glance  of  the  Duke,  who  immediately 
exclaimed,  "Whose  boy  is  that?"  Kendall  replied,  "It  was  my  son,  your  Grace,  and  I 
hope  you  will  excuse  the  great  liberty  he  has  taken  in  daring  to  follow  me  into  your 
presence."  "  Oh,"  said  the  Duke,  "  that  is  nothing ;  I  was  once  a  boy  myself.  But  I  did 
not  know  you  had  a  son,  Kendall ;  send  him  in,  and  leave  him  with  me."  The  boy  was 
accordingly  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  Duke,  who  kindly  shook  him  by  the  hand,  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  who  he  was.  The  boy  replied,  "  Yes,  sir ;"  but  instantly  checking 
himself,  said,  "Yes,  your  Grace."  "Oh,  my  little  fellow,"  said  the  Duke,  "it  will  be  easier 
for  you  to  call  me  sir;  you  call  your  schoolmaster  sir,  don't  you ?  Then  call  me  sir,  if  you 
choose,  to-day."  After  a  few  more  remarks  in  the  same  kind,  familiar  tone,  the  Duke 
said,  "VVeU,  can  you  play  at  draughts?"  The  boy  replied  in  the  affirmative.  The  Duke 
reached  his  draught-board  in  a  moment,  and  sitting  down  by  the  side  of  a  small  table,chal- 
lenged  the  boy  to  a  game,  giving  him  two  men.  The  game  proceeded,  and  the  boy 
lost,  although  he  afterwards  said,  "  I  really  thought  I  should  have  beaten  him  the  second 
game;  but  he  laid  a  trap  for  me,  and  laughed  beciuse  I  did  not  observe  it."  The  game 
ended,  the  Duke  asked  the  boy  to  write  his  name,  and  exercised  him  in  spelling  and 
geography,  asking  him  to  spell  Constantinople,  and  to  tell  him  where  that  city  was  situate. 
The  boy  having  answered  satisfactorily,  the  Duke  said,  "Well,  you  shall  dine  with  me 
to-day;  but,  as  I  shall  not  dine  yet,  perhaps  you  would  like  to  see  my  pictures?"  The 
boy  smilingly  assented,  and  away  went  the  Duke  and  young  Kendall  to  look  at  his  Grace's 
pictures.  After  showing  the  boy  his  marvellous  gallery  of  paintings,  and  freely  explaining  the 
different  subjects,  the  Duke  said,  "Now  I  will  show  you  my  statuary."  After  he  had  gazed 
upon  the  statues  for  some  time,  the  Duke  asked  the  boy  what  he  thought  of  them,  adding,  "They 
are  important  fellows."  Tlie  boy  said  he  did  not  admire  them  so  much  as  he  did  the  pictures. 
The  Duke  said,  "  I  thought  so ;  but  tell  me  which  is  the  most  like  your  schoolmaster."  la 
this  task  the  boy  had  not  much  difficulty,  for  all  of  them,  save  one,  had  large  moustachioa. 


300  LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOK  [1852 

cannot  have  forgotten  that,  as  Colonel  Wellesley,  he  adopted  the  son 
of  the  hostile  brigand  Doondia  Waugh,  and,  when  he  quitted  India, 
left  seven  hundred  pounds  behind  him  for  the  boy's  benefit. 

In  all  the  minor  affairs  of  life  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  remark- 
able for  his  precision  and  exactitude.  If  he  gave  an  order  he  required 
its  literal  fulfilment,  and  would  get  "  terribly  angry "  if  he  had 
frequent  occasion  to  repeat  his  injunctions.  Still  there  was  kindness 
in  all  that  he  did.  The  anecdotes  which  follow  show  that  he  had  a 
will  of  his  own,  and  a  method  in  all  matters  of  personal  concern  : — 

"  Sir  William  Allan,  some  years  ago,  painted  two  pictures  of  the 
'  Battle  of  Waterloo ;'  the  point  of  view  of  one  being  taken  from 
the  British  lines ;  that  of  the  other  from  the  French  lines.  The 
Duke  purchased  one  of  these  pictures  after  seeing  it  at  the  Exhi- 
bition ;  we  rather  think  the  last-mentioned,  in  which  the  figure  of 
Bonaparte  is  prominent.  He  remarked  at  the  time  of  it,  '  Good  ! 
very  good !  not  too  much  smoke.'  An  amusing  anecdote  is  related 
of  this  transaction,  and  upon  the  authority  of  the  artist  himself, 
against  whom  it  certainly  '  tells  '  a  little. 

"  After  the  picture  had  become  the  property  of  the  Duke,  the  artist 
was  intructed  to  call  at  the  Horse-Guards  on  a  certain  day,  to 
receive  payment.  Punctual  to  the  hour  appointed,  Sir  William  met 
his  Grace,  who  proceeded  to  count  out  the  price  of  the  picture,  when 
the  artist  suggested  that,  to  save  the  time  of  one  whose  every  hour 
was  devoted  to  his  duty,  a  cheque  might  be  given  on  the  Duke's 
bankers.  No  answer  was  vouchsafed,  however,  and  Sir  William, 
naturally  supposing  that  his  modest  hint  might  not  have  been  heard, 

Poinling  at  what  was  evidently  a  bust  of  the  Duke  himself,  the  boy  said  it  was  most  like  his 
Bchoolm.ister.  The  Duke  laughed  heartily,  and  said,  "Oh,  indeed;  well  he  is  a  very  good 
man  of  his  sort."  After  this  the  Duke  said,  "Come  now,  we  will  go  to  dinner;  I  have 
ordered  an  early  dinner,  as  I  suppose  you  dine  early  at  school."  "  Wo  dine  at  one  o'clock, 
sir,"  said  the  boy.  "A  very  good  hour,"  rejoined  his  Grace,  "I  did  so  when  I  was  at 
school."  The  Duke  and  young  Kendall  sat  down  to  dinner  alone,  to  the  surprise  of  the  valet, 
who  was  told  by  the  Duke  that  the  bell  would  ring  when  his  attendance  was  required. 
Having  said  grace,  the  Duke  observed  to  his  young  guest,  "I  shall  have  several  things 
brought  to  table,  and  I  shall  help  you  to  a  little  of  each,  as  I  know  little  boys  like  to  taste  all 
they  see."  At  table  his  Grace  conversed  in  the  most  kind  and  encouraging  manner  to  the  boy, 
and,  the  repast  being  ended,  shook  him  by  the  hand  and  dismissed  him  with  the  words,  "Be  a 
good  boy,  do  your  duty;  now  you  may  go  to  your  father."  About  four  years  after  this  unique 
dinner,  the  Duke  was  detained  on  the  South  Eastern  Railway  some  two  hours,  when  he  wished 
to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Privy  Council.  The  Duke  was  highly  displeased  with  the  Directors. 
Mr.  Macgregor,  the  Banker  of  Liverpool,  was  then  Chairman  of  the  line,  and  he  was  waited  upon 
by  command  of  the  Duke.  Not  a  word  more  was  heard  of  the  delay,  but  almost  immediately 
afliTwards  young  Kendall  quitted  Hayes,  and  was  clerk  in  Mr.  Macgregor's  bank  at  Liverpool. 
He  now  fills  a  situation  in  the  Ordnance  department  of  Ireland.  The  Duke  evidently  never  lost 
sight  of  him. 


1852.]  ANECDOTES  OF  THE   DUKE,  301 

repeated  it : — '  Perhaps  your  Grace  would  give  me  a  cheque  on  your 
bankers  ;  it  would  save  you  the  trouble  of  counting  notes.'  This 
time  the  old  hero  had  heard,  and  whether  irritated  at  being  stopped 
in  the  middle  of  his  enumeration,  or  speaking  his  real  sentiments, 
we  know  not,  but  turning  half  round,  he  replied,  with  rather  a 
peculiar  expression  of  voice  and  countenance — '  And  do  you  suppose 
I  would  allow  Coutts's  people  to  know  what  a  fool  I  had  been  ?'  " 


The  unmistakeable  military  character  of  the  Duke  is  evident  in  the 
notices  placed  by  his  orders  on  many  of  the  doors  of  "Walmer  Castle, 
"  Shut  this  door ;"  although  it  may  be  added  that  he  never  addressed 
a  request  to  any  of  his  personal  attendants  without  saying,  "  If  you 
please,"  do  this  or  that.  A  still  more  kindly  and  considerate  memorial 
of  his  Grace  might  be  seen  upon  his  table  in  the  shape  of  a  number 
of  small  slips  of  paper,  ou  which  were  printed,  ''Avoid  to  impose 
upon  others  the  care  of  original  papers  which  you  wish  to  preserve." 
It  is  well  known  that  the  applications  to  the  late  Duke  for  advice  and 
assistance  were  extremely  numerous,  and  in  many  cases  testimonials 
and  original  documents  were  enclosed  by  the  applicants,  which  the 
Duke,  after  making  a  memorandum  of,  invariably  returned,  accom- 
panied by  one  of  these  significant  cautionary  notices. 


About  the  year  1845,  the  Messrs.  Nicoll  had  an  unexpected  visit 
in  Regent-street  from  the  Duke,  who  said,  the  moment  he  arrived, 
"  I  have  seen  the  Prince  (meaning  Prince  Albert)  wear  one  of  your 
new  kind  of  coats."  This  garment  they  had  then  recently  introduced 
to  the  public  under  the  new  and  now  universally  popular  name  of 
"  Paletot."  All  the  various  advantages  of  the  paletot  were  instantly 
perceived  by  the  Duke,  who  became  from  that  time  a  ready  and  warm 
patron  of  the  firm.  The  chief  puzzle  of  the  Messrs.  Nicoll  was  to  give 
his  Grace  all  the  pocket-room  he  wanted, — in  fact,  the  linings  of  all 
,his  coats  were  completely  studded  with  pockets.  Two  resembled  the 
hare-pockets  of  a  shooting  coat.  "  They  must  be  long  and  strong. 
I've  many  papers  to  carry  in  them,"  was  his  expression.  Now, 
although  they  represented  that  the  main  features  of  the  invention 
would  be  thus  removed,  viz.,  its  lightness  and  elasticity,  the  only 
reply  received  was,  "  It  is  my  ivish — it  is  tny  wish?'' 


So  attached  was  the  Duke  to  precision  in  all  things,  that  when 
sitting  to  an  artist  he  was  always  solicitous  about  the  exactitiide  of 
the  likeness  ;  and  he  has  been  known  to  take  the  compasses  from  a 


302 


LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   "WELLINGTON. 


[1852 


iculptor,  and  ascertain  the  precise  proportions  of  his  own  features,  and 
'.hen  compare  them  with  the  clay  representative. 

The  Duke  was  naturally  very  frequently  solicited  to  sit  for  his  bust 
or  his  picture  ;  and  though  he  had  as  little  vanity  as  may  fall  to  the 
lot  of  a  civilized  being,  he  good-naturedly  yielded,  if  the  party  to  be 
obliged  was  worthy  of  the  compliment.  The  public  claims  upon  him 
in  this  respect  were  numerous.  Every  town  in  the  slightest  degree 
connected  with  him,  or  in  a  condition  to  render  honour  to  his  G-race, 
sought  his  eflBgy  in  one  shape  or  another  ;  and  some,  either  deficient 
of  the  means  to  render  him  honour,  or  preferring  that  his  greatness 
should  be  perpetuated  by  columns  visible  from  a  distance,  commemorated 
his  services  in  obelisks.  Thus  there  is  an  obelisk  in  Trim,  the  bor- 
ough he  represented  when  the  Hon.  Arthur  Wesley. 

xhere  is  a  similar  edifice  at  Wellington,  in  Somerset,  which  may  be 
discerned  at  a  very  considerable  distance,  from  the  elevated  position 
"'hich  it  occupies. 


0BELI3K    AT   WELUNGTON,    SOMEUSETSniKE. 


Ireland  long  entertained  an  idea  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
cherished  no  love  for  his  native  country.  This  arose,  perhaps,  from 
his  disinclination  to  visit    Ireland  when  "  duty"  did  not  call  him 


1852.]  THE  DUKE  AND  THE  IRISH,  303 

there ;  and  from  some  expressions  which  he  occasionally  dropped  re- 
garding the  outrageous  conduct  of  the  ultras  of  both  the  violent 
parties  in  the  country,  when  he  was  Secretary  for  Ireland.  His 
anxiety  for  the  settlement  of  the  Catholic  question,  and  for  the  due 
execution  of  the  Poor  Law  must  have  convinced  impartial  men  that 
the  belief  in  his  antipathy  was  ill-founded ;  and  it  is  quite  certain 
that  within  a  year  of  his  death  he  muttered  sentiments  which  could 
only  have  proceeded  from  a  true  Milesian*  : — 

Whatever  the  received  opinion  may  have  been  touching  the  Duke's 
affection  for  Ireland,  there  is  little  question  of  the  respect  in  which 
Ireland  held  her  hero ;  for  Moore  beautifully  sang  his  praises,'  and 
the  people  of  Dublin,  as  well  as  those  of  Trim,  raised  a  column  in  his 
honour. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  all  the  monuments  raised  to  this 

1  The  following  letter  appeared  in  the  Dublin  Freeman's  Journal  with  reference  to  the  alleged, 
denial  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  of  his  country : — 

«  IRELAND    AND    THE    DUKE    OF    WELLINGTON. 
"to  the  editor  of  the  freeman. 

"  Sir,— Having,  since  the  death  of  the  lamented  hero,  whose  remains  are  as  yet  untombed, 
seen  it  frequently  stated  that  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  never  acknowledged  Ireland  as  his 
country,  I  have  been  somewhat  struck  by  the  fact  that  none  of  the  journals  have  referred 
back  to  the  proceedings  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  at  Belfast, 
■which  took  place  so  recently  as  the  early  part  of  this  month,  ere  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had 
breathed  his  last,  for  a  contradiction  of  the  statement.  Mr.  Holden,  the  eminent  sewed  muslin 
manufacturer,  having,  in  the  statistical  section  of  the  Association,  read  a  paper  on  the  progress 
of  the  sewed  muslin  manufacture  in  Ireland,  a  discussion  ensued,  during  which  Mr.  Hilden 
stated  that  in  the  course  of  1851,  whilst  examining  the  products  of  Irish  Industry  at  the 
Great  Exhibition  in  Hyde  Park,  his  Grace  expressed  to  him  (Mr.  Holden)  his  great  satisfaction 
at  their  excellence,  and  added, — 'This  is  the  only  way  by  which  our  country  can  be  re- 
stored to  its  proper  position.'  I  write  from  recollection,  but  the  exact  words  were  at  the 
time  reported  in  the  Belfast  JVorthern  Whig,  in  the  London  Morning  Post,  and,  if  I  mistake 
not,  also  in  some  of  your  Dublin  contemporaries.  Trusting  that  this  explanation  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  set  the  question  at  rest,  and  show  that  the  Duke  had  no  hesitation  in  acknowledging  his 
country, 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  remain, 

"52,  JVestland-Row,  Dublin.'"  "John  Miller  Grant.    . 

2  "  WTiile  History's  Muse  the  memorial  was  keeping 
Of  all  that  the  dark  hand  of  destiny  weaves, 
Beside  her  the  Genius  of  Erin  stood  weeping. 

For  hers  was  the  story  that  blotted  the  leaves. 
But  oh !  how  the  tear  in  her  eyelids  grew  bright 
■When,  after  whole  pages  of  sorrow  and  shame, 
She  saw  History  write 
With  a  pencil  of  light. 
Which  illumed  the  whole  volume,  her  Wellington's  name  !" 

2w 


304  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF    WELLINGTON.  [1352. 

great  man's  memory.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say  that  in  the  selection 
of  localities  for  effigies  in  his  honour,  the  Tower  of  Loudon,  of  which 
he  was  long  the  constable;  was  not  omitted. 


STATUE    AT   THE   TOWER. 


Yet  is  not  the  desire  of  Great  Britain  to  pei*petuate  the  renown  of 
the  incomparable  Field-Marshal  exhausted.  The  receipt  of  the  news 
of  his  demise  was  followed  by  the  declaration  of  the  resolution  of 
various  towns — the  principal  ones  in  England — to  commemorate  his 
vast  achievements  by  more  statues,  more  busts,  more  columns, — all 
upon  a  scale  of  magnificence  suitable  to  their  great  and  interesting 
object.  And  still  more  worthily  to  transmit  the  mighty  name  to 
posterity,  and  to  associate  it  with  high  and  benevolent  purposes,  the 
Queen  of  these  realms  sanctioned  the  circulation  of  a  proposal — which 
her  Majesty  at  once  supported  by  a  subscription  of  one  thousand 
pounds — that  a  memorial  of  the  Duke  should  be  established  in  the 
form  of  a  school  or  college  bearing  the  name  of  "  Wellington,"  for  the 
gratuitous  education  of  one  hundred  of  the  children  of  impoverished 
military  officers.  It  was  estimated  that  the  proper  endowment  of 
the  college  would  require  an  outlay  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds, 
independently  of  the  sum  required  for  the  building.  No  better 
testimony  to  the  ardour  with  which  the  country  has  responded  to  the 


1852.]  FINAL  TRIBUTE.  305 

proposition  can  be  supplied  than  this :  within  one  month  of  the  circu- 
lation of  the  scheme,  sixty  thousand  pounds  was  subscribed  ;  and 
while  this  volume  passes  through  the  press,  public  enthusiasm  and 
attachment  are  hourly  swelling  the  fund.  We  hope  and  believe  that 
the  Wellington  College  will  be  an  honour  to  the  country,  and  worthily 
commemorate  Arthur  Wellesley,  the  Great  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, of  whom  it  has  been  justly  said,  by  the  powerful  diurnal 
interpreter  of  British  opinion,  that  "the  actions  of  his  life  were 
extraordinary,  but  his  character  was  equal  to  his  actions.  He  was 
the  very  type  and  model  of  an  Englishman ;  and,  though  men  are 
prone  to  invest  the  worthies  of  former  ages  with  a  dignity  and  merit 
they  commonly  withhold  from  their  contemporaries,  we  can  select 
none  from  the  long  array  of  our  captains  and  our  nobles  who,  taken 
for  all  in  all,  can  claim  a  rivalry  with  him  who  is  gone  from  amongst 
us,  an  inheritor  of  imperishable  fame." 
VOL.  II,  20 


306 


LIFE  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


[1852 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


The  Titles,  Honours,  and  Descent  of  the  Duke. 


HEN  the  body  of  the  great  Duke 
descended  to  the  tomb,  the  Garter 
King  at  Arms  proclaimed  his  titles 
and  honours  : — "  Arthur  Welles- 
ley,"  he  said,  "  was  the  Most 
High,  Mighty,  and  most  Noble 
Prince,  Duke  of  Wellington,  Mar- 
quis of  Wellington,  Marquis  of 
Douro,  Earl  of  Wellington  in 
Somerset,  Viscount  Wellington  of 
Talavera,  Baron  Douro  of  Welles- 
ley,  Prince  of  Waterloo  in  the 
Netherlands,  Duke  of  Ciudad 
Rodrigo  in  Spain,  Duke  of  Brunoy 
in  France,Duke  of  Vittoria,  Marquis 
of  Torres  Vedras,  Count  of  Vimiero  in  Portugal,  a  Grandee  of  the 
First  Class  in  Spain,  a  Privy  Councillor,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
British  Army,  Colonel  of  the  Grenadier  Guards,  Colonel  of  the  Rifle 
Brigade,  a  Field-Marshal  of  Great  Britain,  a  Marshal  of  Russia,  a 
Marshal  of  Austria,  a  Marshal  of  France,  a  Marshal  of  Prussia, 
a  Marshal  of  Spain,  a  Marshal  of  Portugal,  a  Marshal  of  the  Nether- 
lands, a  Knight  of  the  Garter,  a  Knight  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  Knight 
of  the  Golden  Fleece,  a  Knight  Grand  Cross  of  the  Bath,  a  Knight 
Grand  Cross  of  Hanover,  a  Knight  of  the  Black  Eagle,  a  Knight  of 
the  Tower  and  Sword,  a  Knight  of  St.  Fernando,  a  Knight  of  William 
of  the  Low  Countries,  a  Knight  of  Charles  III.,  a  Knight  of  the 
Sword  of  Sweden,  a  Knight  of  St.  Andrew  of  Russia,  a  Knight  of  the 
Annunciado  of  Sardinia,  a  Knight  of  the  Elephant  of  Denmark, 
a  Knight  of  Maria  Theresa,  a  Knight  of  St.  George  of  Russia,  a 
Knight  of  the  Crown  of  Rue  of  Saxony,   a  Knight  of  Fidelity  of 


1852.]  THE  DUKE'S   ORDERS.  307 

Baden,  a  Knight  of  Maximilian  Joseph  of  Bavaria,  a  Knight  of 
St.  Alexander  Newsky  of  Russia,  a  Knight  of  St.  Hermenegilda  of 
Spain,  a  Knight  of  the  Bed  Eagle  of  Brandenburgh,  a  Knight 
of  St.  Januarius,  a  Knight  of  the  Golden  Lion  of  Hesse  Cassel, 
a  Knight  of  the  Lion  of  Baden,  a  Knight  of  Merit  of  Wurtemburg, 
the  Lord  High  Constable  of  England,  the  Constable  of  the  Tower, 
the  Constable  of  Dover  Castle,  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports, 
Chancellor  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  Admiral  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Hampshire,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  Hamlets, 
Ranger  of  St.  James's  Park,  Ranger  of  Hyde  Park,  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Oxford,  Commissioner  of  the  Royal  Military  College, 
Vice-President  of  the  Scottish  Naval  and  Military  Academy,  the 
Master  of  the  Trinity  House,  a  Governor  of  King's  College,  a  Doctor 
of  Laws,  &c." 

Never  was  a  British  subject  so  honoured  and  decorated.  Our 
sovereigns  are  chary  of  the  distribution  of  titles  and  honours,  and  had 
the  Duke  of  "Wellington's  merits  resembled  those  of  ordinary 
generals,  the  Peerage  and  Grand  Cross  of  the  Bath  would  probably 
have  been  the  limits  of  his  elevation.  But  the  Duke's  services  were 
tiniversal.  Every  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  connected  with 
England  by  political  ties  and  sympathies  had,  in  one  way  or  another, 
experienced  the  benefits  of  his  military  skill  and  his  wisdom,  and  each 
endeavoured  to  evince  its  gratitude  by  placing  him  in  the  highest 
rank  of  its  nobility.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  eight  Marshals' 
Batons  given  to  him  by  the  Allied  Sovereigns.  They  may  be  thus 
described  : — 

The  Baton  of  Portugal  is  of  burnished  gold  ;  it  is  surmounted  by 
a  crown,  and  on  a  shield  are  the  arms  of  Portugal. 

The  Baton  of  Prussia  is  of  burnished  gold,  and  is  of  classic  orna- 
mentation ;  it  bears  two  eagles  displayed,  holding  the  sceptre  and  orb 
of  sovereignty. 

The  Baton  of  England  is  of  gold,  and  is  surmounted  with  the 
group  of  St.  George  and  the  Dragon.  This  baton  is  excessively 
rich  in  its  decoration ;  and  at  the  end  of  it  is  engraven  this 
inscription : — 

From  his  Royal  Highness 

Geoege  Augustus  Feederick, 

Regent 

of  the   United  Kingdom  of 

Great   Britain   and   Ireland, 

to  AuTHUR,  Marquess  of  Wellington,  KG., 

Field-Marshal  of  England. 

1813. 


PLATE  I. 

1.  The  George. 

2  and  3.  Insignia  of  the  Order  of  the  Bath. 

4  and  5.  Order  of  the  Red  Eagle  of  Brandenburgh  (Prussia), 

6  and  1.  Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

8,  9,  and  10.  Insignia  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter. 


PLATE  II. 

1.  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  (Spain). 

2  and  3.  Order  of  St.  Januarius  (Naples). 

4  and  6.  Order  of  the  Elephant  (Denmark). 

5  and  7.  Supreme  Order  of  the  Annonciade. 
8  and  9.  Order  of  the  Black  Eagle  (Prussia). 


PLATE  IIL 

1  and  5.     Wurtemburg  Order  of  Military  Merit. 

2  and  3.     Order  of  the  Tower  and  Sword  (Portugal^ 

4.    Order  of  the  Sword  of  Sweden. 
6  and  1.    Order  of  St.  Andrew  (Russia). 


Wellington's  orders  and  decorations. — platk  i.      p.  309. 


«    ■  e 

Wellington's  orders  and  decorations. — plate  n.     p.  311 


Wellington's  orders  and  decorations. — plate  in.     p.  313. 


1852.]  HIS  BIRTH-PLACE.  315 

The  Baton  of  the  Netherlands.  This  is  one  of  the  simplest,  but 
perhaps  the  most  elegant  of  the  batons,  the  Greek  ornaments  being 
introduced  very  tastefully.  The  arms  of  the  Netherlands  are  in  the 
upper  division. 

The  Baton  of  Spain.  Like  that  of  Portugal,  it  is  crowned  ;  but  it 
is  shorter  in  its  proportions.  It  is  of  burnished  gold,  and  bears  the 
armorial  ensigns  of  Spain. 

The  Baton  of  Hanover.  The  crown  and  ends  of  the  staff  are  gold  ; 
but  the  chief  part  of  the  baton  is  covered  with  crimson  velvet,  pow- 
dered with  silver  horses — the  Hanoverian  arms  ;  and  a  silver  horse  is 
placed  above  the  crown. 

The  Baton  of  Austria  is  of  burnished  gold,  and  the  wreaths  round 
it  are  in  dead  gold.     The  other  portions  are  extremely  plain. 

The  Baton  of  Russia  is  of  gold,  and  the  alternate  wreaths  of  laurel 
and  oak,  which  twine  round  it ;  and  the  collars  round  the  staff  are  set 
with  diamonds  of  great  value.     The  ground  is  frosted  gold. 

The  various  orders  worn  by  the  Duke  are  given  in  the  annexed 
plates. 

By  the  constitution  of  England,  a  Dukedom  was  the  highest 
honour  the  Sovereign  could  bestow,  and  this  enviable  dignity  was 
conferred  before  the  Duke  had  reached  the  climax  of  his  military 
renown.  There  were  no  decorations  left  for  the  hero  of  "  Water- 
loo" —  Wellington  had  exhausted  honour  before  he  met  Napoleon 
face  to  face,  and  annihilated  his  power  in  one  immortal  pitched 
battle  ! 

The  birth-place  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  is,  like  that  of  Homer, 
still  a  matter  in  dispute.  He  believed  himself  to  have  seen  the  light 
at  Dangan  Castle,  county  Meath,  and  the  evidence  of  the  old  nurse 
who  attended  Lady  Mornington  upon  the  occasion  would  seem  to  estab- 
lish that  now  ruined  seat  as  the  locality  ;  but  it  has  been  affirmed  by 
more  reliable  authority  that  his  Grace  was  born  in  Merrion  Square, 
Dublin.  The  nurse,  in  her  evidence  {vide  Vol.  I.)  before  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Trim  petition  which  disputed  "  the  Hon.  Captain  Wel- 
lesley's"  majority,  stated  that  he  was  born  in  March.  Now  it  has  been 
made  clear  that  the  first  of  May,  1769,  was  the  day  on  which  he  was 
ushered  into  the  world.  The  fact  of  his  baptism  having  been  regis- 
tered in  Dublin  on  the  30th  of  April — apparently  one  day  before  his 
birtti — raised  doubts  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  date  of  his  first  appear- 
ance ;  but  an  intelligent  gentleman  has  been  at  the  trouble  to  show, 
through  the  medium  of  the  public  press,  that  the  discrepancy  aroso 
from  the  circumstance  of  the  Irish  not  having  adopted  the  new  style 
of  dating  until  after  the  Duke's  birth. 


316  LIFE   OF  THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852 

Elsewhere  (Appendix)  is  given  a  curious  paper  on  the  Cowley  or 
Colley  family,  who  were  ancestors  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  It 
would  seem,  however,  from  the  results  of  the  investigation  of  a  distin- 
guished antiquarian,  that  his  Grace  owned  royal  descent,  having  come 
down,  in  an  unbroken  line,  from  the  royal  house  of  Plantagenet,  and 
was  consequently  of  kin,  though  remotely,  to  Queen  Victoria.  This 
royal  descent  has  been  thus  explained  : — 

"  Edward  I.,  King  of  England,  had  by  his  Queen,  Eleanor  of  Castile, 
several  children,  of  whom  the  eldest  son  was  King  Edward  II.,  and 
the  youngest  daughter,  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Plantagenet,  wife  of  Hum- 
phry de  Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford  and  Essex,  Constable  of  England. 
King  Edward  II„  as  is  of  course  well  known,  was  direct  ancestor  of 
the  subsequent  Royal  Plantagenets,  whose  eventual  heiress,  the  Prin- 
cess Elizabeth  of  York,  daughter  of  King  Edward  IV.,  married  King 
Henry  VII.,  and  was  mother  of  Margaret,  Queen  of  Scotland,  from 
whom  Queen  Victoria  is  eleventh  in  descent. 

'•  Reverting  to  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Plantagenet,  daughter  of  King 
Edward  I.,  and  wife  of  Humphry  de  Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford  and 
Essex,  we  find  that  she  was  mother  of  a  daughter.  Lady  Eleanor  de 
Bohun,  who  married  James,  Earl  of  Ormonde,  and  was  ancestress  of 
the  subsequent  peers  of  that  illustrious  house.  Pierce,  the  eighth 
Earl  of  Ormonde  (sixth  in  descent  from  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Planta- 
genet), left,  with  other  issue,  a  daughter.  Lady  Ellen  Butler,  who 
married  Donogh,  second  Earl  of  Thomond,  and  was  mother  of  Lady 
Margaret  O'Bryen,  wife  of  Dermod,  Lord  Inchiquin,  and  ancestress 
of  the  later  barons  of  that  title.  The  Hon.  Mary  O'Bryen,  daughter 
of  Dermod,  fifth  Lord  Inchiquin,  married  Michael  Boyle,  Archbishop 
of  Armagh,  and  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  and  had  by  him  a  daugh- 
ter, Eleanor  Boyle,  who  became  the  wife  of  the  Right  Hon.  William 
Hill,  M.P.,  and  grandmother  of  Arthur  Hill,  first  Viscount  Dungan- 
non,  whose  daughter,  Anne,  Countess  of  Mornington,  was  mother  of 
Arthur,  first  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was,  through  those  descents, 
nineteenth  in  a  direct  unbroken  line  from  King  Edward  I." 

The  gentleman  who  has  been  at  the  pains  to  furnish  the  foregoing 
interesting  particulars,  adds  : — 

"  The  curious  in  matters  of  pedigree  may  be  still  further  pleased  to 
learn  that  his  Grace  was  thirty-second  in  a  direct  descent  from  Alfred 
the  Great,  and  twenty-fifth  from  William  the  Conqueror,  his  Grace's 
lineage  from  those  famous  warriors  coming  to  him  through  King  Ed- 
ward I.,  who  was  great-great-great-great-grandson  of  the  latter,  and  a 
descendant  in  the  thirteenth  degree  of  the  former." 

When  the  Dukedom  was  conferred  upon  his  Grace,  and  the  choice 


1852.]  WELLmOTON,  IN  SOMERSET.  3 1*7 

of  the  locality  was  left  to  himself,  he  selected  "Wellington,  in 
Somerset,"  partly  because  he  was  lord  of  the  manor  of  Wellington, 
and  partly  because  of  its  contiguity  to  "  Wesley  " — the  village  which 
gave  the  family  its  name  originally.  Wellington,  on  the  Devonshire 
border  of  Somerset,  is  an  ancient  and  respectable  market-town,  and  a 
parish,  situate  near  the  Tone,  in  the  hundred  of  Kingsbury  West,  in 
the  union  of  its  own  name,  and  on  the  line  of  the  Great  Western 
Railway.  The  manor,  which  appears  to  be  an  ancient  one,  was  held 
by  the  proud  Duke  of  Somerset,  who  was  beheaded  for  high  treason 
temp.  Edward  VI.  It  was  previously  held  by  several  Bishops ; 
among  whom  was  Asser,  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  preceptor  to  Alfred 
the  Great,  who  was  presented  to  the  manor  by  that  monarch.  On 
Asser's  death,  the  manor  was  transferred  to  the  Bishop  of  the  newly- 
erected  diocese  of  Wells,  by  whose  successor  it  was  held  in  the  time 
of  the  Domesday  survey,  in  which  it  is  written  Walintone. 

The  town  is  about  half  a  mile  in  length,  and  consists  of  five 
streets,  respectively  named  High  Street,  Fore  Street,  Mantle  Street, 
South  Street,  and  North  Street ;  the  principal  one  being  Fore  Street, 
which  contains  the  Market  House,  a  handsome  and  commodious 
modern  structure  ;  the  upper  part  appropriated  as  a  Town  Hall  and 
Beading  Room,  and  the  base  of  the  corn  and  provision  market.  The 
only  extensive  branch  of  manufacture  carried  on  at  Wellington  is 
that  of  serges  and  woollens,  steam  being  now  the  power  principally 
employed  in  fabricating  these  articles. 

The  parish  church,  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist,  is  a  handsome 
Gothic  building,  having  a  nave,  chancel,  north  and  south  aisles,  and 
two  chapels  ;  at  the  west  end  is  an  embattled  tower,  adorned  with 
pinnacles,  having  a  turret  on  the  south  side.  In  the  interior  is  a 
beautiful  monument  to  Sir  John  Popham,  who  held  the  high  office  of 
Chief  Justice  of  England  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
James  I.  The  living  is  a  vicarage  in  the  patronage  and  incumbency 
of  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Pulman.  In  the  western  portion  of  the  town  is  a 
handsome  modern  church,  built  chiefly  at  the  expense  and  endowed 
by  a  former  patron  of  the  church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist.  Here  are, 
also,  places  of  worship  for  Independents,  Wesleyan  Methodists, 
Baptists,  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  Plymouth  Brethren.  In  1604, 
but  rebuilt  in  1833,  almshouses  were  founded  and  endowed  by  Sir 
John  Popham,  who  resided  at  Wellington  Court  House.  Markets 
are  held  on  Thursdays  for  corn,  and  all  sorts  of  provisions ;  and  fairs 
are  holden  on  the  Thursday  week  before  Easter,  and  on  Thursday 
week  before  Whitsuntide.  The  parish  contained,  ak  the  last  census, 
nearly  7000  inhabitants. 


318  LIFE   OF   THE   DUKE   OF   WELLINGTON.  [1852 

In  the  civil  war,  at  the  period  of  the  memorable  siege  of  Taunton, 
the  rebels  gained  possession  of  Wellington  by  stratagem,  and 
held  out  for  some  time  against  the  King's  forces  under  Sir  Richard 
Grenville. 

The  people  of  Wellington  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  illus- 
trious hero  who  has  conferred  celebrity  upon  their  town.  A 
monumental  obelisk  in  honour  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
erected  in  commemoration  of  the  crowning  victory  he  obtained  at 
Waterloo  ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  this  memorial  is  annually  held  a  fair 
on  the  day  of  the  battle,  June  18.  From  the  crest  of  the  hill  the  eye 
ranges  over  a  vast  extent  of  rich  and  varied  scenery ;  and  on  a  clear 
day  many  a  gleaming  sail  may  be  descried  upon  the  Bristol  Channel. 
On  the  southern  side  of  the  wall  is  the  boundary  line  of  the  counties 
of  Devon  and  Somerset. 

Since  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  obelisk  has  been 
examined  by  Mr.  Paul,  of  Taunton,  architect,  and  is  reported  by  him 
to  be  badly  built,  and  so  dilapidated  as  to  endanger  its  stability. 
Some  of  the  plinth  has  already  fallen.  A  subscription  has  been 
opened  for  the  repair  of  the  memorial ;  and  it  is  proposed  to  carry  out 
the  original  design  of  placing  a  bronze  statue  of  the  Duke  on  the  top, 
and  erecting  a  building  for  three  military  pensioners  to  take  charge 
of  the  monument. 

It  has  been  stated  (Vol.  I.)  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
married  in  1806  (10th  of  April)  to  the  Hon.  Catherine  Pakenham, 
third  daughter  of  Edward  Michael,  second  Lord  Longford.  By  her 
(who  was  born  in  1772,  and  died  in  1831)  he  had  issue — 

I.  Arthur,  Marquis  of  Douro,  who   succeeds   as  second  Duke  of  "Wellington. 

His  Gi-ace  is  a  Colonel  in  the  army.  He  was  born  3rd  February,  1807,  and 
married,  19th  April,  1839,  Lady  Elizabeth  Hay,  fourth  daughter  of  the 
Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  which  lady  was  born  2'7th  September,  1820. 

II.  Lord  Charles  Welleslet,  M.P.  for  Windsor,  a  Colonel  in  the  army,  born 

16th  January,  1808  ;  married  9th  July,  1844,  Augusta  Sophia  Anne,  only 
child  of  the  Right  Hon.  Henry  Manvers  Pierrepont,  brother  of  Earl  Man- 
vers,  and  by  her  (who  was  born  30th  May,  1820)  has  had  three  sons — Arthur, 
born  5th  May,  1845;  died  'Jth  July,  1846;  Henry,  born  5th  April,  1846, 
Arthur  Charles,  born  loth  March,  1849  ;  and  two  daughters,  to  the  eldest  of 
whom,  Victoria  Alexandriua,  her  Majesty  stood  sponsor  in  person. 

His  Grace's  Nephews  and  Nieces  were  as  follows  : — 

William,  present  Earl  of  Mornington  "1 

Lady  Mary  Charlotte  Anne  Bagot,  who  died  in  1845  \v  11    l      Pi' 

Lady  Emily  Harriet,  wife  of  Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset  -  .         "'  ' 

Lady  Priscilla  Anne,  married  to  the  Earl  of  Westmore- 

land  J      Mornington. 


1852.] 


THE  DUKE'S  DESCECCDANTS. 


319 


Charles  "Wellesley 

George  Grenville  Wellesley 

Emily  Anne  Charlotte,  -wife  of  Hon.  and  Rev,  Robert 

Liddell 
Georgiana  Henrietta  Louisa,  wife  of  the  Rev.  George 

Darby  St.  Quintia 
Mary  Sarah,  Viscountess  Chelsea 
Cecil  Elizabeth,  wife  of  the  Hon.  George  A.  F.  Liddell 

Henry  Richard  Charles,  second  and  present  Lord  Cowley  1 
The  Hon.  William  Wellesley  j 

The  Hon,  and  Rev.  Gerald  WeUesley,  Rector  of  Strath-  | 

fieldsaye 
The  Hon.  Charlotte  Arbuthnot,  wife  of  Lord  Robert 

Grosvenor 
The  Hon.  Georgiana  Charlotte  Mary,  wife  of  the  Right 

Hon.  Sir  Henry  Lytton  Bulwer,  G.C.B. 

Georgiana-Frederica  (only  daughter  of  Lady  Anne  Wellesley,  his  Grace's 
sister,  by  her  first  husband,  the  Hon.  Henry  Fitzroy),  married  25th  July, 
1814,  to  Henry,  Marquis  of  Worcester,  now  Duke  of  Beaufort. 

Frederick  Smith,  Esq.,  son  of  Lady  Anne  Wellesley,  by  her  second  husband, 
C.  Cullmg  Smith,  Esq. 

Emily-Frances,  Duchess  of  Beaufort,  daughter  of  Lady  Anne  Wellesley,  by 
her  second  husband,  C.  Culling  Smith,  Esq. 


Children  of  the 
Hon.  and  Rev. 
Gerald  Valerian 
Wellesley,  D.D. 


1         Children  of 
{►  Henry,  First  Lord 
Cowley. 


2x 


APPENDIX  No.  I 


THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON  AS  A  GENERAL. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington's  campaigns  furnish  lessons  for  generals 
of  all  nations,  but  they  naust  always  be  peculiarly  models  for  British 
commanders  in  future  continental  wars,  because  he  modified  and 
reconciled  the  great  principles  of  art  with  the  peculiar  difficulties 
which  attend  generals  controlled  by  politicians,  who,  depending  upon 
private  intrigue,  prefer  parliamentary  to  national  interests.  An 
English  commander  must  not  trust  his  fortune.  He  dare  not  risk 
much,  however  conscious  he  may  be  of  personal  resources,  when  one 
disaster  will  be  his  ruin  at  home.  His  measures  must,  therefore,  be 
subordinate  to  this  primary  consideration.  Lord  Wellington's 
caution,  springing  from  that  source,  has  led  friends  and  foes  alike 
into  wrong  conclusions  as  to  his  system  of  war.  The  French  call  it 
want  of  enterprise,  timidity  ; — the  English  have  denominated  it  as 
the  Fabian  system.  These  are  mere  phrases.  His  system  was  the 
same  as  that  of  all  great  generals.  He  held  his  army  in  hand, 
keeping  it,  with  unmitigated  labour,  always  in  a  fit  state  to  march  or 
fight ;  and,  thus  prepared,  he  acted  indifferently,  as  occasion  offered, 
on  the  offensive  or  defensive,  displaying  in  both  a  complete  mastery 
of  his  art.  Sometimes  he  was  indebted  to  fortune,  sometimes  to  his 
natural  genius,  but  always  to  his  untiring  industry — for  he  was 
emphatically  a  pains-taking  man. 

That  he  was  less  vast  in  his  designs,  less  daring  in  execution, 
neither  so  rapid  nor  so  original  a  commander  as  Napoleon,  must  be 
admitted,  and  being  later  in  the  field  of  glory,  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  he  learnt  something  of  the  art  from  that  greatest  of  all  masters ; 
yet  something  besides  the  diff"erenee  of  genius  must  be  allowed  for 
the  diff"erence  of  situation.     Napoleon  was  never,  even  in  his  first 


APPENDIX.  321 

campaign  of  Italy,  so  harassed  by  the  French  as  Wellington  was  by 
the  Euglish,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese  governments.  Their  systems 
of  war  were,  however,  alike  in  principle,  their  operations  beiD"- 
necessarily  modified  by  their  diffex-ent  political  positions.  Great  bodily 
exertion,  unceasing  watchfulness,  exact  combinations  to  protect  their 
flanks  and  communications  without  scattering  their  forces — these  were 
common  to  both.  In  defence,  firm,  cool,  enduring ;  in  attack,  fierce, 
and  obstinate  ;  daring  when  daring  was  politic,  but  always  operating 
by  the  flanks  in  preference  to  the  front ;  in  these  things  they  were 
alike,  but  in  following  up  a  victory  the  English  general  fell  short  of 
the  French  emperor.  The  battle  of  Wellington  was  the  stroke  of  a 
battering  ram — down  went  the  wall  in  ruins.  The  battle  of  Napoleon 
was  the  swell  and  dash  of  a  mighty  wave,  before  which  the  barrier 
yielded,  and  the  roaring  flood  poured  onwards,  covering  all.  Yet  was 
there  nothing  of  timidity  or  natural  want  of  enterprise  to  be  dis- 
cerned in  the  English  general's  campaigns.  Neither  was  he  of  the 
Fabian  school.  He  recommended  that  commander's  system  to  the 
Spaniards,  but  he  did  not  follow  it  himself  His  military  policy  more 
resembled  that  of  Scipio  Africanus.  Fabius,  dreading  Hannibal's 
veterans,  red  with  the  blood  of  four  consular  armies,  hovered  on  the 
mountains,  refused  battle,  and  to  the  unmatched  skill  and  valour  of 
the  great  Carthaginian  opposed  the  almost  inexhaustible  military 
resources  of  Rome.  Lord  Wellington  was  never  loth  to  fight  where 
there  was  any  equality  of  numbers.  He  landed  in  Portugal  with 
only  9000  men,  with  intent  to  attack  Junot,  who  had  24,000.  At 
Rolica  he  was  the  assailant,  at  Vimiero  he  was  assailed,  but  he  would 
have  changed  to  the  ofi"ensive  during  the  battle  if  others  had  not 
interfered.  At  Oporto  he  was  again  the  daring  and  successful 
assailant.  In  the  Talavera  campaign  he  took  the  initiatory  move- 
ment, although  in  the  battle  itself  he  sustained  the  shock.  His 
campaign  of  1810,  in  Portugal,  was  entirely  defensive,  because  the 
Portuguese  army  was  young  and  untried  ;  but  his  pursuit  of  Massena, 
in  1811,  was  entirely  aggressive,  although  cautiously  so,  as  well 
knowing  that,  in  mountain  warfare,  those  who  attack  labour  at  a 
disadvantage.  The  operations  of  the  fuilowiug  campaign,  including 
the  battles  of  Fuentes  D'Onora  and  Albuera,  the  first  siege  of 
Badajoz,  and  the  combat  of  Guinaldo,  were  of  a  mixed  character ; 
so  was  the  campaign  of  Salamanca ;  but  the  campaign  of  Vittoria, 
and  that  in  the  south  of  France,  were  entirely  and  eminently  offensive. 
Slight,  therefore,  is  the  resemblance  to  the  Fabian  warfare.  And  for 
the  Englishman's  hardiness  and  enterprise  bear  witness  the  passage 
of  the  Douro  at  Oporto,  the  capture  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  the  storming 

VOL.  11.  21 


322  APPENDIX. 

of  Badajoz,  the  surprise  of  the  foi'ts  at  Mirabete,  the  march  to 
Vittoria,  the  passage  of  the  Bidassoa,  the  victory  of  the  Nivelle,  the 
passage  of  the  Adour  below  Bayonne,  the  fight  of  Orthes,  the 
crowning  battle  of  Toulouse  !  To  say  that  he  committed  faults  i3 
only  to  say  that  he  made  war ;  but  to  deny  him  the  qualities  of  a 
great  commander  is  to  rail  against  the  clear  mid-day  sun  for  want  of 
light.  How  few  of  his  combinations  failed, — how  many  battles  he 
fought,  victorious  in  all !  Iron  hardihood  of  body,  a  quick  and  sure 
vision,  a  grasping  mind,  untiring  power  of  thought  and  the  habit  of 
laborious,  minute  investigation  and  arrangement — all  these  qualities 
he  possessed,  and  with  them  that  most  rare  faculty  of  coming  to 
prompt  and  sure  conclusions  on  sudden  emergencies.  This  is  the 
certain  mark  of  a  master  spirit  in  war  ;  without  it  a  commander  may 
be  distinguished,  he  may  be  a  great  man,  but  he  cannot  be  a  great 
captain;  when  troops  nearly  alike  in  arms  and  knowledge  are 
opposed,  the  battle  generally  turns  upon  the  decision  of  the  moment. 
At  the  Somosierra,  Napoleon's  sudden,  and  what  to  those  about  him 
appeared  an  insensate  order,  sent  the  Polish  cavalry  successfully 
charging  up  the  mountain,  when  more  studied  arrangements,  with 
ten  times  that  force,  might  have  failed.  At  Talavera,  if  Joseph  had 
not  yielded  to  the  imprudent  heat  of  Victor,  the  fate  of  the  allies 
would  have  baen  sealed.  At  the  Coa,  Montbrun's  refusal  to  charge 
with  his  cavalry  saved  General  Craufurd's  division,  the  loss  of  which 
would  have  gone  far  towards  producing  the  evacuation  of  Portugal. 
At  Busaco,  Massena  would  not  sufier  Ney  to  attack  the  first  day. 
and  thus  lost  the  only  favourable  opportunity  for  assailing  that 
formidable  position.  At  Fuentes  d'Onoro,  the  same  Massena  sud- 
denly suspended  his  attack,  when  a  powerful  eifort  Avoukl  probably 
have  been  decisive.  At  Albuera,  Soult's  column  of  attack,  instead  of 
pushing  forward,  halted  to  fire  from  the  first  height  they  had  gained 
on  Beresford's  right,  which  saved  that  general  from  an  early  and  total 
defeat ;  again,  at  a  later  period  of  that  battle,  the  unpremeditated 
attack  of  the  fusileers  decided  the  contest.  At  Barossa,  General 
Graham,  with  a  wonderful  promptitude,  snatched  the  victory  at  the 
very  moment  when  a  terrible  defeat  seemed  inevitable.  At  Sabugal, 
not  even  the  astonishing  fighting  of  the  light  division  could  have 
saved  it  if  General  Regnier  had  possessed  this  essential  quality 
of  a  general.  At  El  Bodon,  Marmont  failed  to  seize  the  most 
favourable  opportunity  which  occurred  during  the  whole  war  for 
crushing  the  allies.  At  Orthes,  Soult  let  slip  two  opportunities  of 
falling  upon  the  allies  with  advantage ;  and  at  Toulouse  he  failed  to 
crush  Beresford.     At  Vimiero,  Lord  Wellington  was  debarred  by 


APPENDIX.  32$ 

Burrard  from  giving  a  signal  illustration  of  this  intuitive  generalship  • 
but  at  Busaco  and  the  heights  of  San  Cristoval,  near  Salamanca  he 
suffered  Massena  and  Marmont  to  commit  glaring  faults  unpunished. 
On  the  other  hand  he  has  furnished  many  examples  of  that  suc- 
cessful improvisation  in  which  Napoleon  seems  to  have  surpassed  all 
mankind.  His  sudden  retreat  from  Oropesa  across  the  Tagus,  by  the 
bridge  of  Arzobispo ;  his  passage  of  the  Douro  in  1809;  his  halt  at 
Guinaldo,  in  the  face  of  Marmont's  overwhelming  numbers ;  the 
battle  of  Salamanca  ;  his  sudden  rush  with  the  third  division  to  seize 
the  hill  of  Armez  at  Vittoria  ;  his  counter-stroke  with  the  sixth 
division  at  Sauroren ;  his  battle  of  the  30th,  two  days  afterwards ;  his 
sudden  passage  of  the  Grave  below  Orthes  ;  add  to  these  his  wonderful 
battle  of  Assaye,  and  the  proofs  are  complete,  that  he  possesses  in  an 
eminent  degree  that  intuitive  perception  which  distinguishes  the 
greatest  generals.  Fortune,  however,  always  asserts  her  supremacy 
in  war,  and  often  from  a  slight  mistake  such  disastrous  consec[uence3 
flow,  that  in  every  age  and  every  nation  the  uncertainty  of  arms  has 
been  proverbial.  Napoleon's  march  upon  Madrid,  in  1808,  before  he 
knew  the  exact  situation  of  the  British  army,  is  an  example.  By 
that  march  he  bent  his  flank  to  his  enemy.  Sir  John  Moore  seized 
the  advantage,  and  though  the  French  emperor  repaired  the  error  for 
the  moment  by  his  astonishing  march  from  Madrid  to  Astorga,  the 
fate  of  the  Peninsula  was  then  decided.  If  he  had  not  been  forced 
to  turn  against  Moore.  Lisbon  would  have  fallen,  Portugal  could  not 
have  been  organised  for  resistance,  and  the  jealousy  of  the  Spaniards 
would  never  have  suffered  Wellington  to  establish  a  solid  base  at 
Cadiz ;  that  general's  after  successes  would  then  have  been  the 
things  that  are  unborn.  It  was  not  so  ordained.  Wellington  was 
victorious — the  great  conqueror  was  overthrown — England  stood  the 
most  triumphal  nation  in  the  world.  But  with*  an  enormous  debt, 
a  dissatisfied  people,  gaining  peace  without  tranquillity,  greatness 
without  intrinsic  strength,  the  present  time  uneasy,  the  future  dark 
and  threatenng,  yet  she  rejoices  in  the  glory  of  her  arms !  And  it 
is  a  stirring  sound !  War  is  the  condition  of  this  world.  From 
man  to  the  smallest  insect  all  are  at  strife  ;  and  the  glory  of  arms, 
which  cannot  be  obtained  without  the  exercise  of  honour,  fortitude, 
courage,  obedience,  modesty,  and  temperance,  excites  the  brave  man's 
patriotism,  and  is  a  chastening  correction  for  the  rich  man's  pride. 
It  is  yet  no  security  for  power.  Napoleon,  the  greatest  man  of  whom 
history  makes  mention — Napoleon,  the  most  wonderful  commander, 
the  most  sagacious  politician — the  most  profound  statesman — lost  by 
arms  Poland.  Germany,  Italy,  Portugal,  Spain,  and  France.     Fortune, 


S24  APPENDIX. 

that  name  for  the  unknown  combinations  of  infinite  power,  was  wanting 
to  him,  and  without  her  aid  the  designs  of  man  are  as  bubbles  on  a 
troubled  ocean." — Sir  W.  Napier'' s  History  of  the  Peninstdar  War. 


APPENDIX,  NO  II. 


THE  FRENCH  SOLDIERS. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  French  troops  was  penned  during  the 
Peninsular  war,  and  serves  to  show  the  kind  of  enemy  our  troops  had 
to  contend  with : — 

"  The  French  soldiers  are  quick,  and  attack  with  incredible  rapidity ; 
they  retreat  with  the  same  rapidity,  return  to  the  charge  with  no  less 
impetuosity,  and  as  quickly  retire  again.  They  retain,  during  their 
retreat,  the  greatest  composure,  and  are  not  disheartened  when  they 
lose  ground.  The  death  of  their  officers  produces  no  confusion 
among  them.  When  the  commanding  officer  falls,  the  next  to  him 
assumes  the  command,  and  so  on  in  succession.  The  inferior  officers 
are  almost  all  qualified  to  command.  The  French  soldier  is  accus- 
tomed to  live  in  a  requisitionary  country,  sometimes  as  a  prince, 
sometimes  as  a  sans  culotte.  To  make  him  perform  his  duty  well, 
uniformity  in  living  is  not  required.  A  strong  esprit  de  corps  prevails 
among  the  French  troops.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution 
their  bond  of  union  was  republican  fanaticism,  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  it,  la  graiule  nation.  Their  infantry  of  the  line  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  Russians ;  their  cavalry  is  very  inferior  to  the  Hungarians ; 
and  their  artillery,  once  the  best  in  Europe,  is  far  from  being  equal 
to  the  Austrians  ;  but  their  light  infantry,  or  their  tirailleurs,  and 
their  new  tactics  confound  all  the  principles  of  war  which  have  pre- 
vailed since  the  time  of  Frederick  the  Great.  Austria  has  scarcely 
any  light  infantry  ;  Russia  has  about  20,000.  In  the  French  armies 
nearly  one-third  of  the  infantry  arc  tirailleurs.  These  take  their 
post  before  the  troops  of  the  line,  separate  into  different  bodies, 
unite  again  and  attack,  and  after  being  ten  times  repulsed  will  attack 
again.  In  a  broken  intersected  country  these  tirailleurs  prepare  the 
way  to  the  French  for  that  victory  which  the  infantry  of  the  line 
complete.  The  incredible  quickness  of  the  French  renders  this  corps 
the  best  of  its  kind  in  Europe.     All  the  principles  of  the  new  French 


APPENDIX.  325 

tactics  are  calculated  for  an  intersected  broken  country,  as  the  old 
tactics  were  for  large  plains.  The  object  of  the  former  is  to  waste 
the  enemy  by  incessant  skirmishes,  where  he  has  the  folly  to  repulse 
the  light-heeled  Frenchmen  with  his  whole  force.  These  small  flyino- 
bodies  suffer  themselves  to  be  driven  back  the  whole  day,  and  towards 
evening  a  fresh  body  appears,  and  decides  the  contest.  A  battle  with 
the  French  may  begin  at  sun-rise,  but  it  will  not  be  terminated  before 
the  evening.  The  French  may  be  beat  the  whole  day,  but  at  night 
they  will  be  victors.  Every  general  who  does  not  spare  his  strength 
till  the  evening  must,  in  the  end,  be  defeated  by  the  French.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  quickness  and  composure  of  the  French  soldiers,  they 
do  not  readily  think  of  capitulating  ;  and,  they  are  able,  in  a  peculiar 
manner,  to  extricate  themselves  from  great  dangers.  We  have  seen 
instances  where  a  thousand  French  soldiers  have  contended  the  whole 
day  with  a  much  stronger  body,  and  disappeared  at  night  like  a  va- 
pour. This  is  done  in  the  following  manner : — The  corps,  when  hard 
pressed,  divides  itself  into  two  or  three  bodies,  and  while  one  occu- 
pies the  enemy  in  an  advantageous  position,  the  other  remains  quiet  at 
some  distance.  As  soon  as  the  first  is  driven  back,  they  all  run  with 
incredible  velocity,  and  in  tolerable  good  order  to  the  place  where  the 
other  is  at  rest.  The  second  knows  pretty  exactly  how  long  the  first 
was  able  to  make  a  stand,  and  rushes  with  the  same  impetuosity  on 
the  enemy,  who  find  themselves  suddenly  checked  by  fresh  troops,  who 
must  also  be  repulsed.  In  the  mean  time,  the  first  body  take  some 
rest ;  and  thus  they  continue  to  act  the  whole  day  with  considerable 
loss  of  men,  indeed ;  but  when  night  puts  an  end  to  the  battle,  the 
corps,  at  any  rate,  has  not  been  beaten,  and  next  morning  to  follow  it 
is  useless.  Moreau  was  pursued  for  some  days,  in  Switzerland,  by  the 
Russians  ;  but  they  were  never  able  to  come  up  with  him  in  his 
flight.  Towards  evening  he  had  taken  a  strong  position,  and  next 
morning  he  had  disappeared.  But  this  activity  must  not  be  confound- 
ed with  durable  strength.  The  French  are  the  lightest,  not  the  strong- 
est soldiers.  The  medical  establishment  of  the  French  army  is  ex- 
cellent, and  their  officers,  in  general,  exceedingly  goo^?^— Military 
Panorama. 


826 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX,  No.  in. 


THE    CASUALTIES  AT  WATEKLOO. 

THE    FOLLOWING    TABLE    SHOWS    THE    LOSSES    SUSTAINED    BY  THE  TROOPS 
COMPRISING    THE    ANGLO-ALLIED   ARMT  : 


KILLED. 

WOITNDED. 

MISSING. 

2 

a 
o 

O  S  m 

•GO'S 

a  f^ 

sag 

2  2^- 

Is 

i 

o 

K 

o 

III 
i2;2 

o 

a 

o 

sa 

ii! 

DO 

o 

British .... 
King's  Ger.  Leg. 
Hanoverians .     . 
Brimswickers     . 
Nassauers      .    . 

83 

27 

18 

7 

5 

1334 
335 
276 
147 
249 

1319 
194 

77 

363 
77 
63 
26 
19 

4560 
932 

1035 
430 
370 

719 
144 

10 

1 

3 

582 

217 

207 

50 

708 
64 

Total  .    .    . 

140 

2341 

1590 

548 

7327 

863 

14 

1056 

762 

THE  LOSSES  OF  THE  PRUSSIAN  ARMY  IN  THE  BATTLE  WERE  AS  FOLLOWS  : — 


KILLED. 

WOUNDED. 

MISSING. 

a 
o 

ea 

o2s 

^°g 

111 

1 

1 

o 

02S 

|l£ 

in 
£ 

o 

e 

o 

.2  «&; 
Is 

c 

Zeithen's  Corps   . 
Puch's         do. 
Billow's      do. 

1 

21 

84 

36 

1133 

18 

9 

259 

8 
3 

159 

164 

192 

3902 

21 

7 
328 

4 
35 

111 

100 
1127 

2 

9 

89 

Total     .    .    . 

22 

1203 

286 

162 

4125 

356 

39 

1354 

100 

APPENDIX. 


327 


AMOUNT  OF  THE  EFFECTIVE    STRENGTH    OF  THE  ANGLO-ALLIED  ARMT 
AT   THE    BATTLE    OF    WATERLOO  : 


Infantry. 

Cavalry. 

Artillery. 

Total  No. 

Guns. 

British 

15,181 

5.843 

2,967 

23,991 

78 

King's  German  Legion  ..... 

3,301 

1,997 

526 

5,824 

18 

Hanoverians 

10,258 

497 

465 

11,220 

12 

Brunswickers 

4,586 

866 

510 

5,962 

16 

Nassauers 

2,880 

— 

— 

2,880 



Dutch-Belgians 

13,402 

3,205 

1,177 

17,784 

32 

Total 

49,608 

12,402 

5,645 

67,661 

156 

APPENDIX,  No.  IV. 


THE  DUKE'S  THEORY  OF  A  METALLIC  CURRENCY. 

"  The  restoration  of  the  currency,  my  Lords,  has,  in  truth,  but 
little  to  do  with  the  distress  of  the  country.  Since  the  restoration 
of  the  currency,  the  revenue  has  risen  to  the  amount  which  has  been 
stated  to  your  lordships,  notwithstanding  the  repeal  of  taxes  to  the 
amount  of  27,000,000/.  since  1814.  The  fact  is,  that  at  the  present 
moment,  the  revenue  produces,  in  real  currency,  much  more  than  it 
produced  when  the  war  was  terminated.  Is  not  that  circumstance 
alone,  I  ask  your  lordships,  a  proof  of  the  increasing  prosperity  of 
the  country  ?  But,  my  Lords,  I  did  not  rest  my  argument  on  that 
fact  only.  Notwithstanding,  there  is,  at  present,  much  distress,  still, 
in  the  last  year,  there  was  an  increase  of  produce  in  every  branch 
of  manufacture,  in  every  branch  of  industry,  beyond  what  was  ap- 
parent in  the  three  preceding  years.  Under  these  circumstances, 
your  lordships  must  ascribe  the  distress  of  the  country  to  something 
else  rather  than  to  the  alteration  of  the  currency.  My  opinion  is, 
that  the  people,  during  the  lengthened  war  which  existed  previously 
to  the  peace  of  1815— during  that  period,  when  there  was  an  enor- 
mous expenditure — acquired  habits  which  they  cannot  readily  throw 
aside. 

"  During  that  time,  any  man,  of  whatever  description  of  credit, 
could  obtain  money,  or  the  semblance  of  money,  to  carry  on  any 
speculation.     The  people  then  employed  a  fictitious  wealth  ;    they 


328  APPENDIX. 

proceeded  on  a  system,  which  could  not  be  continued,  without  mining 
and  destroying  the  country  ;  and  that  system  having  been  destroyed, 
that  fictitious  wealth  having  been  removed,  they  cannot  immediately 
come  down  to  those  quiet  habits,  which  are  required  from  them  under 
that  state  of  things  now  prevailing  in  the  empire.  That,  my  Lords, 
is  the  real  cause  of  the  distress  under  which  they  are  at  present 
suffering.  Besides,  your  lordships  will  recollect  that  the  population 
of  the  country  has  enormously  increased,  and  it  should  also  be  taken 
into  the  calculation,  that  the  power  of  production  by  machinery  has 
increased  in  an  incalculable  degree.  As  much  can  now  be  produced 
in  one  year,  as  formerly  could  be  produced  in  five  years  ;  and  the 
produce  of  one  year  now  amounts  to  more  than  can  be  taken  off  our 
hands  in  a  year  and  a  half,  or  even  two  years.  Distress,  therefore, 
has  occurred,  notwithstanding  that  the  utmost  exertions  have  been 
made  to  repel  it  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  great  and  general  pros« 
perity  of  trade  throughout  the  world.  My  Lords,  the  plain  fact  is, 
that  owing  to  the  alterations  of  trade — a  great  demand  at  one  time, 
and  a  want  of  demand  at  another — the  manufacturers,  and  those 
engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  must  sustain  considerable  distress 
at  different  periods.  It  has  been  recommended  as  a  remedy,  that 
Government  should  go  back  to  the  system  of  the  circulation  of  the 
notes.  Now,  my  Lords,  with  respect  to  the  one-pound  bank  notes,  it 
will  be  well  to  recollect  what  has  been  the  proceeding  of  Parliament 
on  that  subject.  In  1826,  Parliament  having  seen  the  facility  with 
which  speculations  could  be  undertaken  by  persons  possessing  no 
capital,  in  consequence  of  the  circulation  of  those  one-pound  bank- 
notes— looking  to  the  evils  that  resulted  from  those  speculations,  and 
finding  that  a  great  number  of  banks  in  the  country  had  failed  in 
consequence  of  such  speculations — thought  proper  to  pass  a  law  to 
prevent  the  circulation  of  this  species  of  paper,  after  the  lapse  of 
three  years.  A  noble  lord  has  said,  that  this  measure  of  Parliament 
occasioned  the  failure  of  a  great  number  of  country  bankers.  But  I 
beg  the  noble  lord's  pardon,  he  has  not  stated  the  fact  correctly.  Most 
of  the  banks  which  about  that  period  foiled,  it  ought  to  be  recollected, 
broke  previously  to  the  meeting  of  Parliament. 

'•  The  fact  is,  that  it  was  the  breaking  of  the  banks  which  occa- 
sioned the  measure,  and  not  the  measure  the  breaking  of  the  banks. 
But  we  have  now  accomplished  the  measure  adopted  in  182G;  that 
measure  is  now  carried  into  execution  ;  the  currency  of  the  coun- 
try is  now  sufficient  ;  bank-notes,  5/.,  and  above  51.  in  value,  are  in 
circulation  ;  and  I  will  assert  this  fact,  that  there  is  at  present  more 
of  what  I  may  call  state  currency  in  circulation — more  notes  of 


APPENDIX.  329 

the  Bank  of  England  and  sovereigns — a  greater  quantity  of  circu- 
lating medium  of  those  two  denominations,  than  there  has  been  at 
any  former  period  before  the  late  war,  or  before  the  Bank  Restriction 
Act  was  passed.  I  beg  leave,  my  Lords,  to  ask,  what  want  is  there 
of  any  additional  circulation,  when  the  circulation  is  at  present  greater 
than  ever  it  was  ?  Is  it  necessary  to  have  a  more  extended  circu- 
lation, to  afford  the  means  of  procuring  loans  of  money  to  those 
•who  have  no  capital  and  no  credit  1  I  contend  that  this  is  a  state  of 
things  that  ought  not  to  exist  in  any  country.  Persons  who  really 
possess  credit,  can  raise  money  at  the  present  moment  with  every 
facility  that  is  reasonable  or  proper.  But,  undoubtedly,  those  who 
hare  no  credit,  are  deprived  of  the  facilities  of  borrowing  money, 
which  they  formerly  enjoyed,  because  there  is  no  longer  a  large  class 
of  persons  dealing  in  one-pound  notes,  to  assist  them  in  carrying  on 
their  speculations.  This  is  the  real  state  of  the  case.  It  was  this 
situation  of  affairs  that  gave  rise,  and  justly  gave  rise,  to  the  measure 
of  1826 — a  measure  which  I  trust  that  Parliament  will  persevere  in, 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  country  in  a  proper  state.  It  has  been 
said  truly,  that  nothing  is  so  desirable  as  to  see  the  country  carrying 
on  its  mercantile  transactions  with  a  paper  currency  founded  on,  and 
supported  by,  a  metallic  basis.  Now,  your  lordships  must  be  aware, 
that  is  exactly  the  sort  of  currency  which  the  country  has  got  at  pres- 
ent ;  and,  in  proportion  as  the  country  goes  on  conquering  its  difficul- 
ties— the  existence  of  that  currency  still  being  continued — we  shall 
see  prosperity  daily  revive,  and  we  shall  see  mercantile  transactions 
carried  on  as  they  ought  to  be,  without  any  mixture  of  those  ruinous 
speculations,  to  which  so  much  of  the  prevailing  distress  must  be 
attributed. 

"  But,  my  Lords,  the  noble  lord,  in  tracing  out  the  sources  of  this 
distress,  has  omitted  one  of  the  great  causes  of  it.  He  has  not  ad- 
verted to  the  immense  loss  of  capital  which  has  been  sustained  by 
the  country  during  the  last  six:  or  eight  years,  in  consequence  of  loans 
to  foreign  powers — of  which  neither  principal  nor  interest  has  been 
paid,  nor  ever  will,  in  my  opinion,  be  paid.  The  noble  lord  has  not 
adverted  to  the  effect  which  that  loss  of  capital  must  have  produced, 
with  respect  to  the  employment  of  industry  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try. In  the  next  place,  the  noble  lord  has  not  adverted  to  the  effect 
which  those  loans  must  have  had  on  the  trade  and  manufactures 
of  the  country,  in  consequence  of  the  glut  in  foreign  markets,  occa- 
sioned by  the  forced  exportation  of  goods  on  account  of  such  trans- 
actions. In  most  instances,  my  Lords,  no  returns  were  made  on 
account  of  those  goods,  and  even  when  returns  were  made,  they  were 


330  APPENDIX 

of  the  most  unsatisfactory  description.  The  noble  lord  has  not  ad- 
verted to  the  fact,  that  these  returns,  when  any  were  received,  came 
home  in  the  shape  of  interest,  and  did  not,  of  course,  require  any  de- 
mand or  export  from  this  country. 

"  Surely  all  these  things  should  be  considered,  when  the  noble  lord 
speaks  of  the  distress  the  country  is  labouring  under.  That  distress 
has  fallen  not  only  on  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  interests, 
but  also  on  those  who  have  encouraged  and  embarked  in  the  various 
schemes  and  speculations  which  have  done  the  country  so  much  misr 
chief" 

Marj  2Gth,  1829. 


APPENDIX,  No.  V. 


THE  DUKE  IN  THE  NETHERLANDS,  1815. 

After  the  first  one  hundred  pages  of  this  volume  were  in  type,  the 
author's  attention  was  drawn  to  an  article  in  the  '•  Quarterly  Review," 
of  June,  1845,  reviewing  the  works  of  Captain  Siborne,  Colonel 
Mitchell,  and  Marshal  Marmont.  The  review  disposes  of  certain  of 
the  errors  and  conclusions  of  these  respectable  authorities,  and  pre- 
sents a  few  interesting  facts  which  had  not  previously  been  made  pub- 
lic. It  would  be  absurd  and  unnecessary  to  reprint  this  article  of 
forty-five  pages,  even  if  in  the  foregoing  biography  the  whole  of  the 
errors  of  the  authors  had  been  repeated  ;  but  no  "  Life"  of  the  Duke 
can  be  complete  which  does  not  contain  all  the  authenticated  facts 
and  justifications  relating  to  so  great  and  distinguished  a  man  ;  and 
certain  portions  of  the  article  are  therefore  transferred  below.  It 
may  be  added,  that  one  great  inducement  to  the  republication  of  even 
so  much  of  the  article,  is  the  assurance  the  author  has  received  from 
a  competent  quarter,  that  the  review  was  commenced  by  Colonel  Gur- 
wood,  the  compiler  of  the  "  Despatches,"  continued  by  the  Earl  of 
Ellesmere,  and  revised  and  concluded  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
himself: — 

"  If  anything  could  add  to  the  credit  which  the  Duke  deserves  for 
those  arrangements  for  the  collection  and  movement  of  the  force 
under  his  own  command,  which  were  calculated  to  meet  every  con- 
tingency and  overcome  every  difficulty  of  his  defensive  position,  it 
would  be  that  in  a  matter  entirely  beyond  his  control  these  essential 


APPENDIX.  331 

and  unavoidable  difficulties  should  liave  been  aggravated  by  one  of 
those  accidents  to  which  all  military  operations,  but  especially  those 
of  allied  armies,  are  exposed.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
15th  (June,  1815),  it  was  apparent  to  the  Prussians  that  the  attack 
upon  the  advanced  corps  of  General  Ziethen  was  a  serious  one,  a  bond 
fide  movement  of  Napoleon  by  Charleroi.  This  certainty  was  the 
one  thing  needful  in  the  eyes  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ;  with  it  his 
course  was  clear,  and  without  it  he  was,  as  we  have  seen,  determined 
not  to  move  a  regiment  from  its  cantonments.  We  cannot  explain 
how  it  happened,  but  we  are  certain  that  it  was  by  no  fault  of  the 
British  Commander-in-Chief  that  no  Prussian  report  of  the  transaction 
reached  Brussels  till  five  in  the  afternoon.  The  distance  being  about 
forty  miles,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  intelligence  on  which 
he  acted  might  and  ought  to  have  reached  him  by  10  a.m.  As  it  was, 
the  Prince  ef  Orange  was  the  first  to  bring  the  news,  soon  after  three 
o'clock,  P.M.,  having  ridden  in  from  the  advanced  posts  at  Binche  to 
dine  with  the  Duke.  The  latter  was  well  aware,  by  accounts  received 
from  the  direction  of  Mons,  that  the  enemy  was  in  motion,  and  for 
that  reason  had  taken  care  to  remain  during  the  day  at  his  head-quar- 
ters, or  within  a  few  yards  of  them,  having  declined  a  proposal  to  ac- 
company His  Koyal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  on  a  visit  to 
the  Duchess  of  Richmond,  without,  however,  spreading  premature 
alarm  by  assigning  the  true  reason.  Orders  for  the  movement  of  the 
troops  were  issued  on  the  receipt  of  these  first  accounts  from  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  and  further  orders  were  issued  at  about  five,  after 
an  interview  with  the  Prussian  Greneral  Miifiling,  who  was  stationed  at 
Brussels,  and  had  at  length  received  his  reports  from  General  Ziethen. 
It  is  clear  that — if  a  circumstance  over  which  the  Duke  had  no  control 
Lad  not  thus  operated  to  his  disadvantage,  and  directly  in  favour  of 
his  adversary — the  orders  which  were  issued  at  5  p.m.  might  have  been 
given  out  at  10  in  the  morning. 

"  The  accident  in  itself  was  a  purely  Prussian  one  ;  for  the  intelli- 
gence to  be  received  was  to  come,  not  from  Sir  H.  Hardinge  and 
Bliicher's  head-quarters  to  the  Duke,  but  from  General  Ziethen  at 
the  advanced  posts  of  the  Prussian  lines  to  General  Muffling  ;  and 
the  Duke  is  to  be  blamed  tor  it  precisely  as  much  as  he  is  for  the 
more  famous  failure  of  the  dispatch  to  General  Bulow  von  Dennewitz, 
which  led  to  the  absence  of  the  4th  Prussian  corps  from  the  field  of 
Ligny. 

"  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose,  as  Captain  Siborne  does,  that  on  the 
morning  of  the  17th  (or  even  on  the  night  of  the   16th)  the  Duke 


332  APPENDIX. 

was  uninformed  of  what  had  occurred  on  the  Prussian  field  of  battle. 
He  had  at  the  Prussian  head-quarters  a  staff-officer.  Colonel  Sir 
Henry  Hardinge,  who  sent  him  repeated  reports  during  the  battle. 
He  had  written  one  after  he  was  himself  severely  wounded,  which 
was  brought  to  the  Duke  by  his  brother,  Captain  Hardinge  of  the 
artillery,  with  a  verbal  message  given  after  nightfall.  Till  nightfall, 
moreover,  the  Duke  could  see  ;  and,  need  it  be  added,  did  see  with 
his  own  eyes  from  Quatre  Bras  what  passed  on  the  Prussian  field  of 
battle.  With  his  glass  he  saw  the  charge  and  failure  of  the  Prussian 
cavalry,  Bliicher's  disaster,  and  the  retreat  of  the  Prussian  army  from 
the  field  of  battle.  Captain  Wood,  of  the  10th  Hussars,  then  at  the 
outposts,  pushed  a  patrole  towards  the  Prussian  field  of  battle  at 
daylight,  and  ascertained  and  immediately  reported  to  the  Duke  that 
the  Prussians  were  no  longer  in  possession  of  it.  The  Duke  then 
sent,  as  Captain  Siborne  narrates,  with  another  squadron  of  the  10th, 
under  Captain  Grey,  Sir  A.  Gordon,  who  had  been  with  his  Grace  on 
the  Prussian  field  of  battle  the  preceding  day,  and  therefore  knew  the 
ground,  in  order  to  communicate  with  the  rear-guard  of  the  Prussian 
army,  and  to  ascertain  their  position  and  designs.  Sir  A.  Gordon 
found  the  field  of  battle  deserted,  except  by  a  few  French  videttes  ; 
these  were  driven  in,  and  Gordon  with  his  squadrons  crossed  the 
field  of  battle  unmolested,  and  communicated  verbally  with  General 
Ziethefi,  commanding  the  Prussian  rear-guard,  at  Sombref,  on  the 
road  to  Namur,  where  the  Prussian  left  had  rested  in  the  battle  of 
the  preceding  day.  Having  accomplished  this  service,  the  Duke's 
aide-de-camp  returned,  as  he  had  gone,  unmolested,  to  Quatre  Bras. 
If  Sir  A.  Gordon  had  lived,  probably  Captain  Siborne  might  have 
learned  the  real  account  of  the  transaction  from  him,  and  would  then 
have  known  that  the  patrole  moved  the  whole  way  to  Sombref,  and 
brought  back,  not  a  vague  report  that  the  Prussians  had  retreated  to- 
wards Wavre,  but  the  most  positive  accounts  of  their  movements  and 
intentions. 

"  As  soon  as  Gordon  returned  with  his  patrole,  the  Duke  gave  orders 
for  the  army  to  occupy  the  position  in  front  of  Waterloo,  of  which 
he  had  a  perfect  knowledge,  having  seen  it  frequently,  and  of  which 
no  knowledge  could  have  been  had  by  any  other  officer  in  the  army. 
The  road  to  and  through  the  village  of  Genappes  having  been  cleared 
of  all  hospital  and  store  carriages,  and  of  every  impediment,  the 
infantry  and  artillery  were  put  in  motion  in  broad  daylight,  in  differ- 
ent columns,  to  cross  the  different  bridges  over  the  Dyle.  These 
movements  were  as  regular  as  on  a  parade.  The  outposts,  particu- 
larly those  of  the  riflemen,  were  kept  standing,  and  movements  were 


APPENDIX.  333 

made  by  the  British  cavalry  so  as  to  attract  the  enemy's  attention 
and  conceal  the  retrograde  movement  of  the  infantry.  The  cavalry 
remained  on  the  ground,  and  the  Commander-in-Chief  with  them,  till 
between  three  and  four  of  the  afternoon.  In  this  position  he  saw 
more  than  Captain  Siborne  appears  to  be  aware  of  He  saw  all  that 
was  done  on  and  near  the  lately-contested  ground  of  Ligny,  the 
detachment  of  Grouchy's  corps  towards  Wavre.  following  the  retreat 
of  Bl  (idler,  and  the  march  of  the  main  mass  of  the  French  army  along 
the  great  road  from  Sombref  No  movement  was  made  in  his  front, 
and  he  did  not  order  the  retreat  of  his  cavalry  till  the  advanced  patroles 
of  the  enemy  had  touched  the  videttes  on  the  high  road  on  his  left. 
The  retreat  of  our  cavalry  was  undoubtedly  facilitated  by  a  storm, 
which  made  it  difficult  for  either  party  to  manoeuvre  off  the  main 
roads.  With  the  single  exception,  however,  of  the  affair  at  Genappes 
with  the  French  lancers,  it  was  conducted  with  as  much  security  as 
that  of  the  infantry,  and  the  army  found  itself  in  the  evening  collected 
from  every  quarter  on  that  famous  and  well-chosen  ground,  with 
every  feature  of  which  the  Duke  was  familiar.  The  Duke  was  on  the 
field  at  daybreak,  in  spite  of  weathei*,  after  having  written  some  let- 
ters to  the  King  of  France  and  others.  He  visited  the  posts  in 
Hougomont,  and  gave  orders  for  the  defensive  works  ft)r  musketry, 
which  were  formed  in  the  garden.  He  rode  thence  to  La  Haye  Sainte 
and  on  to  the  extreme  left  of  his  position.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance, 
not  mentioned  by  the  historians,  that  having  throughout  the  night 
from  the  17th  to  the  18th,  communicated  by  patroles,  through  Ohain 
with  the  Prussian  cor2)S  cV  armee  on  its  march  from  ^Yavre,  he  saw 
the  Prussian  cavalry  collected  in  a  mass  on  the  high  ground  on  the 
Waterloo  side  of  the  defile  of  St.  Lambert  at  an  early  hour  of  the 
day,  at  least  an  hour  before  the  commencement  of  the  battle — the 
very  cavalry  that  is  represented  to  have  been  seen  from  the  French 
head-quarters  in  a  letter  written  by  Marechal  Soult  to  Marechal 
Grouchy,  dated  at  half-past  one,  which  letter  is  printed  by  Grouchy 
in  a  pamphlet  published  in  the  United  States,  and  given  in  a  note  to 

page  400  of  Captain  Siborne's  first  volume. 

#  *  *  *  # 

'■'•  The  course  of  our  observations,  which  have  insensibly  almost 
degenerated  into  narrative,  has  brought  us  to  a  critical  period  of  the 
drama.  If  we  look  back  through  the  preceeding  acts  we  shall  see  that 
no  passage  of  the  Duke's  campaigns  is  more  pregnant  with  evidence 
of  the  omnipresent,  indefatigable,  personal  activity,  and  impertur- 
bable coolness  which  distinguished  him.  than  the  period  which  has 
come  under  our  notice.     We  have  seen  that  on  the  morning  of  the 


834  APPENDIX. 

16tli,  while  Ney  was  preparing  his  attack  and  closing  up  his  columns, 
which,  when  he  took  their  command,  extended  for  some  twelve  miles 
to  his  rear,  the  Duke  found  time  for  an  interview  with  the  Prussian 
General  at  Ligny.  He  returned  to  Quatre  Bras  in  time  for  the 
opening  of  that  conflict.  He  reconnoitered  in  person  the  wood  of 
Bossu,  and  was  indeed  the  first  to  discover  that  the  attack  was  about 
to  be  made  by  a  very  large  body  of  troops.  A  straggling  fire  had 
been  going  on  since  morning,  but  the  officers  whom  he  found  on  the 
spot  still  doubted  whether  a  serious  attack  was  impending.  The 
Duke's  quick  eye,  however,  detected  an  officer  of  high  rank  reviewing 
a  strong  body,  and  his  ear  caught  the  sound,  familiar  to  it  as  the  pre- 
cursor of  such  scenes, — '  L^Einpereur  recompensera  celui  qui  s'avan- 
cera?  He  instantly  recommended  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  withdraw 
his  advanced  parties,  and  the  few  Belgian  guns,  which  were  in  an 
advanced  and  exposed  position.  The  attack  instantly  ensued,  not  to 
cease  till  nightfall.  According  to  his  uniform  practice,  and  certainly 
with  not  less  than  his  usual  care,  the  Duke  posted  all  the  troops 
himself,  and  no  movement  was  made  but  by  his  order.  He  was  on 
the  field  till  after  dark,  as  long  as  any  contest  lasted.  When  at  the 
close  of  that  weary  day  others  were  sinking  to  rest  on  the  ground 
they  had  so  bravely  maintained,  and  while  the  chain  of  British  outposts 
was  being  formed  for  the  night,  far  in  advance  of  the  ground  origin- 
ally occupied,  one  of  the  cavalry  regiments,  which  were  then  arriving 
in  rapid  succession,  reached  the  spot  where  the  Duke  was  sitting.  It 
was  commanded  by  an  intimate  friend  of  the  Duke — by  one  of  the 
gentlest,  the  bravest,  and  most  accomplished  soldiers  who  ever  sat  in 
an  English  saddle,  the  late  General  Sir  Frederick  Ponsonby.  He 
found  the  Duke  reading  some  English  newspapers  which  had  just 
reached  him,  joking  over  their  contents,  and  making  merry  with  the 
lucubrations  of  London  politicians  and  speculators  on  events. 

"  The  condition  meanwhile  of  the  said  politicians  at  home,  including 
the  Cabinet,  was  past  a  joke.  It  was  one  which  the  profundity  of 
their  ignorance  alone  made  endurable.  If  hostilities  were  now  in 
progress  in  Belgium  and  a  British  army  in  the  field,  steamers  would 
be  plying  between  Ostend  and  London  or  Dover,  frequent  and 
punctual  as  those  which  crowd  the  river  from  London  Bridge  to 
Greenwich  in  Whitsun  week.  A  fresh  lie  and  a  new  exaggeration 
would  reach  the  Stock  Exchange  at  intervals  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
With  such  means  of  communication  Bliicher's  losses  on  the  16th 
would  have  been  operating  on  the  funds  within  a  few  hours  of  their 
report  at  Brussels,  and  the  Prussian  retreat  from  Ligny  would  have 
more  than  counterbalanced,  in  public  opinion,  the   maintenance  of 


APPENDIX.  335 

our  position  at  Quatre  Bras.  To  a  late  hour  of  the  20th  of  June 
however,  the  smuggler  had  been  the  only  organ  of  intelligence  to  the 
English  Cabinet,  and  nothing  but  vague  accounts  that  the  French 
army  was  in  motion  had  been  conveyed  by  these  lug-sailed  messengers. 
It  was  thus  that  the  first  authentic  intelligence,  though  it  contained 
the  bane  of  a  serious  disaster  to  the  Prussian  arms,  was  qualified  not 
merely  by  the  antidote  of  the  Duke's  success  at  Quatre  Bras  but 
by  the  following  additional  facts  ; — that  the  Duke  was  at  the  head  of 
his  own  army  collected  in  a  position  of  his  own  choice,  in  high 
confidence  and  spirits,  in  military  communication  with  Bliicher  and 
on  the  point  of  engaging  with  Napoleon.  The  bearer  of  this  stirring 
intelligence,  which  the  nerves  of  Lord  Castlereagh  were  better  strun» 
to  receive  than  those  of  Lord  Liverpool,  was  the  Eight  Honourable 
Maurice  Fitzgerald,  the  Knight  of  Kerry^  Like  many  other  civilians 
he  had  been  attracted  by  the  interest  of  the  scene  and  hour  to 
Brussels  about  a  fortnight  previous  to  the  commencement  of  hostili- 
ties. As  an  old  and  valued  friend  of  his  illustrious  countryman,  he 
had  been  a  constant  guest  at  head-quarters  ;  among  other  adventures 
of  some  interest,  had  visited  the  ground  of  Quatre  Bras  on  the  1 7th, 
and  had  remained  there  till  the  commencement  of  the  retreat  of  the 
cavalry,  when  he  had  returned  to  Brussels.  Having  been  favoured 
by  him  with  a  memorandum  of  his  recollections,  we  can  now  present, 
in  words  better  than  our  own,  the  circumstances  under  which  he  be- 
came entrusted  with  such  a  communication,  and  the  effect  it  produced 
on  those  who  received  it.  Not  being  able,  with  reference  to  our 
limits,  to  insert  the  memorandum  in  extenso^  we  must  premise  that  our 
friend  had  been  induced  by  circumstances  to  leave  Brussels  at  a  very 
early  hour  on  the  18th  with  the  intention,  not  of  returning  to  Eng- 
land, but  of  endeavouring  to  reach  the  head-quarters  of  General  Sir 
C.  Colville,  whose  division  was  on  the  right  of  the  British  army. 
Ghent  was  his  first  object,  but  being  advised  that  the  direct  route 
was  encumbered,  he  proceeded  thither  by  Antwerp.  The  Knight  was 
accompanied  by  the  late  Marquis  of  Ormonde  :  and  he  says — 

" '  We  arrived  at  Antwerp  about  five  in  the  morning,  and  after 
refreshing  ourselves  and  looking  at  the  cathedral  for  about  an  hour, 
we  proceeded  to  Ghent  as  fast  as  we  could,  and  arrived  there  about 
two  o'clock.  We  dined  with  the  commanding  officer  of  the  29th 
regiment,  who  had  been  an  old  acquaintance  of  Lord  Ormonde. 
We  engaged  a  carriage  and  arranged  to  proceed  after  midnight  for 
the  Division  of  the  army  under  General  Colville.  I  was  just  entering 
the  hotel  between  six  and  seven  in  order  to  go  to  bed,  when  Sir  P. 
Malcolm  drove  up  from  Brussels.     I  told  him  our  plan,  when  he 

2y 


836  APPENDIX. 

earnestly  entreated  me  to  wait  till  he  had  returned  from  the  King  of 
France,  then  at  Ghent,  to  whom  he  was  going  to  convey  a  message 
from  the  Duke  of  "Wellington.  I  waited  accordingly ;  on  his  return 
he  pressed  me  in  the  most  earnest  manner  to  proceed  to  London  and 
communicate  to  the  Government  what  had  occurred.  He  argued  the 
necessity  of  such  a  course,  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington  having 
declared  to  him  that  morning  that  he  would  not  write  a  line  until  he 
had  fought  a  battle,  and  from  the  false  and  mischievous  rumours 
which  had  circulated  and  gone  to  England,  and  the  total  ignorance  of 
the  English  government  as  to  what  had  taken  place.  He  said  that 
he  was  desirous  of  writing  to  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  but 
that  etiquette  precluded  his  entering  into  any  details  on  military  sub- 
jects when  the  General  had  not  written  :  that  if  I  consented  I  would 
greatly  relieve  the  Government,  and  do  essential  public  service,  as,  in- 
dependent of  the  Prussian  case,  of  which  I  knew  more  than  any  other 
individual  could  communicate  to  the  Government,  there  were  subjects 
of  a  most  confidential  nature  which  he  would  entrust  to  me  to  be  told 
to  Lord  Castlereagh,  our  Foreign  Minister  ;  that  he  would  put  me 
into  a  sloop  of  war  at  Ostend  and  send  me  across  at  once.  I  how- 
ever, rather  reluctantly  assented.  He  then  told  me  he  had  left  the 
Duke  at  half-past  ten  that  morning  with  the  army  in  position  on 
ground  which  he  had  already  examined,  determined  to  give  battle, 
and  confident  of  success,  and  that  he  was  in  military  communication 
with  Marshal  Bliicher. 

" '  "We  accordingly  changed  our  route  and  proceeded  at  once  to 
Ostend,  where  the  Admiral  wrote  a  few  lines,  merely  saying  that 
Bonaparte  had  defeated  the  Prussians  with  great  loss,  that  the  Duke 
was  in  position  as  described  before,  that  he  had  prevailed  on  the 
Knight  of  Kerry  to  convey  that  despatch,  who  also  could  furnish  all 
particulars  which  were  as  yet  known,  for  the  information  of  the 
Government.  We  had  rather  a  slow  passage.  After  we  were  under 
weigh  a  gendarme,  with  some  mail  bags  in  a  boat,  overtook  the  vessel, 
and  said  reports  had  just  arrived  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
driving  the  French  at  all  points.  We  proceeded  at  once,  after  landing 
at  Deal,  to  town,  and  arrived  at  the  Admiralty  at  half-past  four 
(Tuesday,  June  20th).  Lord  Melville  had  gone  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  whither  I  followed  him  ;  and  on  presenting  the  despatch  he 
immediately  summoned  the  Cabinet  Ministers  from  both  Houses  to 
meet  in  the  Chancellor's  room,  which  they  did  instantly. 

" '  I  was  requested  to  communicate  the  particulars  referred  to  in 
Admiral  Malcolm's  letter ;  I  said  (in  order  to  avoid  anything 
unnecessary)  I  wished  to  know  how  far  the  Cabinet  was  already 


APPENDIX.  337 

informed  of  what  had  occurred ;  Lord  Liverpool  said  that  they  knew 
nothing.  I  asked  if  they  had  not  heard  of  the  battle  with  the 
Prussians.  He  said,  ^  No."  I  then  asked  had  they  not  heard  that 
Xapoleon  had  moved  his  army  1  He  said  that  reports  by  smugglers 
to  that  effect  had  come  across,  but  that  nothing  was  certain.  I  then 
gave  a  detail  of  all  the  circumstances  that  had  come  to  my  knowledge, 
and  endeavoured  to  impress  on  them  the  utmost  confidence  in  the 
success  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  any  battle  that  should  take 
place.  I  stated  the  nature  of  the  driving  in  of  the  Prussians  on  the 
15th.  as  explained  to  me  by  the  Commandant  at  Mons.  I  was  enabled 
to  describe  very  particularly  the  glorious  battle  at  Quatre  Bras,  as 
given  to  me  by  a  gallant  oflB.eer  of  the  Eifle  Brigade,  who  was  near 
the  Duke  during  its  continuance,  and  who  was  wounded  there :  he 
gave  me  a  very  clear  account  of  the  action,  and  affirmed  that  he  had 
never  seen  his  Grace  expose  himself  so  much  personally,  or  so 
thoroughly  direct  every  part  of  the  operations,  in  any  of  the  Penin- 
sular fights  with  which  he  was  familiar.  I  explained,  on  Sir  Colin 
Campbell's  authority,  the  Duke"s  thorough  knowledge  of  the  ground 
which  he  had  occupied  on  the  morning  of  Sunday  (the  16th). 

" '  Ministers  expressed  their  great  relief  and  gratification  at  the 
intelligence  I  had  furnished,  as  the  town  had  been  inundated  with 
the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  rumours,  and  that  from  the  length 
of  time  since  they  had  received  any  positive  communication  from  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  considerable  anxiety  undoubtedly  existed,  but 
that  I  had  effectually  removed  it  On  the  following  morning  early 
I  called  on  Lord  Castlereagh  before  he  went  to  his  of&ce.  I  asked 
him  whether  he  thought  I  had  impressed  upon  the  Cabinet  the  perfect 
confidence  which  I  myself  felt  as  to  the  Duke"s  success.  He  said  I 
had,  but  that  he  wished  for  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  me.  I 
then  explained  to  him  those  particulars  which  Admiral  Malcolm  had 
desired  me  confidentially  to  convey,  particularly  as  to  what  concerned 
the  position  and  personal  safety  of  the  French  king,  and  other  points 
which  it  is  tmnecessary  to  recapittilate.  We  had  a  most  interesting 
discussion  on  the  whole  state  of  the  two  countries  as  relating  to  the 
war.  It  was  certainly  gratifying  to  me  to  have  relieved  the  anxiety 
of  Ministers,  and  through  them  of  the  public,  but  Sir  P.  Malcolm  lost 
me  the  march  to  Paris.' 

"  Of  the  numerous  critics  of  the  Belgian  (^mpaign,  some  have 
been  disposed  to  consider  that  the  Prussians  on  the  16th  were  slow 
in  bringing  their  columns  to  bear  effectively  on  the  French  right 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  individual  who  would  have  had 
most  cause  for  complaint  on  this  score  would  be  the  last  to  entertain 

VOL.  n.  22 


338  APPENDIX. 

this  charge.  We  feel  very  certain  that  if  the  Duke  could  have 
exchanged  commands  with  Bliicher  or  Bulow  on  that  day,  he  would 
have  been  very  cautious  how  he  brought  into  action  by  driblets  even 
that  portion  of  the  Prussian  troops  which  had  not  actually  shared  the 
discomfiture  of  Ligny.  Captain  Siborne  judiciously  avoids  casting 
any  reflection  on  the  Prussians,  though  he  states  the  fact  that  General 
Ziethen  refused  to  detach  any  portion  of  his  troops  for  the  purpose 
of  strengthening,  by  their  partial  aid,  the  British  line  of  battle  at 
a  moment  certainly  of  great  pressure.  We  doubt  not  that  Ziethen's 
orders  on  this  head  were  strict.  We  believe  them  to  have  been 
dictated  by  a  wise  caution,  and  we  look  upon  the  conduct  of  the 
Prussians  and  their  commander  on  the  18th  with  no  feeling  but  that 
of  admiration  for  the  energy  with  which  they  had  rallied  after  discom- 
fiture, and  the  boldness  with  which  they  left  General  Thielman  to 
Diake  the  best  he  could  of  it  against  Grouchy's  superior  force  at 
Wavre.  Before  the  retreat  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  speculation 
was  busy  among  our  officers  on  the  outposts  at  Quatre  Bras  as  to  the 
probable  results  of  the  affair  of  the  previous  day  to  the  Prussian  force. 
A  party  of  them  was  joined  by  Captain,  now  Colonel,  Wood,  who  had 
just  returned  from  the  patrole  service  mentione,d  above.  Will  they 
stop  before  they  reach  the  Rhine  ?  was  a  question  started  by  one. 
Captain  Wood,  who  had  seen  much  service  with  the  Prussians,  having 
been  on  the  staff  of  Sir  C.  Stewart  (now  Lord  Londonderry)  in  1813 
and  1814,  replied,  'If  Bliicher  or  Bulow  be  alive,  you  may  depend 
upon  it  they  will  stop  at  no  great  distance.'  The  young  officer  was 
right,  as  Napoleon  found  to  his  cost.  We  know  that,  whatever  in- 
competent critics  may  say,  the  highest  testimony  to  the  co-operation 
of  the  Prussians  in  every  particular,  that  of  the  Duke,  has  been  ever 
since  unvaried  and  uncompromising ;  nor  has  he  ever  stopped  or 
stooped  to  consider  whether  by  doing  justice  to  the  fame  of  his  allies 
he  might  give  a  handle  to  his  enemies  to  detract  from  his  own. 

"We  do  not  on  this  occasion  choose  to  enter  upon  any  formal 
criticism  of  Napoleon  as  a  general.  We  must,  h'owever,  say,  that  if 
English  writers  were  as  much  disposed  to  detract  from  his  reputation 
as  they  are  to  cavil  at  the  conduct  of  the  Duke  and  Bliicher,  some 
documents  under  his  own  hand  would  afford  them  matter  for 
animadversion.  Take,  for  instance.  Napoleon's  two  letters  to  Marshal 
Ney,  written  early  on  the  16th,  from  Charleroi.  They  are  addressed 
to  a  man  who  has  just  been  placed  at  the  head  of  some  40,000  men, 
so  much  a  V  improviste^  that  he  did  not  even  know  the  names  of  his 
officers,  or  what  the  Germans  call  the  dislocation  of  his  troops,  much 


APPENDIX.  339 

less  the  nature  of  the  country,  or  the  amount  of  the  force  in  his 
front  ;  and  who  was  so  unprovided  with  staff-officers,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  select  them  at  the  moment  from  regiments  »of  the  line ; 
yet  this  man,  in  the  first  of  these  letters,  received  at  about  eleven 
o'clock  of  the  16th,  is  directed  to  be  at  Brussels  by  seven  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  and  in  the  second  it  is  assumed  as  matter  of  high  pro- 
bability that  the  English  had  already  retired  from  Brussels  and 
Nivelles.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  Napoleon's  means  of  learning 
or  guessing  at  the  Duke's  dispositions  were  far  greater  than  any 
which  the  Duke  possessed  of  learning  what  passed  within  the  French 
lines.  We  will  venture,  without  blaming  Napoleon  in  our  ignorance 
of  his  grounds  for  belief,  to  say,  that  if  at  any  one  period  of  the 
Duke's  career  he  had  given  orders  so  impracticable  to  execute,  or 
displayed  ignorance  so  complete  as  is  indicated  in  these  two  letters  to 
Ney,  his  Despatches  would  have  been  reprinted  by  the  Radical  press, 
and  quoted  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  evidence  of  his  incapacity 
for  command. 

"  The  only  real  gleam  of  success  to  the  French  arms  at  Waterloo 
was  that  occupation  of  the  farm  of  La  Haye  Sainte,  to  which  we  have 
adverted.  From  Captain  Siborne's  narrative  it  is  easy  to  infer  the 
absurdity  of  the  proposition  maintained  by  some  writers,  that  the  loss 
of  this  post  was  one  of  small  importance  and  little  injury  to  the 
British  army.  It  was  a  serious  annoyance ;  it  led  to  some  addi- 
tional loss  of  life  and  limb  in  our  ranks — Lord  Fitzroy  Somerset's 
right  arm  is  an  instance — it  gave  facilities  to  the  French  for  their 
repeated  attacks  on  our  centre  ;  and  in  the  event  of  our  being  com- 
pelled to  retire,  it  would  have  been  of  great  advantage  to  them.  It 
might  have  been  avoided,  for  it  was  occasioned  by  nothing  but 
exhaustion  of  the  ammunition  for  its  garrison.  There  was  but  one 
communication  with  the  farm,  by  a  gateway  on  the  road  from  Brussels 
to  GenappeSj  and  this  was  commanded  by  the  French  artillery,  An 
easy  remedy  might  have  been,  but  unfortunately  was  not,  adopted — 
namely,  to  break  out  a  communication  through  the  back  wall  of  the 
farm-house,  which  would  have  been  available  not  only  for  the  intro- 
duction of  ammunition,  but  for  the  relief  and  reinforcement,  if  neces- 
sary, of  the  garrison.  We  doubt  whether  in  any  continental  service 
the  neglect  of  so  minute  a  feature  in  a  general  action  (whatever  its 
eventual  importance)  would  be  laid  to  the  account  of  a  commander-in- 
chief  We  have  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  the  Duke  has 
often  volunteered  to  bear  its  responsibility ;  and,  as  it  is  the  only 
confession  he  has  had  to  make,  we  shall  not  dispute  the  point  with 
his  Grace. 


840  APPENDIX. 

"  After  the  repulse  of  the  various  attacks  made  upon  our  centre, 
first  by  cavalry,  then  by  infantry,  and  thirdly  by  the  two  combined, 
it  was  expected  that  the  next  would  be  made  by  cavalry,  infantry, 
and  artillery  combined.  It  was  obvious  that  our  troops  would  require 
extension  of  line  to  engage  with  the  infantry,  and  solidity  to  engage 
with  the  cavalry ;  but  they  could  not  have  the  necessary  extension  if 
formed  in  squares  as  before,  nor  the  necessary  solidity  if  formed  in 
line  in  the  usual  order,  two  deep.  They  were  therefore  formed  four 
deep.  "With  this  formation  they  crushed  with  their  fire,  or  scattered 
with  the  bayonet,  every  description  of  force  which  came  against 
them  :  and  yet  some  tacticians  have  been  found  to  censure  this  feature 
also  in  the  Duke's  dispositions.  When  at  last  their  long  endurance 
was  rewarded  by  their  finding  themselves  in  possession  of  the  enemy's 
position,  and  of  every  gun  of  that  artillery  which  had  decimated  their 
ranks,  a  singular,  and  we  believe  novel,  feature  of  the  scene  served  to 
disclose  the  sudden  and  complete  nature  of  the  route  of  their  antag- 
onists. Where  the  French  reserves  had  been  posted  in  rear  of  the 
front  line,  the  muskets  of  considerable  bodies  of  men  were  found 
piled  and  abandoned — a  circumstance  which  shows  how  rapid  may  be 
the  contagion  of  despair  even  in  the  ranks  of  a  nation  never  excelled 
for  exploits  either  of  collective  or  individual  bravery.  The  British 
troops  soon  made  over  the  task  of  pursuit  to  their  less  exhausted 
allies.  Very  forward  among  the  British  horsemen  at  this  period, 
riding  with  a  slack  rein  and  somewhat  of  a  Leicestershire  seat,  might 
be  seen  an  English  gentleman  in  the  ordinary  attire  of  that  respect- 
able but  unmilitary  character :  this  was  Lord  Apsley,  the  present 
Earl  Bathurst,  who  had  assisted  at  the  battle  as  an  amateur  from  its 
commencement,  and  who  followed  its  fortunes  to  the  last.  Before 
the  first  shot  was  fired,  his  lordship  had  fallen  in  at  the  right  of  our 
line  with  Lord  Hill,  who  in  his  own  quiet  and  comfortable  manner 
addressed  him,  '  Well,  my  Lord,  I  think  your  lordship  will  see  a  great 
battle  to-day.'  '  Indeed  !'  '  Yes,  indeed,  my  Lord  ;  and  I  think  the 
French  will  get  such  a  thrashing  as  they  have  seldom  had.'  A  fair 
specimen  of  the  spirit  in  which  our  old  campaigners  met  the  prestige 
of  Napoleon's  presence.  It  was  the  simple  confession  of  faith  and 
conviction  founded  on  experience  ;  for  who  ever  heard  boast  or 
bravado  from  the  lipa  of  the  Shropshire  farmer?  Lord  Apsley, 
having  ultimately  ridden  to  the  extreme  of  the  English  pursuit,  was, 
we  believe,  on  returning  to  head-quarters,  the  first  t©  comoiunicate 
to  the  Duke  that  the  whole  of  the  FreAck  artilleary  «<r»a  in  our 
possession. 


APPENDIX.  341 

"  In  the  third  and  revised  edition  of  Mr.  Alison's  '  History,'  we 
read : — 

'"Wellington  and  Bliicher,  at  this  critical  period,  were  either 
without  correct  information  as  to  the  enemy's  real  designs,  or  relying 
upon  secret  intelligence,  which  was  to  be  forwarded  to  them  from 
Paris,  as  to  his  movements.  This  delay  in  collecting  the  troops,  &c., 
would  furnish  ground  for  a  serious  imputation  on  the  Duke's  military 
conduct,  were  it  not  that  it  is  now  apparent  he  had  been  misled  by 
false  information,  perfidiously  furnished,  or  as  perfidiously  withheld, 
hy  his  correspondents  at  Paris^  who,  unknoivn  to  him,  had  been  gained 
by  Fouche.^ 

" '  After  re-quoting  the  story  of  the  female  spy  from  the  production 
impudently  called  Fouche's  Memoirs.  Mr.  Alison  then  proceeds : — 

"  Extraordinary  as  this  story  is,  it  derives  confirmation  from  the 
following  statement  of  Sir  "Walter  Scott,  who  had  access  to  the  best 
sources  of  information,  which  he  obtained  at  Paris  a  few  weeks  after 
the  battle.  "  I  have  understood,"  says  he,  "  on  good  authority,  that  a 
person,  bearing  for  Lord  Wellington's  information  a  detailed  and  au- 
thentic account  of  Bonaparte's  plan  for  the  campaign,  was  actually 
dispatched  from  Paris  in  time  to  have  reached  Brussels  before  the 
commencement  of  hostilities.  This  communication  was  entrusted  to 
a  female,  who  was  furnished  with  a  pass  from  Fouche  himself,  and 
who  travelled  with  all  dispatch  in  order  to  accomplish  her  mission  ; 
but,  being  stopped  for  two  days  on  the  frontiers  of  France,  did  not 
arrive  till  after  the  battle  of  the  16th.  The  fact,  for  such  I  believe  it 
to  be,  seems  to  countenance  the  opinion  that  Fouche  maintained  a 
correspondence  with  the  allies,  and  may  lead,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
the  suspicion  that,  though  he  dispatched  the  intelligence  in  question, 
he  contrived  so  to  manage  that  its  arrival  should  be  too  late  for  the 
purpose  which  it  was  calculated  to  serve.  At  all  events,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  French  on  the  Sambre  was  at  Brussels  an  unexpected 
piece  of  intelligence."  [Paul's  Letters.)  It  is  remarkable  that  Scott's 
sagacity  had  in  this  instance  divined  the  very  solution  of  the  question 
which  Fouche  afterwards  stated  in  his  Memoirs  as  a  fact.  On  the 
other  hand,  Wellington  says  :  "  Avant  mou  arrivee  a  Paris  au  mois  de 
Juillet,  je  n'avais  jamais  vu  Fouche,  ni  eu  avec  lui  communication 
quelconque,  ni  avec  aucun  de  ceux  qui  sont  lies  avec  lui."  (Letter 
to  Dumouriez,  Gurwood,  vol.  xii.  p.  649.)  If  this  statement  was  in- 
consistent with  the  former,  the  Duke's  high  character  for  truth  and 
accuracy  would  have  rendered  it  decisive  of  the  point ;  but  in  reality 
it  is  not  so.  It  only  proves  that  the  English  general  had  had  no 
communication  with  Fouche,  or  those  whom  he  knew  to  be  his  agents. 


342  APPENDIX. 

'•  Mr.  Alison  then  goes  on  to  show,  from  various  passages  of  the 
Duke's  letters,  that  he  was  in  communication  at  various  periods  with 
persons  at  Paris,  and  cites  one  letter  to  a  Mr.  Henoul,  in  which  a 
lady  is  mentioned, 

"  It  will  appear  from  all  the  above  that  Mr.  Alison  has,  in  one  of 
his   tacit   corrections,  borrowed   without   acknowledgment   from   the 
Quarterly,  withdrawn  from  his  assertion  that  the  Duke  was  knowingly 
in  correspondence  with  Fouche.     He  now  shapes  his  imputation  in 
another  form.     He  asserts  that  the  Duke  was  not  only  in  communi- 
cation with  certain  puppets  of  Fouche's  at  Paris,  but  that  he  actually 
governed  his  own  military  schemes,  the  position  and  movements  of 
his  army,  and  rested  the  fate  of  Europe  on  the  expectation  or  posses- 
sion of  intelligence  from  such  quarters.     If,  as  Burke  said,  a  man 
cannot  live  down  these  contemptible  calumnies,  he  must  put  up  with 
them.     If  the  Duke's  life  and  exploits  cannot  acquit  him  of  such 
miserable  simplicity  in  the  eyes  of  Englishmen,  we  can  give  him  little 
assistance.     Because  the  Duke  says,  on  the  13th  of  June,  '  I  have 
accounts  from  Paris  of  the  10th,  on  which  day  Bonaparte  was  still 
there,'  it  is  seriously  argued  that  he  was  very  likely  to  believe  that 
parties  who  supplied  intelligence  of  a  circumstance  so  recondite  as 
the  presence  of  Bonaparte  at  the  Tuileries,  could  and  would  also 
supply  the  programme  of  Bonaparte's  intended  campaign.     Mr.  Alison, 
however,   still   resting    the   weight   of    his   structure   on    Fouche's 
Memoirs,  props  up  the  rubbish  of  such  a  foundation  by  the  authority 
of  '  Paul's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk.'     What  does  the  extract  from 
such  a  work  as  '  Paul's  Letters'  prove  ?     It  proves  that  when  occu- 
pied in  the  agreeable  pastime  of  picking  up  anecdotes  for  a  volume 
of  slight  structure  and  momentary  interest,  Sir  W.  Scott  gave  a  rash 
credence  to  one  then  current  at  Paris,  which  was  afterwards  elabo- 
rated by  the  literary  forger  of  Fouche's  name.     It  is  on  such  authori- 
ties as  these  that  the  author  of  a  loork  of  tivcnty  years  fastens  on  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  a  charge  of  credulous  imbecility.     Whatever  be 
the  probabilities  of  the  case,  we  have  one  sufficient  answer,  which  we 
can  give  on  authority — it  is  totally  and  absolutely  false.     We  re- 
peat, and  are  enabled  and  bound  to  say  that  we  repeat  on  authority, 
that  not  one  single  passage  of  the  Duke's  conduct  at  this  period  was 
in  the  remotest  degree  influenced  by  such  causes  as  those  invented 
at  Paris,  and  adopted  by  Mr.  Alison.     But  the  Duke  had  communi- 
cations with  Paris.     To  be  sure  he  had.     Common  sense  would  indi- 
cate, if  the  Despatches  did  not,  that  the   Duke  used  what  means 
the  iron  frontier  in   his  front  permitted  to  obtain  all  obtainable  in- 
telligence from  Paris.     He  would  have  been  wanting  in  his  duty  if 


APPENDIX.  343 

he  had  neglected  such  precaution.  Such  facts  as  the  Emperor's  con- 
tinued presence  in  Paris,  the  strength  of  mustering  corps,  their  re- 
puted destination — ■  these,  and  a  thousand  such  particulars,  he  doubt- 
less endeavoured  to  get  at,  when  he  could,  through  channels  more 
rapid,  if  not  more  to  be  relied  on,  than  the  '  Moniteur.'  It  could 
strike  nobody  as  improbable  that  in  some  of  these  transactions  an 
agent  of  the  softer  sex  might  have  been  employed  ;  though  we  happen 
to  know  for  certain  that  none  such  played  a  part  of  importance 
enough  to  secure  her  services  a  place  in  the  recollection  of  any 
Englishman  at  head-quarters.  Even  for  obtaining  such  information 
as  this,  the  Duke  was  placed  in  a  position  which  must  have  contrasted 
singularly  with  the  advantages  he  had  in  these  respects  enjoyed  in  the 
Peninsula.  It  were  but  common  fairness  to  scan  for  a  moment  the 
points  of  diiference,  and  to  observe  how  completely  the  relative 
positions  of  the  two  antagonists  were  reversed.  The  grounds  of 
comparison  are,  however,  pretty  obvious,  and  an  illustration  may 
serve  the  purpose  better  than  a  disquisition. 

"  On  the  night  which  preceded  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's  first  passage 
of  arms  in  Portugal,  the  affair  of  Iloliqa,  he  was  roused  from  his  sleep 
in  his  tent  by  an  urgent  request  for  admittance  on  the  part  of  a 
stranger.  The  request  was  granted,  and  a  monk  was  introduced.  '  I 
am  come,'  he  said, '  to  give  you  intelligence  that  General  Thomiere, 
who  commands  the  French  corps  in  your  front,  intends  to  retire  be- 
fore daylight ;  and  if  you  wish  to  catch  him  you  must  be  quick.' 
Such  news,  if  true,  justified  the  intrusion ;  and  it  occurred  to  Sir 
Arthur,  who  had  not  then  attained  the  degree  of  drivelling  which  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  had  reached  in  1815,  to  inquire  'How  do  you 
know  the  fact  you  acquaint  me  with?'  The  monk  replied, 'When 
Junot's  army  first  entered  Portugal,  he  was  quartered  in  our  convent, 
that  of  Alcobaqa,  and  one  of  his  staff  shared  my  cell.  The  same  officer 
is  again  my  lodger  ;  we  are  on  intimate  terms.  This  evening  he  was 
busily  engaged  in  writing.  I  stole  behind  him  and  placed  my  hands 
over  his  eyes,  as  boys  do  in  play,  while  he  struggled  to  get  loose,  and 
held  him  there  till  I  had  read  the  contents  of  the  paper  he  was  writing. 
It  was  an  order  to  General  Thomiere  to  move  his  column  at  such  an 
hour,  and  in  such  a  direction.  I  have  stolen  from  the  convent  and 
made  my  way  to  your  quarters,  to  tell  you  my  discovery.'  We  have 
sometimes  thought  that  this  incident  would  have  made  a  good  subject 
for  Wilkie.  For  our  purpose,  it  is  not  an  inapt  illustration  of  the 
facilities  for  information  at  the  command  of  a  general  moving  in  a 
country  where  the  peasantry  and  priesthood  are  heart  and  soul  with 
the  cause  he  serves.     Such   at  least  are  not  at   the   disposal  of  a 


344  APPENDIX. 

commauder  compelled  by  circumstances  to  remain  rooted  for  a  period 
in  the  face  of  a  hostile  nation,  fenced  by  a  triple  line  of  fortresses,  and 
their  place  is  ill  supplied  by  padded  petticoats  and  the  gossip  of  a 
metropolis.  The  plan  of  Bonaparte's  campaign  ?  Can  anything  be 
more  childish  than  to  suppose  that  the  Duke  could  have  relied,  for 
this  is  the  question,  on  French  traitors  for  such  a  document  ?  When 
a  fleet  is  about  to  sail  on  a  secret  expedition,  a  thousand  circum- 
stances are  open  to  the  inquiries  of  active  agents.  The  very  nature 
of  the  stores  embarked,  the  name  of  some  officer  ordered  to  join,  will 
often  indicate  its  destination.  The  consequence  generally  is,  that  by 
the  time  the  sealed  orders  are  opened  in  a  specified  latitude,  the 
enemy  has  enjoyed  for  weeks  a  full  knowledge  of  the  object  of  the 
expedition.  We  well  remember,  in  the  summer  of  1840,  hearing  that 
certain  intrenching  tools  were  to  be  embarked  for  the  Mediterranean, 
and  that  a  certain  officer,  famous  for  his  application  of  such  materials 
at  St.  Sebastian  and  elsewhere,  was  to  be  picked  up  at  Gibraltar. 
We  wanted  no  paid  spy  or  treacherous  clerk  to  tell  us  that  Acre,  or 
possibly  Alexandria,  would  feel  the  effi3ct  of  these  preparations. 
With  respect  to  the  general  plan  and  scheme  of  the  Duke's  opera- 
tions, as  far  as  they  depended  on  himself,  they  were  open  enough  to 
discovery,  if  missed  by  conjecture.  They  were  necessarily  subjects 
of  communication  and  concert  with  a  dozen  friendly  powers  mustering 
their  forces  on  different  points  from  Ostend  to  the  confines  of  Switzer- 
land. It  so  happened  that  the  plan  of  Bonaparte's  campaign,  which 
could  consist  in  nothing  else  but  a  choice  of  roads,  was  one  which 
it  was  unnecessary  for  him  to  communicate  to  a  single  human 
being  till  he  gave  his  orders  from  head-quarters  for  its  prompt  execu- 
tion. 

***** 

"  It  requires  some  knowledge  of  human  nature  to  believe  that  a 
respectable  man,  in  possession  of  his  senses,  can,  on  a  review  of  the 
facts,  continue  to  entertain  the  notion  that  surprise  is  a  term  appli- 
cable to  the  position  and  conduct  of  the  Duke.  Let  us  suppose  the 
case  of  a  country  house  in  Tipperary,  a  period  of  Kockite  disturbance^ 
and  a  family  which  has  received  intelligence  that  an  attack  is  to  be 
made  upop  it.  The  windows  are  barricaded  as  well  as  circumstances 
will  admit ;  but  the  premises  are  extensive,  and  the  hall  door,  the 
kitchen  and  the  pantry  remain  weak  and  assailable.  The  trampling 
of  footsteps  is  heard  in  the  shrubbery.  There  would  be  advisers 
enough,  and  confusion  enough  in  consequence,  if  the  head  of  the 
family  were  a  man  who  invited  advice,  but  he  is  an  old  soldier  whom 
few  would  venture  to  approach  with  suggestions.     His  nerves  are 


APPENDIX.  345 

absolutely  impassive  to  the  fact  that  the  assault  is  conducted  by  Rock 
in  person,  but  he  knows  that  Rock  has  the  initiative  and  the  choice 
of  at  least  three  eligible  points  of  attack.  He  makes  such  disposition 
of  his  force  as  leaves  no  point  unwatched ;  he  keeps  it  well  in  hand, 
and  refuses  to  move  a  man  till  the  sledge-hammer  is  heard  at  the  point 
selected.  The  attack  is  repulsed — all  the  objects  of  the  defence  are 
accomplished,  not  a  silver  spoon  is  missing — most  of  the  assailants 
are  killed,  the  gang  dispersed,  and  its  leader,  who  had  escaped  down 
the  avenue,  is  ultimately  captured  and  transported  for  life — tranquil- 
lity is  restored  to  the  Barony — the  master  of  the  house  is  knighted 
for  his  gallant  defence,  and  made  a  chief  inspector  of  Police  by  the 
Government,  but  is  deprived  of  his  office  when  the  Whigs  come  into 
power.  Thirty  years  afterwards,  an  attorney  of  the  county  town, 
who  has  lived  in  the  main  street  all  his  life,  and  has  never  handled  a 
blunderbuss,  writes  an  account  of  the  transaction,  collected  from  some 
surviving  under-servants,  to  show,  first  that  the  master  was  surprised, 
and  next  that  his  force  ought  from  the  first  to  have  been  concentrated 
in  the  pantry,  because  it  was  there  that  the  main  assault  was  ulti- 
mately made.  His  informers  have  also  succeeded  in  bamboozling 
him  with  an  absurd  tale  of  an  old  woman  who  had  been  hired  to  de- 
ceive the  master  by  making  him  believe  that  the  attack  was  post- 
poned. 

"  It  is  not  matter  of  theory  and  speculation,  but  of  absolute  demon- 
stration, that  whatever  were  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  Duke's 
proceedings,  they  were  not  an  accident  of  the  moment,  the  offspring 
of  haste  and  surprise,  but  strictly  in  accordance  with  and  part  of  a 
preconceived  system  of  action,  adopted,  in  concert  with  his  allies,  on 
deep  study  and  full  knowledge  of  every  circumstance  of  his  position. 
Mr.  Alison  has  formed  and  persists  in  the  opinion  that  he  could  have 
managed  the  whole  thing  a  great  deal  better.  We  do  not  believe 
that  any  officer  exists  in  her  Majesty's  service  who  will  not  rate  that 
opinion  at  its  proper  value. 

"  No  man  perhaps  ever  lived  whose  nervous  system  was  less  likely 
to  be  affected  by  the  mere  prestige  of  Napoleon's  name  than  the 
Duke's  ;  but  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  in  one  attribute  the 
Duke  considered  him  pre-eminent  over  every  one  who  could  by  pos- 
sibility come  under  any  comparison — that  of  promptitude  and  dexter- 
ity in  taking  advantage  of  a  false  move.  We  may  be  permitted  to 
doubt  whether  this  quality  was  ever,  in  any  single  instance,  more 
brilliantly  exemplified  by  Napoleon  than  by  Wellington  at  Sala- 
manca ;  but  at  all  events,  we  know  that  it  was  considered  by  the 
English  Commander  to  be  the  leading  characteristic  of  his  opponent 


346  APPENDIX. 

of  1815.  The  man  to  whom  the  Duke  attributed  this  particular 
pre-eminence  had  collected  an  army  of  veterans  on  the  frontier  of 
the  department  of  the  North,  one  bristling  with  fortresses  in  which 
he  might  cover  and  protect,  and  through  which  he  might  in  safety 
and  secrecy  move  hundreds  of  thousands  of  troops ;  while  the  allies, 
whether  to  correct  or  improve  a  position  erroneously  taken  up,  must 
have  moved  along  the  front  of  this  formidable  position,  no  part  of 
which  could  have  been  attacked  by  them.  Up  to  a  given  moment  at 
least — the  moment  when  the  allied  powers  on  the  Rhine  should  be 
ready  to  move  oflf  in  concert,  and  keep  the  step — Napoleon  had  the 
indisputable  advantage  of  the  first  move.  Secrecy,  rapidity,  and 
choice  of  direction  on  vulnerable  points,  were  equally  at  his  command 
with  priority  of  movement.  To  rush  at  the  centre,  or  to  throw 
himself  on  the  communications  of  a  force  which  leant  not  on  the 
country  in  its  rear,  but  on  Namur  on  the  one  hand,  and  Ostend  on 
the  other,  were  modes  of  action  equally  practicable.  We  are  inclined 
to  think  that  if  by  any  magic  the  Duke  could  suddenly,  with  his  own 
knowledge  of  his  own  difiiculties,  have  been  transformed  into  the 
adviser  of  Napoleon,  he  would  have  suggested  an  attack  by  the  line 
of  Hal  on  his  own  right.  It  is  very  certain  that  he  considered  such 
an  operation  as  one  which,  from  its  advantages,  might  well  have  at- 
tracted his  opponent's  choice.  We  know  this  from  the  caution  with 
which,  even  at  Waterloo,  he  provided  against  such  a  contingency. 
With  a  view  to  this  danger  also,  every  possible  exertion  had  been 
made  to  put  into  a  condition  of  defence  Mons,  Ath,  Tournay,  Ypres, 
Ostend,  Nieuport,  and  Ghent.  The  state  in  which  the  Duke  found 
these  places  had  been  such  as  to  make  it  impossible,  in  the 
time  allowed  him,  to  complete  their  defences.  Still  such  progress 
had  been  made  as  to  justify  him  in  endeavouring  to  compass  the 
great  object  of  the  preservation  of  the  Belgian  capital  by  occupy- 
ing a  position  in  advance  of  it,  which  without  the  support  of  those 
places,  he  would,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe,  not  have  ventured 
to  take  up.  The  Duke  and  Bliicher  certainly  agreed  to  occupy 
this  outpost  of  the  armies  of  coalised  Europe  on  a  system  of  their 
own — one  which  they  thought  best  calculated  to  meet  the  impending 
storm  in  each  and  every  of  its  possible  directions.  In  the  moment 
of  impending  conflict  the  Duke  certainly  did  not  depart  from  it. 
The  first  breathless  courier — who  might  perhaps  have  brought 
intelligence  of  a  false  attack — did  not  shake  his  calm  and  settled 
purpose. 

"  It   may   well  be,  and  we  believe  it,  that  no  other  man  living 
could   have   retained    the   imperturbable   coolness  which   the   Duke 


APPENDIX.  347 

exhibited  during  the  15th  at  Brussels,  and  still  less  could  have  put 
off  to  the  last  the  moment  of  general  alarm  by  going  to  a  ball  after 
having  given  his  orders.  Nothing  was  more  likely  at  the  moment  to 
generate  the  idea  of  a  surprise  than  the  circumstance  of  this  ball, 
from  which  so  many  dancers  adjourned  to  that  supper  of  Hamlet,  not 
where  men  eat,  but  where  they  are  eaten.  The  delusion,  however, 
fades  before  the  facts  of  the  General  Orders  to  be  found  in  Colonel 
Gurwood's  volume,  and  is  not  now  worth  further  notice  for  purposes 
of  refutation.  The  details  of  the  case,  however,  are  but  partially 
known,  and  they  are  worth  recording.  The  late  Duke  of  Richmond, 
an  attached  and  intimate  friend  of  the  Commander  in-Chief,  was  at 
Brussels.  He  was  himself  a  general  officer  ;  had  one  son,  the 
present  Duke  of  Richmond,  on  the  staff  of  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
one  on  that  of  the  Duke,  and  another  in  the  Blues,  and  was  at  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  but  not  in  any  military  capacity.*  The  brother 
of  the  Duchess,  the  late  (and  last)  Duke  of  Gordon,  was  Colonel 
of  the  92nd  or  Gordon  Highlanders,  which,  with  the  42nd  and  79th 
Highland  regiments,  formed  part  of  the  reserve  corps  stationed 
at  Brussels.  The  Duchess  had  issued  invitations  for  a  ball  for  the 
15th.  Among  other  preparations  for  the  evening  she  had  engaged 
the  attendance  of  some  of  the  non-commissioned  ofl&cers  and  privates 
of  her  brother's  regiment  and  the  42nd,  wishing  to  show  her  conti- 
nental guests  the  real  Highland  dances  in  perfection.  When  the 
news  of  the  French  advance  reached  head-quarters,  it  became  mat- 
ter of  discussion  whether  or  not  the  ball  should  be  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed. The  deliberate  judgment  of  the  Duke  decided  that  it  should. 
There  were  reasons  good  for  this  decision.  It  is  sufficient  on 
this  head  to  say  that  the  state  of  public  feeling  in  the  Nether- 
lands generally,  and  in  Brussels  in  particular,  was  more  than  ques- 
tionable. It  was  a  thing  desirable  in  itself  to  postpone  to  the 
last  the  inevitable  moment  of  alarm — to  shorten  as  far  as  possible 
that  critical  interval  which  must  occur  between  the  acting  of  a 
dreadful  thing  and  the  first  motion,  between  the  public  announce- 
ment of  actual  hostilities  and  their  decision  in  the  field.  Every 
necessary  order  had  been  issued  ;  and  such  was  that  state  of  prepa- 
ration and  arrangement  which  wise  men  have  since  questioned  and 
criticised,  that  this  operation  had  been  the  work  of  minutes,  and 
before  the  festal  lamps  were  lighted,  the  fiery  cross  was  on  its  way 

1  "The  Duke  of  Richmond  was  seen  riding  about  the  field,  sometimes  in  situations  of  immi- 
nent danger,  in  plain  clothes,  with  his  groom  beliind  him,  exactly  as  if  taking  an  airing  in  Hyde 
Park.  His  Grace's  appearance  at  one  remarkable  moment  is  picturesquely  enough  described  by 
Captain  Sibome." 


848  APPENDIX. 

through  the  cantonments.  The  general  officers  then  in  Brussels  had 
their  instructions  to  attend  and  to  drop  off  singly  and  without  eclat^ 
and  join  their  divisions  on  the  march.  The  Duke  himself  remained 
later,  occupied  the  place  of  honour  at  the  supper,  and  returned 
thanks  for  the  toast  to  himself  and  the  allied  army,  which  was  pro- 
posed by  General  Alava.  At  about  eleven  a  despatch  arrived  from 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  shortly  after  reading  which  the  Duke  retired, 
saluting  the  company  graciously.  On  that  countenance,  cheerful 
and  disengaged  as  usual,  none  could  read  the  workings  of  the  calm 
but  busy  mind  beneath.  The  state  of  things,  however,  most  awful 
to  those  who  could  least  distinctly  be  informed  of  it,  had  partially 
transpired,  and  the  fete  had  assumed  that  complexion  which  has  been 
perpetuated  on  the  canvas  of  Byron.  The  bugle  had  sounded  before 
the  orchestra  had  ceased.  Before  the  evening  of  the  following  day, 
some  of  the  Duchess's  kilted  corps  de  hallet  were  stretched  in  the  rye 
of  Quatre  Bras,  never  to  dance  again.  Rough  transitions  these — 
moralists  may  sigh — poets  may  sing — but  they  are  the  Rembrandt 
lights  and  shadows  of  the  existence  of  the  soldier,  whose  philosophy 
must  always  be  that  of  Wolfe's  favourite  song — 

'  Why,  soldiers,  why, 
Should  we  be  melancholy  then 
Whose  trade  it  is  to  die  V 

In  this  instance  they  were  the  results  of  a  cool  self-possession  and 
control,  for  a  parallel  instance  of  which  biography  may  be  searched  in 
vain.  And  yet  this  ball  was  a  symptom  and  remains  evidence  of 
surprise. 

"  We  remember,  some  years  ago,  finding  ourselves  in  company 
with  General  Alava  and  a  very  distinguished  naval  officer  who  had 
borne  high  command  in  the  Tagus  at  the  period  of  the  occupation  of 
the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras.  The  latter  had  been  a  guest  at  a  ball 
which  was  given  by  Lord  Wellington  at  Mafra,  in  November,  1810, 
and  he  described  the  surprise  with  which  the  gentlemen  of  the  navy 
witnessed  a  numerous  attendance  of  officers  some  twenty  miles  from 
those  advanced  posts  in  front  of  which  lay  Massena  and  the  French 
army.  General  Alava's  Spanish  impatience  broke  out  at  this  want 
of  faith,  more  suo — that  is  in  a  manner  much  more  amusing  to  his 
friends  than  complimentary  to  the  excellent  sailor  whose  ignorance  of 
the  habits  of  land  service,  under  the  Duke,  had  provoked  his  indig- 
nation. General  Alava  is  gone,  and  has  left  behind  him  nothing 
simik  aut  secundum  for  qualities  of  social  intercourse." 


APPENDIX.  349 


APPENDIX,  No.  yi. 


THE  DUKE  ON  THE  DEFENCES  OF  ENGLAND. 


TO  MAJOR-GENERAL  SIR  JOHN  F.  BURGOYNE,  K.C.B.,  <fec. 

"Strathfieldsate,  January  9«A,  18-17. 

"  My  dear  General, 

"  Some  days  have  elapsed — indeed  a  fortnight  has — since  I 
received  your  note,  with  a  copy  of  your  observations,  on  the  possible 
result  of  a  war  with  France,  under  our  present  system  of  military 
preparation. 

"  You  are  aware  that  I  have  for  years  been  sensible  of  the  alteration 
produced  in  maritime  warfare  and  operations  by  the  application  of 
steam  to  the  propelling  of  ships  at  sea. 

"  This  discovery  immediately  exposed  all  parts  of  the  coasts  of  those 
islands  which  a  vessel  could  approach  at  all,  to  be  approached  at  all 
times  of  tide,  and  in  all  seasons,  by  vessels  so  propelled,  from  all 
quarters.  We  are,  in  fact,  assailable,  and  at  least  liable  to  insult,  and 
to  have  contributions  levied  upon  us  on  all  parts  of  our  coast,  that  is, 
the  coast  of  these  including  the  Channel  islands,  which  to  this  time, 
from  the  period  of  the  Norman  conquest,  have  never  been  successfully 
invaded. 

"  I  have  in  vain  endeavoured  to  awaken  the  attention  of  different 
administrations  to  this  state  of  things,  as  well  known  to  our  neigh- 
bours (rivals  in  power,  at  least  former  adversaries  and  enemies)  as  it 
is  to  ourselves. 

"  I  hope  that  your  paper  may  be  attended  with  more  success  than 
my  representations  have  been. 

"  I  have  above,  in  few  words,  represented  our  danger.  We  have  no 
defence,  or  hope  of  defence,  excepting  in  our  fleet. 

"  We  hear  a  great  deal  of  the  spirit  of  the  people  of  England,  for 
which  no  man  entertains  higher  respect  than  I  do.  But  unorganised, 
undisciplined,  without  systematic  subordination  established  and  well 
understood,  this  spirit  opposed  to  the  fire  of  musketry  and  cannon, 
and  to  sabres  and  bayonets  of  disciplined  troops,  would  only  expose 


350  APPENDIX. 

those  animated  by  such  spirit  to  confusion  and  destruction.  Let  any 
man  only  make  the  attempt  to  turn  to  some  use  this  spirit  in  a  case  of 
partial  and  local  disturbance,  the  want  of  previous  systematic  organi- 
sation and  subordination  will  prevent  him  even  from  communicating 
with  more  than  his  own  menial  servants  and  dependants ;  and  while 
mobs  are  in  movement  through  the  country,  the  most  powerful  will 
find  that  he  can  scarcely  move  from  his  own  door. 

"  It  is  perfectly  true  that  as  we  stand  at  present,  with  our  naval 
arsenals  and  dockyards  not  half  garrisoned,  5000  men  of  all  arms 
could  not  be  put  under  arms,  if  required,  for  any  service  whatever, 
without  leaving  standing,  without  relief,  all  employed  on  any  duty, 
not  excepting  even  the  guards  over  the  palaces  and  person  of  the 
Sovereign. 

"  I  calculate  that  a  declaration  of  war  should  probably  find  our 
home  garrisons  of  the  strength  as  follows,  particularly  considering  that 
one  of  the  most  common  accusations  against  this  country  is,  that  the 
practice  has  been  to  commence  reprisals  at  sea  simultaneously  with  a 
declaration  of  war,  the  order  for  the  first  of  which  must  have  been 
issued  before  the  last  can  have  been  published. 

"  We  ought  to  be  with  garrisons  as  follows  at  the  moment  war  is 
declared : — 

Channel  Islands,  (besides  the  Militia  of  each,  well  organised, 

trained,  and  disciplined) 10,000  men. 

Plymouth 10,000  " 

Milford 5,000  « 

Cork 10,000  « 

Portsmouth 10,000  « 

Dover 10,000  " 

Sheemess,  Chatham,  and  the  Thames 10,000  " 

"  I  suppose  that  one-half  of  the  whole  regular  force  of  the  country 
would  be  stationed  in  Ireland,  which  half  would  give  the  garrison  of 
Cork.  The  remainder  must  be  supplied  from  the  half  of  the  whole 
force  at  home  stationed  in  Great  Britain. 

"  The  whole  force  employed  at  home  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
would  not  afi"ord  a  sufficient  number  of  men  for  the  mere  defence  and 
occupation,  on  the  breaking  out  of  war,  of  the  works  constructed  for 
the  defence  of  the  dockyards  and  naval  arsenals,  without  leaving  a 
single  man  disposable. 

"  The  measure  upon  which  I  have  earnestly  entreated  difi'erent 
administrations  to  decide,  which  is  constitutional,  and  has  been 
invariably  adopted  in  time  of  peace  for  the  last  eighty  years,  is  to 


APPENDIX.  351 

raise,  embody,  organise,  and  discipline  the  militia,  of  the  same  numbers 
for  each  of  the  three  kingdoms,  united  as  during  the  late  war.  This 
would  give  a  mass  of  organised  force  amounting  to  about  150.000 
men,  which  we  might  immediately  set  to  work  to  discipline.  This 
alone  would  enable  us  to  establish  the  strength  of  our  army.  This, 
with  an  augmentation  of  the  force  of  the  regular  army,  which  would 
not  cost  400,000/.,  would  put  the  country  on  its  legs  in  respect  to  per- 
sonal force ;  and  I  would  engage  for  its  defence,  old  as  I  am. 

"  But  as  we  stand  now ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  the  exertions  of  the 
fleet  alone  are  not  sufficient  to  provide  for  our  defence ;  we  are  not  safe 
for  a  week  after  the  declaration  of  war. 

"  I  am  accustomed  to  the  consideration  of  these  questions,  and  have 
examined  and  reconnoitered,  over  and  over  again,  the  whole  coast, 
from  the  North  Foreland,  by  Dover,  Folkestone,  Beachy-head,  Brigh- 
ton, Arundel,  to  Selsey  Bill,  near  Portsmouth  ;  and  I  say  that,  ex- 
cepting immediately  under  the  fire  of  Dover  Castle,  there  is  not  a 
spot  on  the  coast  on  which  infantry  might  not  be  thrown  on  shore,  at 
any  time  of  tide,  with  any  wind,  and  in  any  weather,  and  from  which 
such  body  of  infantry,  so  thrown  on  shore,  would  not  find  within  the 
distance  of  five  miles,  a  road  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  through 
the  cliffs,  practicable  for  the  march  of  a  body  of  troops ;  that  in  that 
space  of  coast  (that  is,  between  the  North  Foreland  and  Selsey  Bill.) 
there  are  not  less  than  seven  small  harbours,  or  mouths  of  rivers, 
each  without  defence,  of  which  an  enemy,  having  landed  his  infantry 
on  the  coast,  might  take  possession,  and  therein  land  his  cavalry  and 
artillery  of  all  calibre  and  establish  himself  and  his  communications 
with  France. 

"  The  nearest  part  of  the  coast  to  the  metropolis  is  undoubtedly  the 
coast  of  Sussex,  from  the  east  and  west  side  of  Beachy-head  and  to 
Selsey  Bill.  There  are  not  less  than  twelve  great  roads  leading  from 
Brighton  upon  London ;  and  the  French  army  must  be  much  altered 
indeed  since  the  time  at  which  I  was  better  acquainted  with  it,  if 
there  are  not  now  belonging  to  it  forty  Chefs  d'Etat-Majors-General 
capable  of  sitting  down  and  ordering  the  march  to  the  coast  of  40,000 
men,  their  embarkation,  with  their  hurses  and  artillery,  at  the  several 
French  ports  on  the  coast;  their  disembarkation  at  named  points 
on  the  English  coast,— that  of  the  artillery  and  cavalry  in  named 
ports  or  mouths  of  rivers,  and  the  assembly  at  named  points  of  the 
several  columns  ;  and  the  march  of  each  of  these  from  stage  to  stage 
to  London. 

"  Let  any  man  examine  our  maps  and  road-books,  consider  the 
matter,  and  judge  for  himself 

2z 


352  APPENDIX. 

"  I  know  no  mode  of  resistance,  much  less  of  protection,  from  this 
danger,  excepting  by  any  army  in  the  field  capable  of  meeting  and 
contending  with  its  formidable  enemy,  aided  by  all  the  means  of  forti- 
fication which  experience  in  war  can  suggest. 

"  I  shall  be  deemed  fool-hardy  in  engaging  for  the  defence  of  the 
empire  with  an  army  composed  of  such  a  force  of  militia.  I  may  be 
so.  I  confess  it,  I  should  infinitely  prefer,  and  should  feel  more  con- 
fidence in,  an  army  of  regular  troops.  But  I  know  that  I  shall  not 
have  these ;  I  may  have  the  others  ;  and  if  an  addition  is  made  to 
the  existing  regular  army  allotted  for  home  defence  of  a  force  which 
will  cost  400,000/.  a  year,  there  would  be  a  sufficient  disciplined 
force  in  the  field  to  enable  him  who  should  command  to  defend  the 
country 

"  This  is  my  view  of  our  danger  and  our  resources.  I  was  aware 
that  our  magazines  and  arsenals  were  very  inadequately  supplied  with 
ordinance  and  carriages,  arms,  stores  of  all  denominations,  and  ammu- 
nition. The  deficiency  has  been  occasioned,  in  part,  by  the  sale  of 
arms  and  of  various  descriptions  of  ordnance  stores  since  the  termi- 
nation of  the  late  war,  in  order  to  diminish  the  demand  of  supply 
to  carry  on  the  peace  service  of  the  Ordnance ;  in  part  by  the  con- 
flagration of  the  arsenal  which  occurred  in  the  Tower  some  years  ago, 
and  by  the  difficulty  under  which  all  governments  in  this  country 
labour  in  prevailing  upon  Parliament,  in  time  of  peace,  to  take 
into  consideration  measures  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  country  in 
time  of  war. 

"  The  state  of  the  ordnance,  arms,  ammunition,  &c.,  in  magazines, 
is,  in  part,  a  question  of  expense,  and  perhaps,  in  some  degree,  one 
of  time. 

"  I  would  recommend  to  have  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  stores 
examined  by  a  committee,  and  made  out  in  form,  as  upon  the 
enclosed  half-sheet  of  paper,  by  ascertaining  what  there  was  in 
1804,  and  what  there  is  in  store  now,  of  each  article,  and  the 
difference  between  the  two  amounts.  I  have  taken  the  year  1804 
as  the  standard,  as  that  was  the  year  in  which  the  invasion  was 
threatened.  It  was  previous  to  the  employment  of  the  armies  in 
the  Peninsula  or  North  America;  in  short,  as  nearly  as  possible 
similar  to  the  political  circumstances  in  which  we  stand  at  this 
moment,  excepting  that  we  arc  now  at  peace  with  France — we  were 
then  at  war. 

"  A  fourth  column  would  be  the  estimate  of  the  expense  of  bringing 
the  magazines  to  the  state  in  which  they  were  in  1804. 

"  With   this   information    before   him,   the   Master-General   could 


APPENDIX.  353 

give  the  Government  accurate  information  of  the  wants  of  ordnance, 
arms,  ammunition,  and  stores  in  the  magazines  of  the  country. 

"  You  will  see  from  what  I  have  written  that  I  have  contemplated 
the  danger  to  which  you  have  referred.  I  have  done  so  for  years. 
I  have  drawn  to  it  the  attention  of  different  administrations  at 
different  times.  You  will  see,  likewise,  that  I  have  considered  of 
the  measures  of  prospective  security,  and  of  the  mode  and  cost  of 
the  attainment. 

"  I  have  done  more.  I  have  looked  at  and  considered  these 
localities  in  quiet  detail,  and  have  made  up  my  mind  upon  the 
details  of  their  defence.  These  are  the  questions  to  which  my  mind 
has  not  been  unaccustomed.  I  have  considered  and  provided  for  the 
defence — the  successful  defence — of  the  frontiers  of  many  countries. 

"  You  are  the  confidential  head  of  the  principal  defensive  part  of 
this  country.  I  will,  if  you  and  the  Master-General  of  the  Ordnance 
choose,  converse,  or  otherwise  communicate  confidentially  with  you 
upon  all  the  details  of  this  subject ;  will  inform  you  of  all  that  I 
know,  have  seen,  and  think  upon  it,  and  what  my  notions  are  of  the 
details  of  the  defensive  system  to  be  adopted  and  eventually  carried 
into  execution. 

"  I  quite  concur  in  all  your  views  of  the  danger  of  our  position, 
and  of  the  magnitude  of  the  stake  at  issue.  I  am  especially  sensible 
of  the  certainty  of  failure  if  we  do  not,  at  an  early  moment,  attend 
to  the  measures  necessary  for  our  defence,  and  of  the  disgrace,  the 
indelible  disgrace  of  such  failure — putting  out  of  view  all  the  other 
unfortunate  consequences,  such  as  the  loss  of  the  political  and  social 
position  of  this  country  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  of  all  its 
allies,  in  concert  with,  and  in  aid  of  whom,  it  has,  in  our  own  times, 
contended  successfully  in  arms  for  its  own  honour  and  safety,  and 
the  independence  and  freedom  of  the  world. 

"  When  did  any  man  hear  of  the  allies  of  a  country  unable  to 
defend  itself? 

"  Views  of  economy  of  some,  and  I  admit  that  the  high  views  of 
national  finance  of  others,  induce  them  to  postpone  those  measures 
absolutely  necessary  for  mere  defence  and  safety  under  existing 
circumstances,  forgetting  altogether  the  common  practice  of  successful 
armies,  in  modern  times,  imposing  upon  the  conquered  enormous 
pecuniary  contributions,  as  well  as  other  valuable  and  ornamental 
property. 

"  Look  at  the  course  pursued  by  Franco  in  Italy  and  Kussia !  At 
Vienna  repeatedly,  at  Berlin,  at  Moscow,  the  contributions  levied, 
besides  the  subsistences,  maintenance,  clothing,  and  equipment  of  the 

VOL.  II.  23 


354  APPENDIX. 

army  wliich  made  the  conquest !  Look  at  the  conduct  of  the  allied 
army  which  invaded  France,  and  had  possession  of  Paris  in  1815  ! 
Look  at  the  account  of  the  pecuniary  sacrifices  made  upon  that 
occasion,  under  their  different  heads  of  contributions,  payments  for 
subsistence,  and  maintenance  of  the  invading  armies,  including 
clothing  and  other  equipments,  payments  of  old  repudiated  state 
debts  due  to  individuals  in  war  in  the  different  countries  of  Europe, 
repayment  for  the  contributions  levied,  and  moveable  and  immoveable 
property  sold  in  the  course  of  the  revolutionary  war. 

"  But  such  an  account  cannot  be  made  out  against  this  country. 
No  !  but  I  believe  that  the  means  of  some  demands  would  not  be 
wanting.  Are  there  no  claims  for  a  fleet  at  Toulon  in  1793?  None 
for  debts  left  unpaid  by  British  subjects  in  France,  who  escaped 
from  confinement  under  cover  of  the  invasion,  in  1814,  by  the  allied 
armies  1  Can  any  man  pretend  to  limit  the  amount  of  the  demand 
on  account  of  the  contribution  de  guerre  ? 

"  Then  look  at  the  conditions  of  the  treaties  of  Paris,  1814,  1815. 

"  France  having  been  in  possession  of  nearly  every  capital  in 
Europe,  and  having  levied  contributions  in  each,  and  having  had  in 
its  possession  or  under  its  influence  the  whole  of  Italy,  Germany, 
and  Poland,  is  reduced  to  its  territorial  limits  as  they  stood  in  1792. 
Do  we  suppose  that  we  should  be  allowed  to  keep — could  we  advance 
a  pretension  to  keep — more  than  the  islands  composing  the  United 
Kingdom,  ceding  disgracefully  the  Channel  Islands,  on  which  an 
invader  had  never  established  himself  since  the  period  of  the  Norman 
Conquest? 

"  I  am  bordering  upon  seventy-seven  years  of  age,  passed  in 
honour. 

"  I  hope  that  the  Almighty  may  protect  me  from  being  the  witness 
of  the  tragedy  which  I  cannot  persuade  my  contemporaries  to  take 
measures  to  avert. 

"  Believe  me.  ever  yours  sincerely, 

"Wellington." 


APPENDIX.  355 


APPENDIX  No.  yn. 


THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON  AS  AN  AGRICULTURIST 
AND  LANDLORD. 

(From  the  Illustrated  London  JVews.} 

''  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  an  agriculturist,  not  so  much  from 
choice  as  a  necessity  or  duty.  The  munificence  of  the  nation 
having  provided  him  with  the  domain  of  Strathfieldsaye,  he  could  do 
no  less  than  cultivate  it.  To  say  the  truth,  it  required  no  little 
attention.  Those  who  selected  it  for  the  national  purchase  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  well  exercised  their  judgment ;  for  it  was,  in 
regard  to  agricultural  value,  little  better  than  a  waste.  The  Duke's 
own  remark  about  it  was,  that  any  man  less  wealthy  than  himself 
would  have  been  ruined  by  it.  As  it  was,  besides  an  amount  origin- 
ally laid  out,  the  Duke  spent  every  year's  rental  upon  it,  and  still 
there  was  much  remaining  to  be  done. 

"  The  soil  of  the  estate  is  clayey,  very  strong,  and  difficult  of 
drainage,  being  very  wet.  The  first  thing  the  Duke  had  to  think 
of  was  the  drainage,  which  he  commenced  at  once,  and  continued  to 
the  last.  Without  it  nothing  whatever  could  have  been  done  with  so 
uncongenial  a  soil.  In  addition  to  this,  his  Grace  resorted  very 
extensively  to  chalking,  a  very  expensive  process,  in  consequence  of 
the  cost  of  conveyance.  Since  the  railway  has  been  completed,  this 
part  of  the  Duke's  agricultural  expenditure  has  been  lessened,  the 
chalk  being  conveyed  from  the  railway  cutting. 

"  The  land  is  chiefly  used  for  producing  corn  and  beans.  The 
mode  of  cultivation  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Caird  : — '  The  system  of 
cultivation  pursued  is  to  plough  up  the  clover  lea  after  the  second 
crop  is  consumed  in  autumn,  that  the  furrow  may  be  exposed  to  the 
pulverising  effects  of  the  frost  and  thaws  of  winter ;  after  which  it 
receives  a  clean  summer  fallow,  being  repeatedly  ploughed  and  har- 
rowed until  it  is  brought  into  fine  condition,  when  it  is  sown  with 
wheat  in  October.  After  the  wheat  is  reaped,  the  land  lies  untouched 
during  the  winter ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  enough  in  spring,  a  heavy 
dose  of  manure  is  spread  upon  it,  which  is  immediately  ploughed  in, 


356  APPENDIX. 

and  the  ground  planted  with  beans.  The  beans  are  dibbled  in  by 
women,  who  are  employed  by  task-work,  and  who  set  the  seed  in  rows, 
marked  by  a  garden-line.  During  the  summer  the  land  is  carefully 
hoed  between  the  rows  ;  and,  after  the  bean  crop  has  been  removed, 
it  is  ploughed  and  sown  with  wheat.  After  that  follows  barley, 
a  portion  of  which  is  laid  down  with  clover,  the  rest  being  reserved  to 
be  sown  in  the  following  spring  with  peas,  of  which  an  excellent 
variety,  called  the  '•'  Victoria  Marrowfat,"  is  in  great  favour,  selling  at 
40s.  the  quarter.  The  average  produce  of  wheat  is  from  twenty-six 
to  thirty  bushels  per  acre.  From  the  nature  of  the  land,  it  is  found 
very  injurious  to  work  it  when  wet,  and  a  great  number  of  horses  are 
therefore  kept  to  push  forward  the  work  in  favourable  weather,  a 
farm  of  300  acres  having  as  many  as  sixteen  work-horses  upon  it. 
The  only  other  stock  consists  of  a  few  milch  cows,  some  colts,  and  a 
number  of  pigs,  which  go  loose  in  the  yards.  Stall-feeding  is  little 
practised,  and,  when  tried,  has  been  found  very  unprofitable  ;  but  this 
is  not  surprising,  as  fattening-oxen  are  fed  on  cake  and  other  sub- 
stances, costing  IO5.  6d.  a  week  for  each  animal.'  In  fact,  the  Duke 
did  his  farming  as  he  did  all  other  things,  well ;  but  with  a  regard  to 
the  end  to  be  attained  by  the  outlay.  By  dint  of  perseverance  and 
judicious  expenditure,  he  had  contrived  very  much  to  enhance  the 
value  of  the  property  before  he  died.  It  is  recorded,  that  he  deter- 
mined to  '  do  the  best  he  could  without  it' — his  unvarying  maxim,  as 
a  practical  man,  even  in  political  affairs.  He  is  said  to  have  declared 
that  he  did  not  consider  himself  entitled  to  lay  by  one  shilling  of  the 
rental  at  Strathfieldsaye,  '  I  am  a  rich  man,'  said  he  ;  '  my  son  will 
not  be  ;  therefore  he  shall  receive  his  patrimony  in  the  very  best 
condition  to  which  I  can  bring  it.  If  he  cannot  keep  it  so,  the  fault 
will  not  be  mine.'  This  is  so  characteristic  of  the  Duke's  mind  and 
character,  that  we  conceive  it  must  be  true.  A  deserved  compliment 
was  paid  to  the  Duke,  as  an  agriculturist,  by  Professor  Buckland,  at 
the  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  in  1844.  '  The  Prussian 
Minister,'  he  said,  '  had  called  the  attention  of  the  assembled  agri- 
culturists of  England  to  the  example  of  good  farming  set  them  by 
the  most  illustrious  of  living  warriors,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who 
had  turned  his  glorious  sword  into  a  not  less  glorious  ploughshare. 
Near  Strathfieldsaye  may  now  be  seen  rich  fields  of  barley  and 
turnips  on  naturally  peat  or  clay  lands,  which,  two  or  three  years  ago, 
were  reeking  with  moisture,  and  incapable  of  that  rotation  of  green 
and  grain  crops  which  all  good  farming  requires.  The  Duke  of 
Wellington  was,  year  after  year,  improving  his  clay  lands,  first,  by 
thorough  draining,  which  is  the  indispensable  precursor  of  all  other 


APPENDIX.  357 

improvements ;  and,  after  drainage,  spreading  large  quantities  of  chalk 
over  the  surface  of  the  clay.  Not  less  than  one  thousand  waggon- 
loads  of  chalk  had,  during  the  last  year,  been  brought  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Basingstoke  to  that  of  Strathfieldsaye.' 

''  In  point  of  fact,  the  Duke  very  early  participated  in  that  agricul- 
tural movement  which  has  tended  more  than  any  other  cause  to  enable 
England  to  make  her  great  commercial  sacrifices. 

"  As  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  character  as  a  landlord,  we  have 
heard  conflicting  statements.  A  man  of  his  iron  stamp,  with  his  rigid 
ideas  of  order,  and  habitual  subordination  of  his  own  preference  to 
his  sense  of  duty,  would  necessarily  find  himself  from  time  to  time 
compelled  to  exercise  his  authority,  or  to  resist  encroachments.  He 
might,  also,  from  his  more  conspicuous  position,  be  more  exposed  to 
those  animadversions  arising  out  of  political  feeling  to  which  all 
country  gentlemen  are  more  or  less  open,  who  do  not  choose  to  adopt 
the  popular  side.  There  would  not  be  wanting  local  politicians  to 
improve  any  such  dispositions.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
Duke  was  a  just  without  being  exactly  a  kind  landlord,  and  that 
many  of  his  good  acts  fell  on  thankless  soil,  because  the  manner  of 
doing  them  was  not  captivating.  In  no  other  way  can  we  reconcile 
the  statements  we  have  heard ;  one  class  of  persons  declaring  that 
the  Duke  was  an  excellent  landlord  and  much  respected,  while  others 
will  tell  you  that  the  whole  neighbourhood  was  disaflFected  and  discon- 
tented. It  is  certain  that  he  did  much  good,  according  to  his  ideas  ; 
but  there  is  also  reason  to  think  that  his  time  and  attention  were  so 
occupied  by  his  multifarious  duties,  that  many  of  the  minor  kind- 
nesses were  left  unperformed.  Kind  words  often  do  more  than  the 
best  intentions,  or  even  the  most  serviceable  acts.  As  it  was,  the 
Duke  did  his  duty.  After  his  near  relative,  the  Rev.  Gerald  Welles- 
ley,  came  to  reside  on  the  estate  as  the  pastor  of  the  place,  the 
condition  of  the  people  is  said  to  have  improved,  and  their  feeling 
stronger  towards  their  landlord  ;  but  this  may  be  attributed  not  so 
much  to  any  previous  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  Duke,  as  to  the 
effects  of  personal  communication  and  superintendence.  All  that 
good  landlordism  could  do  was  done.  Cottages  were  built,  and  plots 
of  land  were  given,  with  every  facility  for  cultivation.  One  writer, 
quoted  in  '  Wellingtoniana,'  says  that,  '  Go  where  you  would,  whether 
far  or  near,  you  would  nowhere  see  a  body  of  tenantry  better  lodged, 
better  provided  with  offices,  better  supplied  with  all  manner  of  con- 
veniences for  the  prosecution  of  their  calling,  than  those  which  call 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  their  landlord.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the 
Duke's  tenants  were  extremely  well  pleased  with  their  lot ;  indeed,  a 


S58  APPENDIX. 

more  popular  man  than  he,  among  all  classes  of  his  neighbours,  it  would 
be  hard  to  find.' 

"  The  Duke,  besides  paying  the  expense  of  drainage,  used  to  con- 
tribute the  greater  portion  of  the  expense  of  '  chalking'  his  tenants' 
lands.  The  farm-buildings  are  far  superior  to  any  of  those  on  the 
estates  around.  In  this  respect,  the  Duke  was  far  superior  to  the 
neighbouring  landowners.  Wood  and  thatch  gave  place,  on  his  estate, 
to  brick  and  slate  ;  and  from  time  to  time  the  farm-houses  were  re- 
built, or  substantially  repaired.  The  cottages  of  his  labourers  are 
also  unusually  well  built  and  provided,  all  being  done  with  an  especial 
view  to  health  and  comfort.  There  were  no  middlemen  on  the  estate, 
every  tenant  holding  direct  from  the  Duke  himself.  Each  cottage 
has  a  quarter-of-an-acre  allotment  of  garden  ground,  and  for  both,  the 
rental  is  Is.  per  week,  or  21.  12s.  per  year.  This  is  a  lower  rent  than 
is  paid  by  the  Belgian  cottiers  :  they  pay  frequently  a  hundred  francs 
per  year  for  worse  accommodations.  Rent  on  the  Strathfieldsaye 
estate  is  about  il.  an  acre  ;  to  which  has  been  added  7s.  an  acre  for 
tithes  ;  and  for  rates  35.  6d.  an  acre  ;  so  that  the  position  of  the  ten- 
ants, as  tenants,  cannot  but  be  good.  Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  the 
balance  of  testimony  is  in  favour  of  the  Duke  as  a  landlord  ;  and 
much  must  be  allowed  for  the  natural  grumbling  of  people  who  are 
never  contented,  as  also  for  that  instinctive  antagonism,  founded  on 
political  feeling,  which  almost  always  pursues  a  well-known  public 
character  of  opinions  opposed  to  those  of  the  multitude  in  his  country 
home.  It  is  a  gratifying  reflection,  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  in 
this  phase  of  his  character,  is  as  worthy  of  our  respect  as  in  most 
aspects  of  his  civil  life  and  career. 

"THE  DUKE'S  ESTATE  IN  BELGIUK 

"  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  also  a  holder  of  property  in  foreign 
countries.  It  is,  of  course,  generally  known  that  after  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  in  addition  to  the  many  honours  conferred  upon  the  con- 
queror, the  then  King  of  the  Netherlands,  William,  conferred  upon  the 
Duke-Prince  an  estate.  Of  this  he  retained  possession  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life. 

"  The  King  evinced  much  delicacy  in  his  choice  of  the  locality  of 
this  gift.  It  closely  borders  the  scene  of  the  great  victory.  The  do- 
main consists  of  about  1200  hectares,  detached  from  the  celebrated 
forest  of  Soignies.  The  hectare  measures  about  two  acres  and  a  third ; 
so  that  the  extent  of  this  property  in  English  measurement  would  be 
about  2800  acres — rather  more  than  less. 


APPENDIX.  359 

'•  The  domain  is  situated  about  half  way  between  Gembloux  and 
Waterloo,  and  is  in  the  midst  of  a  country  where  agricultural  im- 
provement is  carried  on  to  a  very  great  extent.  The  writer  had  an 
opportunity,  not  long  since,  of  himself  seeing  the  great  activity  of  the 
landed  proprietors,  and  their  anxiety  to  place  their  properties  in  a 
position  to  compete  with  the  English  agriculturists,  who  are  to  them 
objects  of  greater  fear  than  even  the  foreigner  used  to  be  to  the  Eng- 
lish producer. 

"  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  not  a  man  to  be  behind-hand  in  any 
measures  of  improvement.  The  same  spirit  that  led  him  to  improve 
Strathfieldsaye  also  led  him  to  do  his  utmost  with  his  Belgian  estate. 
When  it  first  came  into  his  hands,  it  was  covered  with  more  or  less 
valuable  trees  ;  but  was  otherwise  unfit  for  agricultural  purposes.  Its 
estimated  value  at  that  time  was  about  1,500,000  francs,  or  nearly 
60,000/.  in  English  money. 

"  The  Duke  placed  the  management  of  the  estate  in  the  hands  of 
M.  Halley,  Notaire  Royal  at  Waterloo — a  gentleman  who  has,  with  the 
utmost  ability  and  integrity,  administered  its  affairs.  His  first  efforts 
were  directed  to  clearing  the  land  of  the  wood,  which  was  from  time 
to  time  sold,  and  the  proceeds  applied  to  the  improvement  of  the  pro- 
perty. The  next  step  was  thoroughly  to  drain  the  land,  which  having 
been  done,  it  was  discovered  that  the  soil  was  of  the  best  quality, 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  culture  of  grain  of  all  kinds,  and  also  of 
clover,  flax,  and  hemp.  By  degrees  the  greater  part  has  been  brought 
under  cultivation,  with  very  great  success ;  so  much  so,  that  the  estate 
is  now  valued  at  double  the  estimate  made  in  the  first  instance,  or 
about  120,000/.  English  money.  Nor  is  this  all:  the  gradual  improve- 
ment of  the  soil  gives  reason  to  hope  that  the  value  will  be  still 
greater  hereafter.  Although  the  Duke  of  Wellington  had  not  here, 
as  at  Strathfieldsaye,  the  merit  of  having  personally  superintended 
these  improvements,  it  was  in  consequence  of  his  liberality  and  con- 
fidence that  M.  Halley  was  enabled  to  bring  the  estate  to  its  present 
high  condition  ;  and  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  ranks 
with  the  most  distinguished  of  the  enterprising  landed  proprietors  of 
Belgium. 

"  The  Duke  held,  we  believe,  the  estate  voted  for  him  in  Spain ;  that 
offered  in  Portugal  he  declined." 


360  APPENEIX. 


APPENDIX,  No.  VIII. 


THE  FUNERAL  OF  THE  DUKE. 

Upon  moving  the  House  of  Commons  to  grant  the  necessary  funds 
for  the  expenses  of  the  Public  Funeral,  Mr.  Benjamin  Disraeli,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  delivered  the  following  speech;  the  only 
one  worthy  of  the  occasion  delivered  by  either  House : — 

"  Sir, — The  House  of  Commons  is  called  upon  to-night  to  fulfil  a 
sorrowful,  but  a  noble  duty.  It  has  to  recognise,  in  the  face  of  the 
country  and  the  civilised  world,  the  loss  of  the  most  illustrious  of  our 
citizens,  and  to  offer  to  the  ashes  of  the  great  departed  the  solemn 
anguish  of  a  bereaved  nation.  The  princely  personage  who  has  left 
us  was  born  in  an  age  more  fertile  of  great  events  than  any  of  re- 
corded time.  Of  those  vast  incidents,  the  most  conspicuous  were 
his  own  deeds,  and  these  were  performed  with  the  smallest  means, 
and  in  defiance  of  the  greatest  obstacles.  He  was  therefore  not  only 
a  great  man,  but  the  greatest  man  of  a  great  age.  Amid  the  chaos 
and  conflagration  which  attended  the  end  of  the  last  century,  there 
rose  one  of  those  beings  who  seem  born  to  master  mankind.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  Napoleon  combined  the  imperial  ardour 
of  Alexander  with  the  strategy  of  Hannibal.  The  kings  of  the 
earth  fell  before  his  fiery  and  subtle  genius,  and  at  the  head  of  all 
the  powers  of  Europe,  he  denounced  destruction  to  the  only  land 
which  dared  to  be  free.  The  Providential  superintendence  of  this 
world  seems  seldom  more  manifest  than  in  the  dispensation  which 
ordained  that  the  French  Emperor  and  Wellesley  should  be  born 
in  the  same  year ;  that  in  the  same  year  they  should  have  embraced 
the  same  profession  ;  and  that,  natives  of  distant  islands,  they 
should  both  have  sought  their  military  education  in  that  illustri- 
ous land  which  each  in  his  turn  was  destined  to  subjugate.  Dur- 
ing the  long  struggle  for  our  freedom,  our  glory,  I  may  say  our 
existence,  Wellesley  fought  and  won  fifteen  pitched  battles,  all  of 
the  highest  class,  concluding  with  one  of  those  crowning  victories 
which  give  a  colour  and  aspect  to  history.  During  this  period, 
that  can  be  said  of  him  which  can  be  said  of  no  other  captain- 
that  he   captured  3000  cannon   from   the  enemy,  and  never  lost  a 


APPENDIX.  361 

single    gun.      The    greatness   of   his    exploits    was    only   equalled 
by   the   difficulties   he   overcame.      He   had    to    encounter    at   the 
same    time    a    feeble    Government,   a   factious    opposition,   and    a 
distrustful  people,  scandalous  allies,  and  the  most  powerful  enemy 
in    the     world.      He    gained    victories    with    starving    troops,   and 
carried  on   sieges  without  tools  ;  and  as  if  to   complete   the  fatality 
which    in  this  sense  always  awaited   him,  when  he   had   succeeded 
in  creating  an  army  worthy  of  the  Roman  legions  and  of  himself, 
this   invincible    host  was  broken   up   on   the   eve    of    the   greatest 
conjuncture  of  his  life,  and  he  entered  the  field  of  Waterloo  with  raw 
levies    and    discomfited    allies.      But   the   star  of  Wellesley  never 
paled.     He  has  been  called  fortunate,  for  Fortune  is  a  divinity  that 
ever  favours  those  who  are  alike  sagacious  and  intrepid,  inventive  and 
patient.     It  was  his  character  that   created  his  career.     This  alike 
achieved   his  exploits  and  guarded  him  from  vicissitudes.      It  was 
his    sublime    self-control    that    regulated    his    lofty   fate.      It    has 
been    the   fashion    of    late    years    to   disparage    the    military   cha- 
racter.     Forty    years    of    peace     had     hardly   qualified    us    to    be 
aware  how  considerable   and  how  complex  are   the  qualities  which 
are   necessary   for   the   formation   of  a  great   general.      It   is   not 
enough  to  say  that  he  must  be  an  engineer,  a  geographer,  learned 
in   human   nature,  adroit   in  managing  mankind ;    that  he  must  be 
able  to  perform  the  highest  duties  of  a  Minister  of  State,  and  sink 
to  the  humblest  offices  of  a  commissary  and  a  clerk  ;  but  he  has  to 
display  all  this  knowledge,  and  he  must  do  all  these  things,  at  the 
same  time  and   under  extraordinary  circumstances.      At   the   same 
moment   he  must  think  of   the  eve  and  the  morrow — of  his  flanks 
and   of  his   reserve ;    he   must   carry   with   him   ammunition,   pro- 
visions, hospitals ;  he  must  calculate  at  the  same  time  the  state  of 
the  weather  and  the  moral  qualities  of  man  ;  and  all  these  elements, 
which  are  perpetually  changing,  he  must  combine  amid  overwhelming 
cold  or  overpowering  heat ;  sometimes  amid  famine,  often  amid  the 
thunder  of  artillery.     Behind  all  this,  too,  is  the  ever-present  image 
of  his  country,  and  the  dreadful  alternative  whether  that  country 
is   to    receive   him   with    cypress    or   with   laurel.      But   all   these 
conflicting  ideas  must  be  driven  from  the  mind  of  the  military  leader, 
for  he  must  think — and  not   only  think — he   must  think  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning,  for  on  a  moment  more  or  less  depends  the  fate 
of  the  finest  combination,  and  on  a  moment  more  or  less  depends 
glory  or  shame.      Doubtless    all    this    may   be    done   in   an   ordi- 
nary manner   by  an   ordinary  man ;    as  we  see   every  day  of    our 
lives  ordinary  men  making  successful  Ministers  of  State,  successful 


862  APPENDIX, 

speakers,  successful  authors.  But  to  do  all  this  with  genius  is 
sublime.  Doubtless,  to  think  deeply  and  clearly  in  the  recess  of  a 
cabinet  is  a  fine  intellectual  demonstration,  but  to  think  with  equal 
depth  and  equal  clearness  amid  bullets  is  the  most  complete  exercise 
of  the  human  faculties.  Although  the  military  career  of  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  fills  so  large  a  space  in  history,  it  was  only  a  com- 
paratively small  section  of  his  prolonged  and  illustrious  life.  Only 
eight  years  elapsed  from  Vimiero  to  Waterloo,  and  from  the  date  of 
his  first  commission  to  the  last  cannon  shot  on  the  field  of  battle 
scarcely  twenty  years  can  be  counted.  After  all  his  triumphs 
he  was  destined  for  another  career,  and  if  not  in  the  prime, 
certainly  in  the  perfection  of  manhood,  he  commenced  a  civil  career 
scarcely  less  eminent  than  those  military  achievements  which  will 
live  for  ever  in  history.  Thrice  was  he  the  ambassador  of  his  Sovereign 
to  those  great  historic  Congresses  that  settled  the  afiairs  of  Europe; 
twice  was  he  Secretary  of  State  ;  twice  was  he  Commander-in-Chief; 
and  once  he  was  Prime  Minister  of  England.  His  labours  to  his 
country  lasted  to  the  end.  A  few  months  ago  he  favoured  the  present 
advisers  of  the  Crown  with  his  thoughts  on  the  Burmese  war, 
expressed  in  a  State  paper  characterised  by  all  his  sagacity  and 
experience ;  and  he  died  the  active  chieftain  of  that  famous  army  to 
which  he  has  left  the  tradition  of  his  glory.  There  was  one  passage 
in  the  life  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  which  should  hardly  be  passed 
unnoticed  on  such  an  occasion,  and  in  such  a  scene  as  this.  It  is  our 
pride  that  he  was  one  of  ourselves ;  it  is  our  pride  that  Sir  Arthur 
Wellesley  sat  upon  these  benches.  Tested  by  the  ambition  and  the 
success  of  ordinary  men,  his  career  here,  though  brief,  was  dis- 
tinguished. He  entered  Koyal  councils  and  held  a  high  Ministerial 
post.  But  his  House  of  Commons  success  must  not  be  measured  by 
his  seat  at  the  Privy  Council  and  his  Irish  Secretaryship.  He 
achieved  a  success  here  which  the  greatest  Ministers  and  the  most 
brilliant  orators  can  never  hope  to  rival.  That  was  a  Parliamentary 
success  unequalled  when  he  rose  in  his  seat  to  receive  the  thanks  of 
Mr.  Speaker  for  a  glorious  victory  ;  or,  later  still,  when  he  appeared 
at  the  bar  of  this  House  and  received.  Sir,  from  one  of  your  pre- 
decessors, in  memorable  language,  the  thanks  of  a  grateful  country 
for  accumulated  triumphs.  There  is  one  consolation  which  all 
Englishmen  must  feel  under  this  bereavement.  It  is,  that  they  were  so 
well  and  so  completely  acquainted  with  this  great  man.  Never  did  a 
person  of  such  mark  live  so  long,  and  so  much  in  the  public  eye.  I 
wouJ^  be  bound  to  say  that  there  is  not  a  gentleman  in  this  House 
wh'    las  not  seen  him  ;  many  there  are  who  have  conversed  with  him  ; 


APPENDIX.  363 

some  there  are  who  have  touched  his  hand.  His  countenance  his 
form,  his  manner,  his  voice  are  impressed  on  every  memory,  and  sound 
almost  in  every  ear.  In  the  golden  saloon,  and  in  the  busy  market- 
place, he  might  be  alike  observed.  The  rising  generation  will  often 
recall  his  words  of  kindness,  and  the  people  followed  him  in  the  streets 
with  a  lingering  gaze  of  reverent  admiration.  Who  indeed,  can  ever 
forget  that  classic  and  venerable  head,  white  with  time  and  radiant  as 
it  were  with  glory  ? — 

" StiUchonis  apex,  et  cognita  fulsit 

Canities." 

To  complete  all,  that  we  might  have  a  perfect  idea  of  this  sovereign 
master  of  duty  in  all  his  manifold  oiSces,  he  himself  gave  us  a 
collection  of  administrative  and  military  literature  which  no  age  and 
no  country  can  rival ;  and,  fortunate  in  all  things,  Wellesley  found 
in  his  lifetime  an  historian  whose  immortal  page  already  ranks  with 
the  classics  of  that  land  which  "Wellesley  saved.  The  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington left  to  his  countrymen  a  great  legacy — greater  even  than  his 
glory.  He  left  them  the  contemplation  of  his  character.  I  will  not 
say  his  conduct  revived  the  sense  of  duty  in  England.  I  would  not 
say  that  of  our  country.  But  that  his  conduct  inspired  public  life 
with  a  purer  and  more  masculine  tone  I  cannot  doubt.  His  career 
rebukes  restless  vanity,  and  reprimands  the  irregular  ebullitions  of  a 
morbid  egotism.  I  doubt  not  that,  among  all  orders  of  Englishmen, 
from  those  with  the  highest  responsibilities  of  our  society  to  those  who 
perform  the  humblest  duties — I  dare  say  there  is  not  a  man  who  in 
his  toil  and  his  perplexity  has  not  sometimes  thought  of  the  Duke, 
and  found  in  his  example  support  and  solace.  Though  he  lived  so 
much  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  his  countrymen — though  he 
occupied  such  eminent  posts  and  fulfilled  such  august  duties — it  was 
not  till  he  died  that  we  felt  what  a  place  he  filled  in  the  feelings  and 
thoughts  of  the  people  of  England.  Never  was  the  influence  of  real 
greatness  more  completely  asserted  than  on  his  decease.  In  an  age 
whose  boast  of  intellectual  equality  flatters  all  our  self-complacencies, 
the  world  suddenly  acknowledged  that  it  had  lost  the  greatest  of 
men ;  in  an  age  of  utility  the  most  industrious  and  common-sense 
people  in  the  world  could  find  no  vent  for  their  woe  and  no  repre- 
seatative  for  their  sorrow  but  the  solemnity  of  a  pageant ;  and  we — 
we  who  have  met  here  for  such  different  purposes — to  investigate  the 
sources  of  the  wealth  of  nations,  to  enter  into  statistical  research,  and 
to  encounter  each  other  in  fiscal  controversy — we  present  to  the 
world  the  most  sublime  and  touching  spectacle  that  human   circum- 


364  APPENDIX. 

stances  can  well  produce — the  spectacle  of  a  Senate  mourning  a 
hero  !  "  The  right  hon.  gentleman  concluded  by  moving  an  address — 
"  Humbly  to  thank  her  Majesty  for  having  given  directions  for  the 
public  interment  of  the  mortal  remains  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  in  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Paul,  and  to  assure  her 
Majesty  of  our  cordial  aid  and  concurrence  in  giving  to  the  ceremony 
a  fitting  degree  of  solemnity  and  importance." 

"  Lord  J.  Russell  begged,  with  the  permission  of  the  right  hon. 
gentleman  and  the  House,  to  second  the  motion.  He  did  not  wish  to 
add  a  single  word  to  the  eloquent  terms  in  which  the  right  hon.  gen- 
tleman had  made  his  motion,  as  he  was  sure  the  whole  House  would 
concur  in  the  assurance  he  proposed  to  convey  to  the  Throne. 

"  The  motion  was  then  agreed  to." 


APPENDIX,  NO  IX. 


THE  DUKE  AS  AN  EXAMPLE  TO  INDIAN  OFFICERS. 

Upon  the  last  occasion  of  the  examination  of  the  Addiscombe 
cadets,  preparatory  to  the  issue  of  the  prizes  and  the  allotment  of 
appointments,  Sir  James  Weir  Hogg,  the  Chairman  of  the  East  India 
Directors,  addressed  the  pupils  at  some  length,  dwelling  upon  the 
character  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  holding  him  up  as  an  ex- 
ample to  the  future  Indian  oflScer.     He  said  : — 

"  The  character  of  that  great  man  has  been  so  frequently,  so 
ably  drawn,  that  it  would  be  superfluous  in  me  to  dwell  upon  its 
excellencies.  You  will  find  them  recorded  in  history,  and  reflected 
from  every  page  of  his  own  perspicuous  and  unrivalled  despatches. 
But  there  is  one  consideration  connected  with  the  renown  of  the 
departed  hero  so  cheering  to  those  who  are  striving  for  eminence, 
and  so  full  of  promise  to  those  contending  with  difficulty,  that  it 
must  ever  be  regarded  in  this  institution  with  feelings  of  intense 
interest.  Noble  as  was  his  character,  the  Duke  was  himself  its 
chief  architect.  It  was  not  so  much  to  nature  as  to  mental  disci- 
pline that  he  was  indebted  for  the  high  order— I  may  say  the 
perfection,  of  his  military  attainment.  If  he  took  up  what  was 
intricate,  it  was  with  a  resolution  to  unravel  it ;  if  he  grappled  with 


APPENDIX.  365 

difficulty,  it  was  with  a  determination  to  overcome  it.  He  disdained 
to  be  superficial.  Nothing  short  of  the  complete  mastery  of  a  subject 
could  satisfy  the  craving  of  his  vigorous  mind.  Thus  victory  was 
insured  in  the  study  and  in  the  field.  But  let  me  impress  upon 
your  minds,  my  young  friends,  that  the  illustrious  Duke  never  pre- 
sumed to  place  his  chief  reliance  upon  himself  He  knew  that  upon 
the  proudest  schemes  ever  planned  by  human  wisdom  '•  affiavit  Deiis, 
et  dissipantU7-  ,•"  and  we  find  this  eminent  man,  whose  career  had 
been  distinguished  by  unbroken  success,  humbly  acknowledging  his 
own  insufficiency,  punctual  and^  devotional  in  his  religious  observ- 
ances, and  placing  his  trust  for  the  direction  of  his  conduct  on  the 
Great  Disposer  of  Events.  My  object  in  this  brief  address  has 
been  to  point  out  that  in  the  public  theatre  of  this  great  world  the 
career  of  a  distinguished  individual  is  created  by  his  character  ;  that 
the  formation  of  character  is  almost  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
exertions  of  the  individual ;  that  the  laborious  process  which  it  is 
consequently  necessary  to  undergo  engenders  habits  of  mind  far 
more  valuable  than  those  derived  from  the  gifts  of  natural  genius  ; 
that  the  highest  flight  of  human  wisdom  is  but  weakness  unless 
sustained  from  on  high  ;  and  that  the  noblest  minds  humbly  ascribe 
their  successes,  not  to  their  own  prudence  and  management,  their 
own  strength  and  might,  but  to  the  gracious  bounty  of  Providence. 
All  these  instructive  truths  are  illustrated  so  powerfully  in  the  life 
of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  that  I  gladly  embrace  this  opportunity 
of  pressing  upon  your  attention  the  character  of  the  departed  hero 
as  the  most  valuable  study  for  the  youth  of  this  institution — for  all 
youth,  whatever  their  destination  ;  but  pre-eminently  so  for  those 
preparing  for  the  military  profession.  Gentlemen,  your  destination 
is  India,  and  though  the  illustrious  character  to  which  I  have  called 
your  attention  is  an  example  for  all,  it  is  peculiarly  so  for  you — not 
because  the  earliest  records  of  his  fame  are  associated  with  that 
country,  but  because  his  virtues  are  precisely  those  which  it  is  most 
essential  that  an  Indian  officer,  and  especially  a  young  Indian 
officer,  should  struggle  to  possess.  The  departed  Duke  was,  if  I 
may  so  express  myself,  a  miracle  of  order  and  activity.  Let  his 
example  preserve  you  from  being  seduced  by  the  peculiarities  of 
climate  to  indulge  in  opposite  habits.  Always  liberal,  yet  he  care- 
fully proportioned  his  mode  of  living  to  his  means,  and  rigidly 
restricted  his  expenditure  within  his  income.  Let  this  command 
your  most  careful  attention  and  imitation,  and  thus  avoid  the 
grinding,  humiliating  pressure  of  debt.  The  Duke  was  temperate 
to   the   verge    of    abstemiousness.      Imitate    him    in    this    virtue, 


366  APPENDIX. 

also,  and  the  health  and  unclouded  intellect  which  he  enjoyed  will  be 
yours.  He  was  zealous  to  improve  every  moment  and  turn  it  to  some 
valuable  purpose.  In  ordinary  circumstances  your  professional  avo- 
cations will  not  occupy  the  whole  of  your  time.  Devote  the  leisure 
you  may  possess  to  some  useful  object  that  may  prove  beneficial  to 
yourself  and  to  others  ;  and  to  descend  to  minor  points — minor  in 
appearance,  but  scarcely  so  in  reality — remember  that  the  Duke  was 
remarkable  for  punctuality  in  all  matters,  great  and  small.  Punctu- 
ality is  essentially  a  military  duty  ;  but,  mark  me,  you  will  in  vain 
resolve  to  be  punctual  in  matters  of  moment  if  you  are  not  equally 
resolute  to  be  punctual  in  the  ordinary  engagements  and  transactions 
of  life.  Keep  ever  before  you,  and  attempt  to  imitate,  the  great 
model  I  have  so  imperfectly  endeavoured  to  pourtray,  and  you  may 
at  least  approximate  that  perfection  of  the  military  character  which 
the  departed  hero  so  strikingly  exhibited.  Gentlemen,  I  have  now 
only  to  recommend  to  you  who  remain  here  continued  assiduity — to 
those  about  "to  depart  perseverance  in  the  good  course  here  begun — 
and  to  you  all  I  fervently  wish  that  success  which  I  hope  and  believe 
you  will  endeavour  to  deserve." 


APPENDIX,  No.  X. 


OPINIONS  or  FOEEIGNEES  KEGARDING  THE  BRITISH 
ARMY. 

The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Berlin  correspondent  of  the 
"  Morning  Chronicle."  Interesting  in  itself,  the  opinions  which  it 
maintains,  so  accordant  with  those  of  the  late  Duke,  are  deserving  of 
the  closest  attention.  Something  has  already  been  done  towards  the 
increase  of  the  artillery,  but  more  remains  to  be  accomplished : — 

"  The  distinguished  and  experienced  continental  officers  who 
recently  attended  at  the  mournful  ceremony  of  the  funeral  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  on  the  18th  of  November,  have,  it  is  said  here 
(Berlin),  expressed  themselves  in  terms  of  unqualified  satisfaction  at 
the  courteous  and  hospitable  reception  they  have  met  with  from  her 
Majesty  and  all  classes  and  persons  in  the  British  capital.  They 
have  also  spoken,  according  to  the  same  reports,  in  terms  of  unre- 
stricted praise  of  the  fine  appearance  and  perfect  discipline  of  our 


APPENDIX.  367 

brave  soldiers,  and  of  the  grandeur  of  our  arsenals  and  military  estab- 
lishments. They  have  at  the  same  time  been  struck  with  the 
exiguity  and  inadequacy  of  the  British  field  artillery,  not  only  as 
regards  its  amount,  when  compared  with  the  field  artillery  of  conti- 
nental states,  but  as  regards  its  proportion  to  British  battalions  and 
squadrons,  according  to  the  requirements  of  modern  warfara 
Nothing,  say  these  officers,  can  be  more  expert  than  the  practice  and 
drill,  more  perfect  than  the  appearance  of  the  stalwart  men,  more 
splendid  than  the  horses,  or  more  efficient  than  the  materiel  and 
equipment  of  our  small  array  of  field  batteries  ;  but  they  add,  that  in 
days  when  the  fate  of  battles,  and  thence  of  campaigns,  is  made  de- 
pendent in  a  great  measure  upon  masses  of  guns  and  power  of  calibre, 
it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  and  regret  that  England,  with  all  her 
vast  resources  and  enormous  outlay  for  her  Ordnance  department, 
should  be  unable  to  show  more  field  guns  ready  for  service  than  are 
regarded  as  essential  for  the  peace  establishment  of  continental  states 
of  the  third  or  fourth  class. 

"  It  is  not  a  question  with  them,  and  ought  not  to  be  with  us, 
whether  the  Kussian,  Prussian,  French,  Austrian,  Bavarian,  and  even 
the  Sardinian  and  Neapolitan  armies  are  furnished  with  a  super-abun- 
dance of  field  guns — that  is,  with  guns  in  the  minimum  proportion  of 
about  1  to  each  300  bayonets  and  sabres.  The  point  alone  to  be  con- 
sidered is,  that  such  is  the  average  amount  with  continental  armies, 
whilst  an  English  general,  having  a  division  of  6000  men  under  his 
orders,  may  think  himself  fortunate — as  was  the  case  in  the  Peninsu- 
lar war  up  to  a  late  period — if  he  has  one  brigade  of  six  guns  at  his 
disposal,  or  I  gun  per  1000  men. 

"  Ask  M.  Kossuth  what  was  the  first  thought  and  care  of  the 
Hungarian  war  department,  on  commencing  the  revolutionary  war. 
He  will  reply,  '  To  establish  a  formidable  field  artillery,  and  to  bring 
as  many  guns,  and  those  of  as  heavy  calibre  as  possible,  into  the 
field  ;'  and  further,  that  '  in  many  instances,  as  occurred  at  the  com- 
mencement of  Gorgey's  admirable  retreat  from  Waitzen  upon  Comorn, 
and  thence  to  the  north-east,  the  brunt  of  the  battle  fell  upon  the 
artillery.'  Ask  General  Willisen  what  was  the  main  study  of  his 
head-quarters  during  the  Holstein  rebellion.  He  will  tell  you 
the  same  story ;  and  further,  that  notwithstanding  the  limited  re- 
sources of  the  revolutionary  provinces,  he  would  have  been  enabled 
to  bring  upwards  of  104  field  pieces  into  the  line  of  battle,  had  the 
detestable  design  of  the  rebel  government  to  provoke  another  pitched 
battle,  coute  qui  coute^  been  carried  into  effect.  Turn  to  Sardinia's 
last  campaign  against  the  gallant  Radetzky,  and  similar  attention  to 

3a 


?6S  APPENDIX. 

this  indispensable  point  will  be  shown,  not  only  as  regarded  equality 
in  number  of  guns,  but  in  that  of  calibre. 

"  Ask  the  brave  survivors  of  the  Peninsular  artillery  whether  they 
deemed  it  advantageous  to  the  fate  of  battle,  and  to  the  honour  of 
their  country,  or  even  fair  upon  themselves,  or  upon  their  comrades 
of  other  arms,  that  they  should  be  almost  invariably  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  enemies'  guns  not  only  greatly  superior  in  number  but  in 
calibre — that  is,  exposed  to  meet  the  fire  of  from  eight  to  sixteen 
French  eight-pounders  (equal  to  our  nines.)  with  batteries  of  six 
guns,  and  these,  with  rare  exceptions,  six-pounders.  So  that  they  had 
to  struggle,  not  only  against  superiority  of  number,  but  superiority 
of  range.  Close  fighting  may  neutralise  the  latter  inequality,  but  it 
increases  the  detriment  of  the  first.  Brave  lives  must  then  pay  the 
penalty ;  and  enormous  expenses,  far  exceeding  the  outlay  of  a  few 
more  guns,  must  be  thus  entailed  on  the  country  from  the  loss  of 
'made'  soldiers. 

"  Look  to  the  Prussian  army,  where  every  branch  of  the  service  is 
conducted  with  a  degree  of  economy  the  more  remarkable  when 
results  are  considered,  and  you  will  find  that  each  of  its  nine  corjjs 
d'armee^  including  the  Corps  of  Guards,  is  provided  with  fifteen  field 
batteries  of  eight  guns  each,  two  of  which  batteries  are  horse.  Con- 
sequently, as  each  corps  averages  32,000  men  of  all  arms  on  the  full 
establishment,  the  proportion  is  120  field  guns  for  each  corps,  and  1 
gun  for  each  250  efi'ective  bayonets  and  sabres,  or  a  total  of  1080  field 
pieces  for  the  300,000  men  comprising  the  nine  corps.  Of  these, 
one-half,  that  is,  135  demi-batteries,  or  540  field  pieces,  are  fully 
horsed  and  equipped  at  this  moment  on  the  peace  establishment,  al- 
though the  number  of  bayonets,  sabres,  and  men  of  all  arms  actually 
in  the  ranks  does  not  exceed  130,000.  Matters  are  so  arranged,  also, 
that  the  inefiective  demi-batteries  require  nothing  but  the  reserve 
men  being  called  in,  new  horses  to  be  purchased,  and  practised  horses 
of  each  battery  to  be  distributed  among  the  whole,  to  complete  the 
numbers  to  their  full  and  powerful  war  amount.  England  expects 
her  generals  to  conquer,  and  her  generals  rarely  disappoint  her ;  but 
it  is  a  flagrant  courting  of  sanguinary  sacrifices,  and  of  risk  of  defeat, 
as  well  as  a  deplorable  act  of  false  economy,  to  deprive  our  generals 
of  that  full  amount  of  guns  which  great  and  petty  governments,  as 
well  as  revolutionary  provinces,  consider  to  be  the  sine  qua  non  of 
confidence  and  success. 

"  Continental  military  organisers,  without  exception,  almost,  con- 
sider eight  guns  (two  of  them  howitzers)  to  be  the  most  economical 
and   efficient  mode  of  composing  field   batteries  ;    indeed,   Russian 


APPENDIX.  ^69 

batteries  consist  of  ten  guns.  We  adhere,  in  England,  to  the  system 
of  six  guns.  Now,  what  is  the  result  ? — that  whilst  each  continental 
demi-battery  has  its  howitzer,  one  of  our  demi-batteries  has,  whilst 
the  other  has  not,  this  important  adjunct.  If  all  great  military 
nations,  including  France,  are  agreed  upon  the  efficaciousness  of  the 
larger  cypher,  why  should  we  obstinately  adhere  to  the  lesser  ? " 


APPENDIX,  No.  XL 


THE  DUKE  IN  THE  ESTIMATION  OF  A  FRENCH  WRITER. 
From  the  '■'■  Assemblee  J^ationale." 

Great  men  disappear,  and  every  day  witnesses  the  fall  of  the  last 
illustrious  personages  who  have  been  on  the  stage  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  century.  By  the  death  of  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  M.  de  Metternich  is  the  sole  survivor  of  the  political 
celebrities  who  remodelled  the  map  of  Europe  at  the  Congress  of 
Vienna.  We  have  already  spoke  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and 
have  retraced  the  principal  circumstances  of  his  glorious  career.  If 
we  now  return  to  this  subject,  it  is  to  protest  against  the  bad  taste 
of  some  journals,  who,  in  order  to  flatter  the  cause  which  now 
triumphs,  draw  comparisons  between  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and 
Napoleon  Bonaparte.  We  know  nothing  more  odious  than  the 
judgments  passed  on  illustrious  contemporaries  in  the  point  of  view 
of  a  narrow  and  unjust  patriotism.  This  low  rhetoric  is  of  a  nature 
to  degrade  us  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  who  read  our  journals,  and 
who  take  them  for  the  expression  of  public  opinion.  Every  great 
nation,  we  know,  is  animated  with  a  national  spirit,  which  has  its 
inevitable  prejudices.  France  and  England  will  never  agree  on  the 
manner  of  judging  Napoleon  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  Is  it, 
therefore,  impossible,  by  rising  above  those  passions  of  circumstance, 
to  arrive  at  the  truth  with  the  regard  to  those  two  illustrious  rivals  ? 
The  year  1769  witnessed  several  glorious  births  ;  but  certainly  there 
was  nothing  more  remarkable  in  that  year  than  the  simultaneous 
appearance  on  the  stage  of  the  world  of  the  two  men  who  were  to 
meet  at  Waterloo.  It  appears  that  Providence  proposed  to  balance 
one  by  the  other — to  oppose  to  a  great  genius  one  of  a  quite  contrary 
character — and  to  bring  in  contact  qualities  and  gifts  of  the  most 
dissimilar    kind.      The    principal    characteristics    of  the   genius   of 

VOL.  II.  24 


370  APPENDIX 

Napoleon  were  a  prodigious  and  insatiable  imagination,  aspiring  to 
the  impossible — the  most  vast  and  flexible  faculties,  but  also  a  singular 
mobility  of  ideas  and  impressions.  A  solid  judgment,  a  cool  reason, 
a  wonderful  justness  of  perception,  both  on  the  field  of  battle  and  in 
the  cabinet ;  the  most  penetrating  good  sense,  amounting  to  a  power 
which  became  genius  ;  a  perseverance  which  nothing  could  tire  or 
turn  aside ;  and  the  most  unshakeable  firmness  in  great  dangers — 
such  are  some  of  the  points  which  give  the  Duke  of  Wellington  such 
a  prominent  figure  in  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was 
at  a  giant's  pace  that  Napoleon  ran  through  a  career  which  was  to 
lead  him  for  a  moment  to  the  head  of  human  beings.  By  the  rapidity 
of  his  ascension  he  dazzled  the  world,  and  everything  with  him  took 
the  character  of  a  magic  improvisation.  His  rival,  on  the  contrary, 
rose  by  patient  and  modest  slowness,  by  a  courageous  reflection.  He 
never  drew  back,  however ;  he  always  went  forward,  and  his  glory 
followed  a  progression  which  escaped  all  reverses.  To  speak  warmly 
to  the  imagination  of  men,  to  fascinate  them,  to  excite  their  enthu- 
siasm, and  to  labour  by  every  means  to  inspire  them  with  an 
admiration,  mingled  with  a  little  terror,  was  the  constant  study  of 
Napoleon,  who  was  far  from  disdaining  artifice  to  efiect  his  purpose. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  never  thought  but  of  speaking  to  the 
reason ;  he  was  never  seen  to  do  anything  in  a  theatrical  manner. 
Duty  was  the  only  rule  which  he  admitted,  and  which  he  imposed  on 
others.  He  had  a  horror  of  charlatanism  and  falsehood.  He  never 
sought  to  excite  his  soldiers,  but  sometimes  he  reminded  them  that 
they  had  to  shed  their  blood  because  it  was  their  duty.  No  astonish- 
ment will  therefore  be  felt  at  the  difi"erence  in  the  eloquence  and  the 
style  of  the  two  generals.  In  the  proclamations  of  Napoleon,  par- 
ticularly in  those  of  the  campaigns  of  Italy,  is  to  be  found  a  powerful 
orator,  who,  in  the  manner  of  the  ancients,  engraves  great  images  on 
the  minds  of  those  to  whom  he  addresses  himself.  The  orders  of  the 
day,  the  despatches,  and  the  reports  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  were 
written  with  a  cold  and  austere  simplicity.  Nothing  is  given  for 
efiect — everything  is  positive  and  true. 

The  Emperor  Napoleon  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  were  not  only 
great  captains,  they  have  also  been  both  called  on  to  play  great 
political  parts.  History  will  perhaps  decide  that,  in  Bonaparte,  the 
organiser  was  equal  to  the  conqueror.  It  must  not,  however,  be 
forgotten  that  the  possession  and  the  use  of  the  sovereign  power 
smoothed  down  many  obstacles.  With  despotism  great  things  are 
often  easy.  It  was  in  a  free  country  that  during  thirty-seven  years, 
from  1815  to  1852,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  enjoyed  an  unequalled 


APPENDIX.  Bl\ 

influence  and  authority.  Placed  by  his  birth,  and  more  particularly 
by  his  glory,  at  the  head  of  the  English  aristocracy,  he  belonged, 
truly  speaking,  to  no  party.  It  may  be  said  that,  in  the  bosom  of 
the  constitutional  liberty  of  his  country,  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
exercised  a  kind  of  moral  dictatorship.  The  personal  force  which  he 
was  able  to  give  or  to  withhold  from  the  Government  was  immense. 
Although  naturally  Conservative  by  his  principles  and  the  nature  of 
his  genius,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  did  not,  however,  hesitate  to 
propose  to  the  Crown  and  to  Parliament  the  emancipation  of  the 
Catholics.  In  his  eyes  that  reform  was  politic,  just,  and  necessary. 
But  his  opinion  was  very  different  with  regard  to  Parliamentary 
Reform,  which  appeared  to  him  to  change  the  political  constitution 
of  old  England,  and  to  threaten  her  with  serious  dangers.  AVas  he 
mistaken  ?  The  future  alone  can  decide.  We  only  now  witness  the 
first  consequences  of  Parliamentary  Reform,  and  twenty  years  have 
scarcely  passed  since  the  Duke  of  Wellington  opposed  it  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  We  must  wait  for  a  longer  trial ;  remarking,  how- 
ever, that  the  symptons  already  seen  are  far  from  impeaching  the 
foresight  of  the  illustrious  statesman.  If  at  any  future  period  England 
should  find  herself  exposed  to  any  great  danger,  either  at  home  or 
abroad,  her  ideas  would  certainly  revert  to  the  man  who  for  sixty 
years  served  and  defended  her.  She  will  appreciate  still  more  that 
wise,  firm,  and  sober  genius,  who  never  allowed  himself  either  to  be 
intimidated  or  to  be  excited,  and  whose  moderation  was  rewarded  by 
such  a  fine  destiny.  The  end  and  fall  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  are 
the  last  point  of  contrast  which  we  pointed  out  at  the  outset.  The 
Emperor  fell,  the  scaffolding  crumbled  away,  and  he  who  raised  it 
with  heroic  temerity  only  survived  his  irreparable  shipwreck  for  a 
few  years  in  exile.  His  fortunate  rival,  after  a  day  by  which  the 
face  of  Europe  was  changed,  saw  open  before  him  another  career, 
which  procured  for  him  a  new  glory  between  peace  and  liberty,  and 
which  has  only  just  finished  in  the  midst  of  the  unanimous  regret 
and  the  gratitude  of  a  great  country.  Is  not  such  a  lesson  a  striking 
proof  of  the  final  ascendancy  of  reason  and  of  good  sense  over  all 
the  boldness  and  the  flights  of  imagination  and  of  genius  ?  The 
contrast  of  these  two  destinies,  and  these  two  great  historical  figures, 
has  appeared  to  us  too  instructive  not  to  be  rapidly  sketched ;  and, 
in  drawing  the  comparison,  we  have  set  passion  aside,  and  have  only 
sought  for  truth. 


312  APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX,  No.  XII. 


A  CLERGYMAN'S  ESTIMATE  OF  THE  DUKE'S  CHARACTER. 

"  With  an  intellect  unimpaired,  tranquilly  and  silently  the  Duke 
bade  adieu  to  all  earthly  scenes,  and  changed  immortal  fame  for  a 
grander  immortality  in  store.  Like  David,  he  died  in  a  good  old  age, 
full  of  days,  riches,  and  honour. 

"  Yes,  my  brethren,  the  greatest  military  chief  that  ever  reflected 
lustre  upon  the  annals  of  England  is  gone.  He  who  scarce  ever 
advanced,  but  to  be  victorious — never  retreated  but  to  eclipse  the 
glory  of  his  advance — who  never  exhibited  the  arrogance  of  the 
conqueror,  but  rigidly  observed  the  laws  of  justice  and  moderation — 
whose  campaigns  were  sullied  by  no  unnecessary  cruelties — whose 
triumphs  were  followed  by  no  curses — whose  laurels  were  entwined 
with  amaranth  of  righteousness — whose  star  was  all  lustrous,  and 
never  paled — whose  name  alone  is  an  imperishable  monument — is 
departed  from  us.  He  who,  to  use  the  language  of  an  eminent  and 
rival  statesman,  after  having  taken  the  sword  which  gained  inde- 
pendence to  Europe,  rallied  the  nations  around  him  and  saved  all  by 
his  example ;  he  who  showed  the  same  moderation  in  peace,  as  he 
had  shown  greatness  in  war,  and  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to 
the  cause  of  the  internal  and  external  peace  of  the  country  which  he 
had  so  faithfully  served ;  he  who  had  equal  authority  with  the 
Sovereign  and  with  the  Senate  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and 
carried  on  the  service  of  one  of  the  most  important  departments  of 
the  State,  with  unexampled  regularity  and  success,  even  to  the  last 
moments  of  his  life ;  he  whose  devotion  to  his  country  was  sincere 
and  unceasing — who  on  every  occasion  acted  with  honest  and  upright 
determination  for  the  benefit  of  that  country — whose  devoted  loyalty 
made  him  ever  anxious  to  serve  the  ci-own,  but  never  induced  him  to 
conceal  from  his  Sovereign  that  which  he  believed  to  bo  the  truth ;  he, 
whose  temperance  enabled  hira  at  all  times  to  give  his  whole  mind 
and  his  faoulties  to  the  services  which  he  was  called  upon  to  perform ; 
he,  whose  dominant  passion  was  love  to  his  Queen  and  country, 
whose  guiding  star  was  truth  and  duty,  which  only  led  him  through 


APPENDIX.  878 

the  path  of  honour;  this  mighty  man,  this  illustrious  chief,  this 
veritable  hero  has  fallen  before  one  stronger  than  he,  and  his  body  is 
now  mingling  with  the  dust,  whilst  his  spirit  has  flown  to  the  God 
who  gave  it. 

"  Here  we  might  perhaps  leave  the  subject,  but  the  minister  of  the 
Gospel  would  fail  in  the  most  important  part  of  his  duty  were  he  to 
satisfy  himself  with  the  task  of  the  biographer,  and  not  to  consider 
the  life  and  death  of  this  illustrious  man  as  well  in  relation  to  his  own 
eternal  well-being,  as  in  the  eflfect  it  ought  to  produce  on  the  minds  of 
all  who  survive  him.  We  have  seen  that  all  his  riches,  all  his  honours, 
all  his  glory,  could  not  spare  him  from  the  common  lot  of  man — and 
all  our  tears,  all  our  wishes,  all  our  prayers  can  now  avail  him  nothing 
— and  how  distressing,  how  heartrending  would  it  be,  if  we  could  for 
a  moment  fear  that  he  who  had  gained  all  other  riches,  had  lost  the 
pearl  of  greatest  price — that  he  who  had  saved  and  delivei'ed  so  many 
in  this  world,  was  himself  not  saved  in  another — that  he  who  had  so 
faithfully  served  his  earthly  Sovereign  had  neglected  his  heavenly 
One — and  that  he  who  had  obtained  the  brightest  coronet  below,  had 
failed  to  obtain  the  crown  of  glory  above. 

"  These  fears,  however,  my  friends,  I  trust  we  need  not  indulge ; 
on  the  contrary,  there  is  every  reason  to  hope  and  believe  that  he 
had  made  his  peace  with  his  maker,  and  that  he  who  so  carefully 
fulfilled  all  his  temporal  duties  had  not  neglected  the  all-important 
realities  of  eternity.  It  has  caused  feeling  of  greater  delight  than 
the  rehearsal  of  all  his  victories,  to  be  informed  that  those  who  knew 
him  best  speak  of  his  regular,  consistent,  and  unceasing  piety — of  his 
unostentatious  but  abounding  charity,  and  tell  us  that  he  consecrated 
each  day  to  God ;  that  at  the  early  service  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  he 
(who  was  no  hypocrite,  never  did  anything  for  a  mere  pretence,  who 
scorned  the  very  idea  of  deceit)  was  regularly,  almost  alone,  con- 
fessing his  sins,  acknowledging  his  guilt,  and  entreating  mercy  in  the 
beautiful  words  of  our  own  evangelical  Liturgy,  not  for  his  own 
merits,  but  for  the  merits  of  that  Saviour  who  bled  and  died  for  him. 
It  is  not  then  because  of  the  height  of  his  position — the  magna- 
nimity of  his  character — the  temperance  of  his  habits — the  merciful- 
ness of  his  disposition — the  singleness  and  purity  of  his  purpose — 
the  obedience  to  what  his  conscience  told  him  to  be  right — 
his  unhesitating  and  inviolable  truth — or  on  his  devotion  to  his 
country,  that  we  place  our  hopes  of  his  eternal  salvation,  but  be- 
cause we  believe  that  he  knew  these  were  only  valuable  as  proofs  of 
his  faith — all  of  which  he  cast  at  the  feet  of  his  Saviour — and  that 
he  placed  all  his  hopes  of  future  glory  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  beloved 


374  APPENDIX. 

Son  of  God,  who  descended  from  heaven  to  bring  his  people  to  his 
Father's  right  hand,  and  died  the  accursed  death  of  the  cross,  that 
they  might  live  for  ever. 

"  But  whilst  we  are  grateful  to  Almighty  God  for  having  raised  up 
in  the  hour  of  our  country's  need  one  qualified  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency, and  to  defend  it  from  the  dangers  with  which  it  was  sur- 
rounded,— whilst  we  sorrow  not  as  men  without  hope  for  him  whom 
we  trust  to  have  departed  in  the  Lord — let  us  not  forget,  that  the 
good  conduct  of  great  men  is  an  example  for  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  that  most  important  lessons  are  taught  not  only  to  the  noble 
and  the  great,  but  even  the  humblest  among  us.  by  the  life  and 
death  of  the  departed  hero." — Sermon  on  tlie  "  Might  and  Majesty 
of  Death^^  suggested  by  tJie  death  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  :  by  the 
Rev.  J.  A.  Emerton^  D.D. 


APPENDIX,  No.  XIII. 


THE  ANCESTORS  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  ArchEeological  Society  of  Kilkenny,  a 
paper  was  read  showing  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  ancestral  con- 
nexion of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  The  civility  which  suggested  the 
transmission  of  the  document  to  the  author  of  this  biography,  fully 
justifies  the  republication  of  the  paper  in  these  pages,  irrespective  of 
the  intrinsic  interest  of  the  subject : — 

"THE  COWLETS  OF  KILKENNY. 

"  An  attempt  to  trace  the  history  of  the  family  of  the  Cowleys  of 
Kilkenny  would  at  any  time  suitably  occupy  the  attention  of  the 
local  Archaeological  Society,  but  owing  to  the  circumstance  that  of 
that  family,  the  great  Duke  of  Wellington — so  lately  deceased,  and 
for  whose  obsequies  the  British  nation  now  makes  such  splendid 
preparation — was  the  lineal  descendant  and  most  distinguished  rep- 
resentative, perhaps  a  more  general  interest  may  be  expected  for  the 
subject. 

"In  Archdall's  edition  of  '  Lodge's  Peerage,'  published  in  1789, 
when  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  twenty  years  of  age,  the  pedigree 


APPENDIX,  375 

of  bis  father,  the  Earl  of  Mornington,  commences  with  this  statement: 
— '  The  family  of  Cowley,  Cooley,  or  as  it  is  now  written,  Colley, 
derives  its  origin  from  the  county  of  Kutland,  whence  they  removed 
into  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  in  whose  twenty- 
second  year  his  Majesty  granted  to  "Walter  and  Robert  Cowley,  of 
Kilkenny,  gentlemen,  during  their  respective  lives,  the  office  of  Clerk 
of  the  Crown  in  Chancery.'  This  assertion  is  altogether  incorrect ; 
the  date  of  the  grant  of  the  clerkship  of  the  Crown  instead  of  the 
twenty-second  should  be  the  twenty-sixth  year  of  Henry  VIII.;  ^  and 
not  only  do  we  find  some  of  the  members  of  the  Government  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  writing  of  Walter  Cowley  as  an  Irishman,  and 
a  worthy  example  to  the  other  natives,  but  we  have  evidence  that  the 
family  was  in  Ireland,  and  it  would  seem  that  they  were  settled  iu 
Kilkenny  also,  at  least  a  century  before  the  alleged  period  of  their 
removal  from  Rutlandshire.  A  list  of  the  corporate  officers  of  Kil- 
kenny contained  in  a  book  formerly  preserved  amongst  the  municipal 
archives,  but  now  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Walter  Betham,  Ulster 
King  of  Arms,  states  that  Walter  Cowley  was  one  of  the  two  port- 
rieves  (an  office  resembling  that  of  the  more  modern  sheriffs),  of 
Kilkenny,  in  the  year  1407.  The  record  referred  to  was  compiled 
from  the  documents  in  the  possession  of  the  corporation,  by  Alder- 
man Richard  Connell,  in  the  year  1693 ;  and  it  is  proper  I  should 
state  that,  having  consulted  the  '  Liber  Primus,'  or  most  early  of  the 
city  books,  now  in  the  custody  of  the  town-clerk,  I  find  the  following 
entry  under  the  date  of  9th  Henry  IV.  (1407),  from  which  the 
accuracy  of  Council's  list  may  be  questioned : — '  Walterus  Cowylfy 
fuit  propositus  infra  muros  Kilkennie  tempore  estatis.'  The  name, 
Walter,  it  will  be  found,  occurs  frequently  amongst  the  Cowleys  of 
Kilkenny,  but  whether  the  Portrieve  of  1407  was  one  of  that  family, 
notwithstanding  the  statement  of  Alderman  Connell,  who  seems  to 
have  been  an  antiquary  and  herald  of  no  mean  abilities  or  research, 
I  think  cannot  be  positively  asserted.  However,  as  Henry  VIII.  did 
not  ascend  the  throne  till  1509,  sufficient  evidence  can  be  adduced 
to  show  that,  during  the  previous  century,  the  Cowleys  were  in  this 
country.  In  1425,  John  Cowley  was  appointed,  by  an  order  dated  at 
Drogheda  on  the  1 1th  of  May,  a  commission  to  take  up  provisions 
for  the  use  of  James  Butler,  Earl  of  Ormonde,  and  his  army  (Rot. 
Pat.,  3  Henry  IV.,  m.  114).  In  1496,  John  Cowley  was  granted  the 
office  of  Ganger  of  Ireland  during  the  royal  pleasure'  (Rot.  Pat.,  II 

"  1  The  Liber  Munerum  quotes  the  patent  as  being  dated  January  1 1th,  1535. 
2  The  fami.'y  seems  to  have  been  connected  with  the  Excise  from  a  very  early  period.    On 


376  APPENDIX. 

Henry  VII.,  m.  2).  In  1505,  Robert  Cowley  was  appointed  CustomeT 
of  the  Port  of  Dublin  (Rot.  Mem.,  20  Henry  VII.) ;  and  as  it  appears 
he  still  filled  that  office  in  1520  (Rot.  Mem.,  11,  12  Henry  VIII.,  m. 
6),  this  would  appear  to  be  the  same  Robert  Cowley  of  Kilkenny, 
who  was  appointed  one  of  the  Clerks  of  the  Crown  in  Chancery,  as 
referred  to  by  Lodge,  and  who  was  the  first  member  of  his  family  that 
made  a  figure  in  the  politics  of  the  times,  and  rose  to  any  station  of 
importance  in  the  State. 

"  From  the  statement  of  Lodge,  that  this  family  was  descended  from 
'  Walter  and  Robert  Cowley,  of  Kilkenny,  gentlemen,'  the  natural  in- 
ference would  be  that  Walter,  as  being  first-named,  was  the  elder  of 
the  two ;  but  such  was  not  the  ease.  Robert  was  his  father,  and  he 
is  given  the  prior  place  in  the  grants  of  the  various  public  offices 
which  they  held  conjointly.  This  Robert  Cowley  being  a  lawyer  of 
much  professional  skill  and  ability,  resident  in  Kilkenny,  was  selected 
by  Piers,  Earl  of  Ormonde,  as  his  legal  adviser  and  agent,  and  having 
brought  up  his  son  Walter  to  the  law  also,  they  both  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence and  profited  by  the  weighty  political  influence  of  the  Or- 
monde family,  through  means  of  which  they  were  gradually  advanced 
from  minor  situations  to  important  public  offices.  On  the  11th  of 
January,  1535,  they  were  created  joint  Clerks  of  the  Crown  in  Chan- 
cery as  already  mentioned,  In  1535,  they  were  also  conjointly  ap- 
pointed customers,  collectors,  and  receivers  of  the  Customs  of  the  city 
and  port  of  Dublin,  for  their  lives,  at  a  fee  of  10/.  per  annum.  The 
same  year  Walter  was  granted  the  same  office  for  the  port  of  Drog- 
heda,  at  a  like  fee.  In  1537,  September  7th,  Walter  was  elevated  to 
the  dignity  of  Principal  Solicitor,  as  it  is  now  termed  Solicitor-General 
of  Ireland,  with  a  fee  of  10/.  Irish.  On  the  10th  of  January,  1538, 
Robert  was  created  Master  of  the  Rolls;  on  the  7th  of  May,  1540, 
he  was  made  a  commissioner  for  selling  the  lands  of  the  dissolved  ab- 
beys, and  on  the  30th  September  in  that  year,  one  of  the  keepers  of 
the  peace  within  the  county  of  Meath,  with  power  to  enforce  the  ob- 
servation of  the  statutes  of  Dublin  and  Kilkenny. 

'•  From  the  '  State  Papers,'  containing  the  Irish  correspondence 
during  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  published  by  the  English 
Record  Commission,  we  are  enabled  to  glean  information  sufficient 
to  show  that  the  legal  and  political  abilities  of  Robert  and  Walter 
Cowley  were  largely  employed  by  the  Irish  Government  and  the 
principal  English  statesmen  of  the  period.     In   1520,  we  have  the 


the  5th  of  July.  1831,  the  King  granted  to  Thomas  CoUey  the  office  of  ganger  of  wines  in  England, 
Ireland,  and  Wales.    (Rot.  Pat.,  20  Edward  III.,  m.  83.) 


APPENDIX.  377 

first  notice  of  Robert  being  in  England  on  the  business  of  the  State  ; 
and  the  Lord-Deputy,  Surrey,  in  ^vriting  to  Cardinal  Wolsey,  on  the 
6th  of  September  in  that  year,  to  inform  him  that  the  Earl  of 
Kildare,  then  in  London  under  arrest  for  high  treason,  had  sent  over 
the  Abbot  of  Monaster  Evyn  and  William  Delahide,  as  emissaries  to 
stir  the  O'Carrolls  to  revolt,  mentions — 'and  the  said  Abbot  and 
Delahide  came  both  together  out  of  England,  and  my  servaunt 
Cowley,  in  oon  ship,  sixteen  days  afore  Ester."  In  1524,  we  have 
Robert  Cowley  again  in  London  aiding  the  Lord  James  Butler  in 
the  carrying  out  of  some  delicate  political  manoeuvres  for  the  Earl  of 
Ormonde,  whose  enemies,  the  Geraldines,  the  Lord-Deputy  was  then 
inclined  to  favour ;  and  the  Earl  writes  to  his  son  informing  him  of 
the  various  representations  which  he  wishes  to  be  made  to  the  King 
and  Wolsey,  which  '  my  trusty  servaunt,  Robert  Couly,  shall  penn 
and  endite.  *****  Jq  any  wise,  slope  not  on  this  matier, 
and  if  ye  do,  the  most  losses  and  trouble  willbe  yours,  in  tyme 
commying.  Immediat  upon  the  receipt  hereof,  sonde  for  Robert 
Couly,  and  cause  hym  to  seche  (seek)  remedies  for  the  same.'  The 
Cowleys  were,  as  in  duty  bound,  staunch  adherents  of  their  patrons, 
the  Ormonde  family,  in  all  the  vicissitudes  of  their  feud,  then  at  its 
height,  with  the  House  of  Kildare.  In  a  long  list  of  charges,  which 
the  Earl  of  Kildare  preferred  through  Lord  Leonard  Grey,  to  the 
King,  against  the  Earl  of  Ormonde,  in  1525,  one  is — '  Item,  he  hath 
used  to  sende  over  see,  unto  oon  Robert  Couly,  by  whom  diverse 
untrothes  had  been  proved,  to  indite  complaintes,  at  his  owne  pleasure 
or  discression,  against  the  said  Erie  of  Kildare ;  having  with  hym  a 
signet  of  the  said  Erie  of  Ormondes,  to  seal  the  same.'  In  1528,  we 
have  Robert  Cowley  corresponding  with  Cardinal  Wolsey,  giving 
him  private  information  as  to  the  doings  of  the  various  Irish  Govern- 
ment officers ;  he  is  very  free  in  offering  suggestions  as  to  the 
arrangements  of  the  Lord  Deputy  and  his  adherents,  which  he  con- 
siders ought  to  be  interfered  with,  but  his  partizanship  for  the 
Ormonde  family  is  evident  throughout,  and  he  loses  no  opportunity 
of  putting  in  such  recommendations  for  his  patrons  as  the  following  : 
— 'Pleas  it  your  Grace  to  be  advertised,  that  where  my  Lord  of 
Ossory,  and  his  son,  according  to  theire  bounden  duetis,  attende 
your  gracious  pleasure  and  deliberacion  concernyng  the  affayres  of 
Irland  others  ryne  in  at  the  wyndow  the  next  wey,  making  immediat 
pursuytis  to  the  Kinges  Highnes,  where  they  obteyne  all  theire 
desiris  without  any  stopp  or  stay,  by  moans  of  Anthony  Knevet,  and 
others ;  wherof  wol  ensue  the  destruccion  of  Irland,  without  your 
gracious  spedy  redress.'     After  the  disgrace  and  downfall  of  Wolsey, 


S78  APPENDIX. 

both  Robert  and  "Walter  Cowley  kept  up  a  constant  correspondence 
with  Cromwell,  the  Chief  Minister  of  the  Crown,  and  Sir  Thomas 
Wryothesley,  the  King's  secretary,  reporting  upon  the  condition  of 
Ireland,  and  the  measures  of  the  Government,  but  always  having  a 
favourable  word  to  say  for  the  Earl  of  Ormonde.  We  have  frequent 
propositions  sent  over  under  the  title  of  '  Devices  of  Robert  Cowley, 
for  the  furtherance  of  the  Kinges  Majestes  affayres  in  his  Graces 
land  of  Irland  ;'  he  enters  with  alacrity  into  the  views  of  Cromwell 
respecting  the  suppression  of  monastic  houses,  and  seeks  to  hasten 
in  every  way  the  issuing  of  the  order  for  dissolving  the  Irish  abbeys 
— a  matter  in  which  he  was  largely  interested,  not  alone  as  being 
appointed  a  Commissioner  for  letting  the  lands  of  the  religious 
houses  to  tenants  under  the  Crown,  but  inasmuch  as  he  procured 
the  farming  of  the  manor  of  Holmpatrick  for  himself,  which  he  held 
at  121.  5s.  'id.  per  annum.'  He  subscribes  his  letter — 'Your  Lord- 
ships moost  bounden  Bedisman,  Robert  Cowley ;'  the  superscription 
is — '  To  my  Lord  Pryvee  Scales  Honourable  Lordship.'  On  the 
lOth  August,  1538,  Thomas  Allan  writes  to  Cowley,  informing  him 
of  the  death  of  '  the  Lord  of  Trymlettison,  late  the  Kingis  Chan- 
celour,'  mentioning  that  his  own  brother,  John  Allan,  then  Master 
of  the  Rolls,  expects  to  succeed  to  the  office,  adding  — '  Master 
Cowley,  if  the  Kingis  plesur  shalbe  to  assigne  and  make  him 
Chauncelour,  I  know  right  well  ye  shalbe  Master  of  the  Rolles, 
being  worthiest  thereof  in  this  land.  Both  he  and  I,  onfaynedlie, 
shalbe  as  glad  of  your  preferrement  thereto,  as  any  too  lyving.'  The 
letter  is  addressed — '  To  my  wurshipful  friende  and  good  Master, 
Master  Robert  Cowley.'  We  have  seen  already  that  Allan's  antici- 
pations were  fulfilled  ;  and  soon  after  we  have  Robert  Cowley  signing 
his  name  to  the  correspondence  of  the  Irish  Government,  as  one  of 
the  Privy  Council. 

''  In  the  mean  time  Walter  Cowley  was  pushing  himself  forward 
in  Ireland,  although  his  attachment  to  the  Ormonde  interest  caused 
him  to  be  no  favourite  with  the  Lord-Deputy,  Leonard  Grey,  who, 

1  Cowley,  however,  appears  to  have  been  a  more  conscientious  courtier  than  most  of  those 
who  farmed  the  Abbey  lands  from  the  Crown.  We  And  him  writing  thus  to  Cromwell  on 
Lady-Day,  1539: — "Sir,  we  bee  so  covetous  insaciably  to  have  so  many  farmes,  every  of  us, 
lor  our  singular  profittes,  that  we  have  extirped  and  put  awaye  the  men  of  warro  that  shuld 
defend  the  countrey ;  and  all  is  like  to  go  to  wrack,  except  an  order  be  takyn  the  rather  as  to 
have  a  survey,  whate  I  and  every  other  have  in  fees  and  farmes,  and  every  oon  that  have  such 
fees  and  farmes  to  be  taxed  to  fj-nde  a  certain  nombre  of  hable  men,  to  serve  the  King,  and 
to  defend  the  countrey,  uppon  great  payns.  ....  Lett  every  of  us  beare  his  burden  of 
eowernes  with  swetenes,  and  not  to  cast  aU  the  burden  in  the  Kinges  charge,  to  enryche 
our  silvis." 


APPENDIX.  879 

on  the  31st  October,  1536,  in  writing  to  Cromwell,  complains  of  him 
amongst  others,  as  sowing  dissensions  amongst  the  officers  of  the 
Crown ;  and  again,  on  the  24th  of  November  in  the  same  year,  de- 
nounces '  Young  Cowley,  Cusake,  and  others,  which  conforth  togethers, 
and  wolde  raile  and  jest  at  their  pleasures,  divising  how  to  put  men 
in  displeasures  :  and  as  for  me,  yea,  openly,  dayly  at  Maister  Tresorers 
borde,  I  was  made  theire  gesting  stocke.'  However,  in  1539,  three 
members  of  the  Privy  Council  specially  recommend  Walter  Cowley 
to  Cromwell's  notice,  in  a  report  which  they  made  to  him  upon  re- 
turning from  a  tour  on  which  they  had  proceeded  through  '  the  four 
shires  above  the  Barrow'  for  the  purpose  of  holding  sessions,  collect- 
ing first  fruits,  and  enforcing  the  religious  changes  introduced  by  the 
King.     They  state  that — 

"'Walter  Cowley,  the  Kingis  Solicitor,  attending  upon  us  this 
jornay,  hath,  for  his  parte,  right  well  and  dilegentlie  set  furthe  the 
Kingis  causes  ;  so  as,  every  of  ther  demeanors  waid  by  us,  we  have 
thought  we  could  no  les  do,  than  to  commende  the  same  to  your  good 
Lordship  :  for  ther  been  so  many  evill  in  their  partis,  or  at  least  few 
or  non  given  to  soke  knowledge  and  civilitie,  that  we  be  gladd  to  see 
oon  of  the  contrary  sorte,  and  be  no  les  redy  to  incorage  and  set 
forthe  soche  oon  in  his  good  doingis.' 

"  He  was  also  on  more  than  one  occasion  despatched  to  England 
to  transact  weighty  affairs  for  the  Irish  Government,  and  was  en- 
trusted with  the  charge  of  treaasure  to  be  conveyed  back  for  the 
King's  service  in  Ireland.  In  December,  1638,  the  treasure  given 
into  his  care  was  conveyed  in  two  hampers  on  horses  from  London  to 
Holyhead,  and  thence  shipped  to  Dalkey  ;  the  expenses  of  the  journey 
being  711.  155.;  and  again  on  the  5th  of  February,  1540,  he  left 
London,  having  with  him  a  sum  of  2256/.  for  the  Irish  Government, 
and  accomplished  a  journey,  which  now  takes  scarcely  a  day,  in  exactly 
one  month,  arriving  at  Dublin  on  the  5th  of  March,  with  his  charge ! 
During  this  period  frequent  letters  were  forwarded  by  the  Earl  of 
Ormonde,  and  his  son,  Lord  James,  to  the  Cowleys,  when  in  London, 
directing  them  as  to  representations  to  be  made  to  the  King  and 
Cromwell  against  the  Geraldines  and  their  abettors.  The  Earl 
always  addressed  his  letters  '  To  my  trusty  servaunt,  Robert  Cowley, 
at  London,'  or  '  To  my  trusty  servaunt,  Waltier  Cowley,'  except  in 
one  instance,  when  in  addressing  an  epistle  to  them  both,  on  the  16th 
July,  1538,  he  directs  it — '  To  my  right  lovying  Counsailours,  Robert 
Cowley  and  Walter  Cowley,  lyjng  at  Mr.  Jenynges,  besid  the  Crossid 
Freres,  at  London.'  Lord  James  Butler,  however,  appears  to  have  ad- 
mitted them  to  greater  familiarity,  as  he  addressed  his  letters — '  To  my 


S80  APPENDIX. 

assurid  friende,  Robert  Cowley  at  London  ;'  and  after  his  father's 
death,  when  he  himself  became  Earl  of  Ormonde,  in  writing  to  the 
King's  Secretary  on  the  21st  of  October,  1539,  he  speaks  of  'my 
friende  Waltier  Cowley.'  Their  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
Butler  family,  however,  was  ultimately  the  cause  of  a  temporary  but 
serious  reverse  of  fortune  to  the  Cowleys.  Earl  James,  though  he 
wedded  the  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Desmonde,  was  as  implacable  an 
enemy  of  the  Geraldines  as  was  his  father,  Earl  Pierce,  who  had 
married  the  sister  of  the  Earl  of  Kildare ;  and  Sir  Anthony  St.  Leger, 
who  succeeded  to  the  government  of  Ireland  after  the  disgrace  and 
execution  of  Lord  Leonard  Grey,  having  pursued  the  policy  of  his 
predecessor  with  respect  to  patronising  the  Earl  of  Desmonde, 
Robert  Cowley  so  warmly  joined  the  Earl  of  Ormonde  in  opposing 
the  views  of  the  Lord-Deputy  and  thwarting  his  plans,  that  an  open 
rupture  ensued.  Cowley,  without  asking  for  licence  to  absent  him- 
self from  his  official  duties  in  Ireland,  repaired  clandestinely  to 
London,  with  the  view  of  prejudicing  the  Court  against  St.  Leger,  by 
his  report  of  transactions  in  Dublin,  and  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
King  in  which,  amongst  other  matters,  he  charged  the  Lord-Deputy 
with  having  said  that  '  Henry  VII.,  at  his  first  entering  into  Eng- 
land, had  but  a  very  slender  title  to  the  crown  till  he  married  Queen 
Elizabeth.'  The  members  of  the  Irish  Privy  Council,  however,  sent 
over  a  counter-report,  in  which  the  blame  was  thrown  on  Cowley 
himself,  and  the  result  was,  that  on  the  6th  of  October,  1542,  the 
Council  of  England  committed  him  to  the  Fleet  prison,  having  pre- 
viously dismissed  him  from  his  office  ;  and  we  have  the  King  thus  ad- 
dressing a  letter  on  the  subject  to  the  Lord-Deputy  and  Council-  of 
Ireland  : — 

"  '  And  whereas  it  appearcth  unto  us,  that  Robert  Cowley,  late 
Maister  of  the  Rolles  there,  at  his  late  repayr  hither,  departed  out  of 
that  our  realm  without  the  lycence  of  you,  our  Deputye,  having  no 
cause  or  matyr  to  enforce  the  same,  but  such  as  he  might  have  com- 
mytted  to  writing,  and  signified  at  leisure,  for  that  it  plainly  appeareth 
the  same  was  voyd  of  all  malice,  and  of  no  suche  importance  as  his 
malicious  appetite  desired ;  albeit  it  shalbe  well  doon  for  all  men, 
and  especially  for  them  whiche  be  in  auctoritie  to  frame  their 
communications  uppon  suche  matyer,  as  ministrie  noon  occasion  to 
captious  persons  to  judge  otherwise  in  them  then  theye  meanc, 
entende,  and  purpose ;  and  also  it  appeareth  that  the  said  Cowley  is 
a  man  seditious,  and  full  of  contention  and  disobedyence,  which  is  to 
be  abhorred  in  any  man,  but  chiefly  in  a  counsailor :  We  have,  there- 
fore, discharged  him  of  his  rome  and  office  of  Maister  of  the  Rolles 


APPENDIX.  381 

there,  and  we  conferre  and  jeve  the  same  to  you,  Sir  Thomas  Cusake 
not  doubting  but  you  wool,  both  therein,  and  in  all  other  our  affjiyres 
thei-e,  serve  us  according  to  your  dieuty,  and  our  expectacion.' 

"  The  answer  of  St.  Leger  to  the  above  royal  dispatch  is  curious 
not  only  as  showing  the  nature  of  the  quarrel  with  Cowley,  but  as 
giving  us  a  glimpse  of  the  policy  upon  which  the  government  of  Ire- 
land was  conducted  at  the  time,  being  upon  the  principle  of  divide  et 
impera : — 

'• '  It  may  also  please  your  Majestic,  that  there  hathe  bene  to  me 
reported  that  the  saide  Mr.  Cowley,  late  Maister  of  your  Rolles  here, 
shoulde  article  ageinste  me,  that  I  wente  aboute  to  erecte  a  newe 
Geraldyne  bande,  menyng  the  same  by  the  Erie  of  Desmonde ;  the 
trouthe  is,  I  laboured  moost  effectuallie  to  bring  him  to  your  parfaicte 
obedience,  to  my  grete  parill  and  charge  ;  and  this,  gracious  Lord,  was 
the  onlie  cause.  I  sawe  that,  now  the  Erie  of  Kildare  was  gone,  ther 
was  no  subjecte  of  your  Majesties  here  mete  nor  hable  to  way  with  the 
Erie  of  Ormonde ;  who  hathe.  of  your  Majesties  gifte,  and  of  his  owne 
inherytance  and  rule,  gevin  him  by  your  Majestic,  not  onlle  fifty  or 
sixty  myles  in  lengthe,  but  also  many  of  the  chiefe  holdes  of  the 
frontiers  of  Irishmen  ;  so  that  if  he,  or  any  of  his  heires,  shoulde 
swarve  from  their  dewtie  of  allegiance  (whiche  I  think  verilie  that  he 
will  never  do),  it  wolde  be  more  harde  to  dante  him  or  theim,  then  it 
was  the  said  Erie  of  Kildare,  who  had  alwayes  the  said  Erie  of 
Ormonde  in  his  toppe,  when  he  wolde  or  was  like  to  attempte  any 
such  thinge.  Therefore  I  thought  it  good  to  have  a  Rowlande  for  an 
Olyver  ;  for  having  the  saide  Erie  of  Desmond  your  Highness  assured 
subjecte,  it  will  kepe  theim  both  in  staye.  *  *  #  *  This,  as  my 
bounden  dewtie,  which  is  to  allure  al  men  to  your  Majesties  obe- 
dyence,  was  the  cause  why  I  labored  the  saide  Erie  to  the  same,  and 
no  zeele  that  I  have  either  to  Geraldyne  or  Butler,  otherwise  than 
may  sarve  to  the  sarvice  of  your  Majestie,  in  which  I  love  them 
bothe.  *  *  *  *  And  where,  also,  it  hathe  bene  reported  here 
that  such  articles  as  I,  with  other  your  Counsell,  sente  over  ageyne 
the  saide  Cowley,  late  Maister  of  your  Holies  here,  should  be  con- 
ceived ageinste  him  more  of  malice,  then  of  matier  of  trouthe ;  upon 
the  faithe  and  alleigeance  I  bere  to  your  Majestie,  for  my  parte 
having  the  examination  thereof  in  presence  of  your  Counsell,  I 
examyned  the  same  as  indifferentlie  as  I  would  have  done  if  the  same 
Cowley  had  bene  my  father ;  and  onlie  certified  the  trouthe,  as  the 
witnesses  deposed  upon  their  othes.' 

'•  Robert  Cowley  was  detained  in  the  Fleet  prison,  on  the  charge 
of  treasonable  practices,  till  the  2 1st  of  July  in  the  following  year, 


382  APPENDIX. 

when  he  was  liberated  on  giving  security  not  to  go  to  Ireland  without 
leave.  From  this  period  we  have  no  mention  of  his  name  in  any 
public  document,  and  as  he  must  have  been  a  very  old  man  at  the 
time,  it  may  be  safely  presumed  that  he  did  not  long  outlive  his 
imprisonment  and  disgrace.  Three  years  later,  however,  we  have  the 
old  quarrel  waged  more  fiercely  than  ever  between  the  Earl  of 
Ormonde  and  the  Lord-Deputy,  and  we  find  Walter  Cowley,  who 
still  remained  Solicitor-General  and  Clerk  of  the  Crown  in  Chancery, 
taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  embroilment,  as  a  partizan  of  the 
Earl.  The  Lord  Chancellor,  Allen,  was  also  at  variance  with  St. 
Leger,  and  appears,  according  to  the  view  of  the  editors  of  the  '  State 
Papers,'  to  have  used  Cowley  as  a  tool  to  give  him  annoyance.'  In 
February,  1546,  Kobert  St.  Leger,  the  Deputy's  brother,  intercepted, 
and  opened  certain  letters  written  by  the  Earl  of  Ormonde,  to  the 
King,  and  the  Earl  having  indignantly  denounced  this  act,  St.  Leger 
required  the  Council  to  investigate  the  case,  and  allow  him  to  defend 
himself  Lord  Ormonde  and  Walter  Cowley  appeared  before  the 
Council,  but  refused  to  allege  anything  there  to  St.  Leger's  charge,  on 
the  ground  that,  he  being  the  Lord  Deputy's  brother,  the  Council  was 
not  indifierent ;  and  the  consequence  was  the  matter  was  laid  before 
the  English  Council.  The  Irish  Council  brought  strong  charges 
against  the  Earl  of  Ormonde.  The  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  in  writing 
to  the  King,  observes — '  So  it  is,  most  gracious  Lorde,  that  here  is 
contraversie  rysyn  betwene  the  right  honourable  my  Lorde-Deputy 
and  my  Lorde  Ormonde,  which,  if  speedy  remedy  be  not  had,  is  like 
to  torne  to  great  hurte ;  ye,  to  the  totall  destrucion  of  this  your 
Majesties  realme,  and  in  especially  your  mere  English  subjectes  ;'  and 
he  denounces  the  Earl  as  a  dangerous  person  '  more  like  a  prince 
than  a  subject ;  more  like  a  governor  than  an  obedient  servant.' 
Whilst  the  Deputy  himself  begs  of  the  English  Council  to  free  him 
from  the  troubles  of  his  unpleasant  office — '  Discharge  me,'  he  prays 
'  of  this  tedious  paine,  whereunto  I  have  not  bene  accustomed,  and  I 
humblie  beseche  youe  all,  to  be  the  means  to  the  Kinges  Majestic  to 
ryd  me  from  this  hell,  wherein  I  have  remayned  this  six  years ;  and 
that  some  other  may  there  serve  his  Majestic,  as  long  as  I  have  doon, 
and  I  to  serve  his  Highnes  elsewhere,  where  he  shall  commando  me. 
The'  the  same  were  in  Turkay,  I  will  not  refuce  ytt.'     The  various 

1  Allen  was  unscrupulous  enough  to  endeavour  to  make  a  stalking-horse  of  Cowley,  and 
escape  censure  by  throwing  all  the  blame  on  liim.  In  his  defence  against  St.  Leger's  charges,  he 
says,  "  As  for  Cowley's  bokc  (book,  or  schedule  of  charges),  I  take  God  to  recorde,  I  was  never 
of  counscU  wyth  article  of  it.  God  is  ray  judge,  I  wolde  be  ashamed  to  be  named  to  be  privy  to 
the  pennynge  of  so  lewde  a  boke." 


APPENDIX.  383 

parties  were  ultimately  called  to  London  to  have  the  case  investigated 
and  the  intrigues  of  the  Earl  of  Ormonde's  enemies,  it  is  generally 
supposed,  went  to  the  length  of  procuring  his  murder  there.  Poison 
was  introduced  into  some  of  the  dishes  at  an  entertainment  which  he 
gave  to  thirty-five  of  his  followers  and  attendants  at  Ely  House 
Holborn,  and  the  Earl  and  eighteen  of  his  servants  died.  His  faithful 
ally,  Walter  Cowley,  had  also  the  misfortune  of  being  condemned  by 
the  Council,  on  St.  Leger's  charges,  and  he  was  committed  to  the 
Tower  of  London.  His  incarceration  was,  perhaps,  a  fortunate  cir- 
cumstance for  him,  as  it  probably  prevented  his  being  poisoned 
at  the  Ely  House  banquet.  From  his  prison  we  have  the  poor  cap- 
tive writing  to  the  council  after  this  most  humble  and  contrite 
fashion : — I,  Waltier  Cowley,  with  as  sorrowful  a  hart  as  ever  any 
pore  man  can  have  that  my  Soveraine  Lord  should  conceiv  evell 
demeacuire  in  me,  do,  in  most  humble  wise,  beseche  his  Highness, 
according  to  his  Majesties  accustomid  clemencie,  that  this  my  plain 
confession  and  declaration  may  move  his  Excellencie,  replete  with 
pitie  and  mercy,  to  accept  me  to  grace.'  He  then  proceeds  to  an 
explanation  of  the  reasons  which  induced  him  to  consider  the  Lord 
Deputy's  policy  unsound  and  dangerous,  declaring  his  belief  that  if 
the  Earl  of  Ormonde's  power  to  serve  the  King  as  a  faithful  noble- 
man were  subverted,  there  would  be  '  a  great  danger  to  all  us  there 
that  have  little  land  and  honure,  that  we  shold  be  then  undone  by 
Irish  dissobeissants  in  every  side;'  and  he  subscribes  himself  'your 
honourable  Lordship's  pore  wredche  in  misery,  Waltier  Cowley.' 
This  submission  by  no  means  mollified  the  King  and  Council,  for 
they  soon  after  issued  an  order  for  the  dismissal  of  Cowley  from  his 
office,  and  appointing  John  Bath  to  be  Solicitor-General  in  his 
room. 

"  At  this  point  the  Kecord  Commissioners'  publication  of  the  in- 
valuable documents  contained  in  the  State  Paper  Office,  breaks  off, 
and  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  length  of  Walter  Cowley's 
incarceration  in  the  Tower,  or  how  his  discharge  was  procured ;  but 
there  is  reason  to  suppose  that  his  release  came  with  the  decease  of 
the  tyrant  Henry  VIII..  in  January,  1547  (old  style),  and  that  the 
new  Government  disapproved  of  the  severity  used  towards  him,  and 
wished  to  compensate  him  for  it,  for  in  a  few  months  after  Edward  VI. 
ascended  the  throne,  we  have  (according  to  the  '  Liber  Munerum  ') 
Edward,  Duke  of  Somerset,  Lord  Protector  of  the  kingdom,  writing 
from  Windsor,  under  the  date  September  13,  1548,  signifying  to  the 
Lord-Deputy,  Bellyngham,  and  the  Council  of  Ireland,  '  that  Walter 
Cowley  is  recommended  to  them  as  a  worthy  and  necessary  officer  for 

3b 


384  APPENDIX. 

the  surveying,  appraising,  and  extending  the  King's  possessions  and 
revenues  in  Ireland;'  and  a  second  letter  on  the  21st  of  the  same 
month,  specially  directing  that  the  salary  attaching  to  the  office 
should  be  100/.  per  annum — a  large  sum  in  those  days.  Cowley  had 
continued  to  hold  the  appointment  of  Clerk  of  the  Crown  in  Chan- 
cery, to  which  he  was  originally  appointed,  but  he  now  resigned  that 
situation  upon  receiving  the  patent  for  the  office  of  Surveyor-General 
of  Ireland,  which  he  was  the  first  to  fill,  and  held  till  his  death,  in 
1551. 

"  Robert  Cowley,  beside  "Walter,  had  two  sons,  Robert  and 
Nicholas.'  The  former  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  King's 
County,  under  the  title  of  '  Robert  Colley,  Esq. ;'  having  on  the  3rd 
February,  1562,  received  a  grant  from  Queen  Elizabeth  of  lands  in 
that  county  called  Castletown,  otherwise  Young-Cowleystown ;  but 
he  was  slain  by  the  rebels  on  the  10th  July,  1572,'  without  leaving 
male  issue,  and  the  property  reverted  to  the  Crown.  Nicholas 
appears  to  have  been  a  merchant  of  Kilkenny,  and  he  filled  the  office 
of  Sovereign  of  that  municipality  in  the  years  1540  and  1551.  This 
Nicholas  was  probably  the  progenitor  of  the  subsequent  Cowleys  of 
Kilkenny.  Walter,  the  Surveyor-General,  was  no  doubt  the  head  of 
the  family,  and  he  (according  to  Lodge)  had  two  children,  Henry 
and  Walter.  The  first  was  a  captain  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  army,  was 
knighted,  and  received  a  grant  of  Castlecarbery,  in  the  county  of 
Meath.  From  Mm  sprang  the  Mornington  family.  Walter,  the 
younger,  was  Customer  and  Collector  of  the  port  of  Drogheda,  but  I 
find  no  further  mention  of  him.  The  junior  branch  of  the  family, 
which  remained  in  Kilkenny,  were  chiefly  wealthy  traders  in  the 
city,  and  also  owned  property  in  the  county :  some  of  them  were 
brought  up  to  the  legal  profession,  for  it  appears  from  the  '  Exchequer 
Order-book'  that,  in  1610,  'Mr.  Cowlie,  learned  in  the  law,'  was 
counsel  for  the  Corporation  of  Kilkenny,  in  a  suit  in  the  Court  of 
Exchequer.  In  1611,  Mr.  Rothe  was  their  counsel,  and  Robert 
Bysse  their  attorney;  but  subsequently,  in  the  same  year,  'Mr. 
Cowlie,  the  lawyer,'  appeared  to  represent  the  body.  In  1609,  when 
Kilkenny  received  the  Great  Charter  of  James  I.,  raising  it  to  the 
dignity  of  a  city,  Michael  Cowley  was  specially  named  in  that  docu- 
ment as  one  of  the  first  aldermen.     He  filled  the  office  of  mayor  in 

1  Patrick  Colley  was,  in  the  year  1537,  one  of  the  soldiers  of  Dublin  Castle,  at  a  fee  of  8d.  per 
day  during  his  life  (Rot.  Mem.,  29  Hen.  VIII.,  m.  30),  and  towards  the  end  of  the  same  century 
Silvester  Cooley,  gentleman,  was,  according  to  the  "  Liber  Munerum,"  constable  of  Dublin  Castle. 
These  were,  doubtless,  members  of  the  Cowley  family  of  Kilkenny. 

»  This  fact  escaped  Lodge  and  Archdall.  It  is  here  given  on  the  authority  of  an  Exchequer 
Inquisition,  King's  County,  temp.  Eliz.  No.  12, 


APPENDIX.  385 

1626,  and  must  have  been  a  man  of  wealth,  if  we  may  judge  from  the 
costly  monument  erected  to  him  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  John,  which 
bears  the  following  inscription : — 

"  '  D.  Michael  Cowley. 

"  '  Irenar(jha  et  jurisconsultus,  &c.,  et  uxor  ejus  D.  Honoria  Roth, 
hie  requiescunt  in  scternam,  ut  speramus,  hinc  requiem  transferendi 
ubi  quod  corruptibile  est  incorruptionem  induet ;  uterque  mortis  sub- 
ditit  legi ;  uterque  mortuus  commune  solvit  debitum  naturae.  Hoec 
vivere  orbi  desiit  anno  *  *  *  *  die  mensis  •  *  *  *  q^\q 
ille  coepit  vivere  anno     *     *     *     * 

"  The  monument  having  been  erected  during  his  life-time  leaves  a 
blank  for  the  date  of  his  decease,  but  he  was  living  in  the  year  1645, 
as  his  name  is  given  in  a  list  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  county  of 
Kilkenny  under  the  date  21st  Charles  I.,  preserved  amongst  the 
MSS.  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin  (F.  3.  1-5).  James  Cowley  was 
Mayor  of  Kilkenny  in  1636.  In  1641  Andrew  Cowley,  of  Kilkenny, 
appears  on  the  roll  of  representatives,  who  sat  in  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Confederate  Catholics,  and  he  was  Sheriff  of  the  city 
in  1642.  A  fragment  of  a  monument,  lying  at  the  south  side  of  St. 
John's  Abbey,  sculptured  with  the  Cowley  arms,  impaling  those  of 
Shee,  bearing,  in  addition,  the  initials  A.  C.  and  R.  S.,  probably 
belonged  to  the  tomb  of  this  gentleman.  At  this  eventful  period  of 
Irish  history,  Luke  Cowley  was  Roman  Catholic  Archdeacon  of 
Ossory,  and  Prothonotary  Apostolic,  and  as  such  his  name  appears 
signed  to  the  answers  to  the  famous  queries  propounded  by  the 
Supreme  Council,  to  the  Bishop  of  Ossory  and  other  divines,  as  to 
the  lawfulness  of  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  Lord  Inchiquin  in 
1648.  When  the  all-conquering  arms  of  Cromwell  were  found  irre- 
sistible by  the  garrison  of  Kilkenny  in  1650,  after  a  gallant  defence, 
they  sued  for  and  received  honourable  terms,  sending  out  four  gentle- 
men to  negotiate  the  matter  with  the  Parliamentary  General  ;  and 
the  first  of  these  who  signed  the  articles  of  capitulation  was  Edward 
Cowley.  The  family  has  since  altogether  disappeared  from  the  county 
and  city  of  Kilkenny ;  the  last  of  the  name  whom  I  have  been  enabled 
to  trace  in  the  locality  being  James  Cowley,  whose  will,  bearing  date 
22nd  December,  1720,  is  preserved  in  the  Ossory  Diocesan  Regis- 
trar's Office.  He  bequeaths,  in  the  usual  form,  his  soul  to  God,  his 
body  to  be  buried  with  his  ancestors  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  John,  and 
his  interest  in  the  farms  of  Rathardmore  and  Killamory,  held  by  him 
by  lease  from  Denny  Cuffe,  Esq.,  to  be  sold,  and  the  proceeds  equally 
divided  between  his  wife  and  three  children,  whose  names  are  not 
mentioned. 

VOL.  11.  25 


386  APPENDIX. 

"  In  the  mean  time  the  elder  branch  of  the  family  was  rising  to 
high  honours  and  distinctions  in  other  counties.  Henry  Colley,  the 
eldest  son  of  Walter,  the  Surveyor-General,  though  his  official  ap- 
pointments as  Governor  of  Philipstown  and  a  Commissioner  for  the 
execution  of  Martial  Law,  were  in  the  King's  County,  Kildare,  and 
Meath.  kept  up  his  connection  with  Kilkenny,  as  he  represented  the 
borough  of  Thomastown  in  Parliament.  He  was  knighted  and  made 
a  Privy  Councillor  by  the  Lord-Deputy,  Sir  Henry  Sydney,  and  for 
his  services,  military  and  civil,  received  the  special  commendation  of 
several  of  the  chief  Ministers  of  the  day.  He  died  in  1584,  and  the 
property  of  his  eldest  son,  Sir  George  Colley,  of  Edenderry,  passed 
out  of  the  family  from  the  failure  of  heirs  male  in  the  next  generation  ; 
but  his  second  son,  Sir  Henry  of  Castlecarbery,  had  a  numerous 
posterity.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Henry,  who  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Dudley,  whose,  successor  was  Henry,  who,  in  his  turn,  was 
succeeded  by  another  Henry,  the  father  of  Richard  Colley,  Baron  of 
Mornington,  the  father  of  Garret,  Earl  of  Mornington,  whose  fifth 
son,  born  the  1st  of  May,  1769,  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  Richard 
Colley,  the  first  of  the  family  raised  to  the  peerage,  succeeded  to  the 
property  of  the  Wesley  or  Wellesley  family,  on  the  death  of  his 
cousin,  Garret  Wesley  in  1728,  that  gentleman  having  made  him  his 
heir  on  condition  of  his  assuming  the  surname  and  using  the  coat  of 
arms  of  Wesley.  The  arms  since  borne  by  the  family,  in  consequence, 
are — Quarterly,  first  and  fourth  gules,  a  cross,  argent,  between  four 
saltiers  of  plates,  for  Wesley :  the  second  and  third  or,  a  lion  rampant 
gules,  gorged  with  a  ducal  coronet,  proper,  for  Colley.  Crest,  on  a 
wreath,  an  armed  arm  in  pale,  couped  below  the  elbow,  the  hand 
proper,  the  wrist  encircled  with  a  ducal  coronet,  or,  holding  a  spear  in 
bend,  with  the  banner  of  St.  George  appendant,  in  allusion  to  the 
Wesleys  having  been  anciently  the  standard-bearers  of  the  Kings  of 
England.  The  lion  rampant,  here  used  for  Colley,  was  no  part  of 
the  arms  of  the  old  Cowleys  of  Kilkenny  ;  but  I  am  informed  by  Sir 
William  Betham — to  whom  I  have  been  indebted  for  much  valuable 
information  on  the  subject  of  this  paper — that  this  bearing  was  spe- 
cially granted  to  Richard  Colley,  from  the  English  Heralds'  College 
upon  his  assumption  of  the  name  and  cognizance  of  Wesley.  The 
arms  given  for  Cowley,  in  an  heraldic  manuscript  in  the  possession 
of  the  Rev.  James  Graves,  which  seems  to  have  been  compiled  in  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century  by  some  native  of  Kilkenny,  are — 
'■gules,  a  chevron  (by  others  a  fess),  argcyit,  between  three  esquires 
helmets.'  The  armorial  bearings  on  the  monuments  of  Michael  and 
Andrew  Cowley,  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  John,  display  a  fess  between 


APPENDIX. 


387 


three  esquires'  helmets,  with  the  crest,  a  hand,  couped  at  the  wrist, 
embowed  to  the  dexter  side.  The  fess,  on  both  the  shields,  is  charged 
with  a  crescent,  as  a  mark  of  cadency,  showing  that  the  Cowleys  of 
Kilkenny  acknowledged  the  Colleys  of  Castlecarbery  to  be  the  elder 
branch  of  their  house." 


INDEX. 


Abbe,  General,  furiously  assails  General 
Hill's  divisions,  i.  316 

Abercrorabie,  Sir  Ralph — engagement 
at  Schydel,  i.  5 

Aberdeen,  Earl  of,  ii.  13T 

Achilles,  bronze  statue  of,  erected  in 
1822,  ii.  92 

Acland,  General,  arrives,  L  42 

Adam,  Colonel,  at  the  Pass  of  Ordal,  i.  266 

General,  ii.  33 

Adelaide,  Queen,  ii.  192 

Admiralty,  sluggishness  of,  i.  273 

/iffghanistan  expedition,  ii.  205 

Agiucourt,  ii.  25 

Aimednuggur,  a  fortified  town  of  great 
strength,  i.  15;  assault  of,  16 

Alba  de  Tormes,  attack  on,  i.  189 

Albuera,  battle  of,  i.  117 

Albert,  Prince,  Colonel  of  the  Rifle  Bri- 
gade, ii.  267 ;  Master  of  the  Trinity 
House,  ii.  268 

Alcobafa,  convent  of,  burnt,  i.  85 

Alexander  of  Russia,  i.  213 

Alexander,  Mr.,  Editor  of  the  "  Morning 
Journal,"  prosecuted  for  libel,  ii.  152 

Alison's  "  History  of  Europe,"  i.  76 ; 
il  340. 

on  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  ii.  57 

Allan,  Sir  W.,  gigantic  picture  of  Water- 
loo, ii.  95,  300 

Allied  Sovereigns,  address  of,  issued  at 
Frankfurt,  i.  307 

Allies,  the,  movement  upon  Dresden,  i. 
803 

,  the,  in  Paris,  ii.  50 

Almaraz,  capture  of,  i.  165 

Almeida,  i.  99 

,  escape  of  the  garrison,  L  101 


Alten,  Baron  Charles,  his  imeasiness  in 

the  Pyrenees,  L  259 
Althorp,  Lord,  ii.  120 
Anecdotes  of  the  Duke,  ii.  79,  80,  301 
Anglers,  College  of,  where  Wellington 

was  educated,  i.  3 
Anglesey,  Marquis  of,  i.  229 
Marquis  of,  loses  his  leg  at 

Waterloo,  ii.  33 

Marquis  of,  at  the  head  of  the 


Irish  Government,  1828,  ii.  137;  re- 
call of,  141 
Anson,  Major-General,  i.  124 

Major-General,  at  Salamanca, 


i.  172 
Army,  British,  the  opinions  of  foreigners 

respecting,  ii.  368 
Anstruther,  General,  anchors  off  Peniche, 

i.  42 
Appendix,  No.  I.,  i.  373  ;  No.  IL,  ii.  320 
Apsley  House,  ii.  64,  84  ;  the  pictures  of, 
93;  attacked  by  the  mob,  160;  win- 
dows of,  protected  by  iron  blinds,  160 
Ardennes,  Forest  of,  ii.  27  (note) 
Arroyo  del  Molinos,  surprise  at,  i.  129 
Assay e,  village  of,  i.  17 ;  battle  of,  18 
Auckland,  Lord,  ii.  205 
Aurungabad,  occupation  of,  i.  16 
Austria,  Emperor  of,  ii.  272  (note) 
Autographs  of  the  Duke,  ii.  263 


B. 


Badajoz,  description  of,  i.  99  ;  siege  of, 
raised,  L  119;  blockaded,  123;  the 
eve  of  the  storming,  i.  157  ;  storming 
of,  159;  sack  of,  161 

Baird,  Sir  David,  assault  at  Seringapa- 
tam,  i.  7 


390 


INDEX. 


Ballasteros,  General,  i.  1 84 ;  offended 
pride  of,  i.  187 

Bank  of  England,  run  for  gold  upon, 
ii.  164: 

Barnard,  Colonel  Andrew,  i.  96 

Barossa,  battle  of,  i.  97 

Batavia,  attack  on,  i.  10 

Batburst,  Earl,  Foreign  Secretary,  i.  173 ; 
letter  to,  August  8th,  1813,  383  ;  ii.  58 

Batons  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  ii.  307 

Bayonets  first  used  at  Bayonne,  i.  314 
(note) 

Bayonne,  i.  73 ;  sortie  from,  i.  333 

Beaufort,  Duke  of,  ii.  37 

Beaubarnais,  Eugene,  awaits  Napoleon 
at  Magdeburg,  i.  268 

Belgian  troops  fallback  in  confusion,  ii.  30 

Belgium,  Napoleon's  views  in  reference 
to,  ii.  5 ;  renounces  the  authority  of 
Holland,  1830,  ii.  167 

Bentinck,  Lord  William,  i.  45  ;  character 
of,  266 

Beresford,  General,  i.  49  ;  Marshal  Sir 
William,  at  the  capture  of  Badajoz, 
115;  Marshal,  ii.  148 

Bernadotte,  Marshal,  i.  176 

Bertrand,  General  Count,  i.  177 

Bessicres,  Marshal,  sent  to  join  Massena, 
i.  103  ;  killed  at  Poserna,  268 

Bidassoa,  passage  of  the  river,  i.  283 

Biographies  of  the  Duke,  ii.  262 

Bishop,  Sir  Henry,  ii.  297 

Bishops  hissed  during  Divine  Service,  ii. 
164 

Blueher,  Marshal,  defeats  Marshal  Mac- 
donald,  i.  304;  pursues  the  French 
Army  to  the  Rhine,  306  ;  leads  on  his 
forces  to  Meaux,  324 ;  notice  of,  343 ; 
impatience  to  commence  fighting,  ii. 
14 ;  proposes  to  execute  Napoleon, 
46;  narrowly  escapes  death,  17;  vin- 
dictiveness  of,  65  ;  reproved  by  Wel- 
lington, 65 

Bock,  Major-General,  at  Salamanca,  i.  172 

Bordeaux,  advance  of  the  AlUes  to,  i.  321 

Bourbon  pretensions,  i.  299 ;  misrule  in 
France,  363 

Brennier  made  prisoner,  i.  43 

Breslau,  meeting  of  Napoleon  and  Alex- 
ander, i.  215 

Bristol,  riots  at,  160 

British  army,  baggage  of,  i.  231 
in  the  Netherlands,  ii.  9 

British  residents  in  Brussels,  agency  of, 
ii.  38 

Brotherton,  Captain,  i.  173 

Brougham's,  Lord,  opinion  of  Castle- 
reagh,  i.  358  ;  on  the  character  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  ii.  103;  186  (note); 
at  tlie  banquet  at  Dover,  197 


Brunswick,  Duke  of,  marches  to  Quatre 
Bras,  ii.  17  ;  cavalry  arrives,  19  ;  anec- 
dote of  19  (note) ;  Duke  of,  is  slain, 
20  ;  killed  at  Quatre  Bras,  41 

Brussels,  news  received  of  the  approach 
of  the  French,  ii.  15;  on  the  16th  and 
17tIiof  June,  1815,39;  on  the  18th,  41 

Buenos  Ayres,  expeditions  against,  i.  29 

Billow,  General,  ii.  14  ;  approach  of  the 
Russians,  33 

Buonaparte,  Joseph,  crosses  the  Tagus, 
i.  58 

King  Joseph,  i.  177 

Lucien,  ii.  45 

Burdett,  Sir  Francis,  opposes  the  grant  to 
the  Duke  of  WelHngton,  (1812),  i.  206 
Sir  Francis,  ii.  163 

Burgos,  advance  upon,  i.  183;  descrip- 
tion of,  185  ;  abandonment  of  the 
siege,  187  ;  march  to  (1813),  237 

Burgoyne,  Major-General  Sir  John,  ii. 
238 

Burke,  speeches  of,  ii.  210 

Burrard,  Sir  Henry,  i.  42 

Busaco,  battle  of,  i.  77 

Byng,  Major-General  (afterwards  Lord 
Stafford),  at  the  battle  of  the  Py- 
renees, i.  257 ;  falls  at  the  battle  of 
the  Nivelle,  297 

Byron,  Lord,  lines  on  the  Duchess  of 
Richmond's  entertainment,  ii.  16 ;  97 
(note) 


C. 


Cabul,  catastrophe,  ii.  215 

Cadiz,  siege  of,  i.  95 

Cadogan,  the  Hon.  Lieutenant  Colonel, 
i.  239 

Caffarelli,  General,  i.  185 

Cambridge,  Duke  of,  ii.  233  ;  Colonel  of 
the  Coldstream  Guards,  268 

Cambray,  storming  of,  ii.  43 

Cameron,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  death  of, 
at  Fuentes  de  Onoro,  i.  106. 

Colonel,  mortally  wounded,  ii.  20. 

Canning,  Right  Hon.  George,  defence 
of  Wellington,  i.  202  ;  speech.  311  • 
foreign  minister,  ii.  90 ;  affairs  of 
Greece,  98 ;  succeeds  the  Earl  of 
Liverpool  as  Premier,  105  ;  ministry, 
1827,  113  ;  corn  bill  opposed  by  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  116;  death  of, 
118;  burial  of,  at  Westminster  Abbey, 
119. 

Canova,  colossal  figure  of  Napoleon  by 
ii.  64  (note) 

Cambrai,  ii.  81 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  taken,  i.  30 


INDEX. 


391 


Capefigue,  ii.  78 

Capo  d'Istria,  Count,  ii.  78 

Carnarvon,  Earl  of,  ii.  169 

Carnot  resists  all  the  efforts  of  the 
British  to  take  Antwerp,  i.  326 

Caroline,  Queen,  notice  of,  ii.  86  ;  trial 
of  87  ;  attempts  to  force  herself  into 
Westminster  Abbey  at  the  coronation 
of  George  IV.,  88 

Cassan,  General,  pertinaciously  objects 
to  surrender  the  citadel  of  Pampeluna, 
i.  289 

Castenskiold,  Lieutenant-General,  en- 
camps near  Rochild,  i.  31 ;  defeated 
by  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  32 

Oastlereagh,  Lord,  letter  to,  45  ;  64 ; 
202  ;  ou  the  part  of  England  signs  the 
treaty  at  Chaumont,  324  ;  proceeds  to 
Vienna,  357 ;  Viscount,  ii.  59  ;  death 
of,  90 

Cathcart,  Lord,  despatched  to  the  Bal- 
tic, i.  30 

Catholics,  claims  of,  ii.  105 

Caulaincourt  addresses  letters  to  the 
Prince  Regent  and  others,  i.  371 

Chantrey,  Sir  Francis,  ii.  220  ;  anecdotes 
of,  221  (note) 

Charleroi  taken,  ii.  14 

Charles  X.  abdicates,  1S30,  ii.  157 

Chartists,  the,  meeting  of,  on  Kenning- 
tou  Common,  ii.  240;  petition  of,  251 

Chatham,  Lord,  ii.  293 

Chatillon,  dissolution  of  the  Congress 
of,  i.  323 

Chelsea  Hospital,  lying  in  state  of  the 
Duke,  ii.  277  ;  pensioners  follow  the 
Duke's  remains,  277 

Chillian wallah,  battle  of,  ii.  288 

China,  the  opium  question,  ii.  208 

Cinque  Ports,  duties  of  the  Lord  War- 
den, ii.  149 

Cintra,  Convention  of,  i.  44. 

Clausel,  General,  at  Salamanca,  i.  170 

Clarkson,  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  i.  355 

Clancarty,  Lord,  British  representative 
at  Vienna,  i.  371 

Clinton,  Major-General,  at  Salamanca,  i. 
169. 

Clive,  Lord,  Governor  of  Madras,  i.  10 

Cobbett,  Mr.,  character  of,  ii.  126  (note) 

Cocks,  Hon.  Edmund,  leads  the  attack 
on  Burgos,  i.  186 

Codrington,  Sir  E.,  Admiral,  ii.  122 

Colborne,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  at  Ciudad 
Rodrigo,  i.  138 

Coldstream  Guards,  ii.  29 

Collier,  Sir  George,  arrives  with  a  small 
squadron,  i.  273 

Collins,  Mr.,  the  Duke's  house  steward, 
ii.  261 


Column  in  the   Phosnix   Park,  Dublin, 

ii.  139 
Colville,  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Charles, 

at  the  storming  of  Cambray,  il  43 
Combermere,  Lord,  character  of,  i.  338  ; 

Viscount,  Constable  of  the  Tower,  il 

267 
Concerts,  Ancient,  ii.  297 
Connaught  Rangers,  estimate  of,  i.  1 54 
Consols,  sudden  fall  of,  ii.  56  (note) 
Constables,  special,  ii.  246 
Cooper,  Sir  Astley,  attends  the  Duke  at 

Walmer  Castle,  iL201 
Copenhagen  bombarded,  i.  31 
Copenhagen,  the  Duke's  charger,  ii.  35, 

(note) ;  monument  of,  97 
Corn  bill  of  Mr.  Canning,  ii.  116 
Corn  Laws,  ii.  199  ;  debate  upon,  231  ; 

repeal  of,  235 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  i.  147 
Cotton,   Lieutenant-General   Sir    S.,   i. 

163;    wounded   by    a   sentry,    172; 

wounded  at  Salamanca,  173 
Cradock,  Sir  John,  despatched  to  Lisbon, 

i.48 
Craufurd,  Major-General,  at  the  attack 

on  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  142 ;  death  of,  144 ; 

character  of,  146 ;  anecdotes  of,  148 ; 

anecdote  of  the  ramrods,  194 
Crotch,  Professor,  ii.  178 
Cuesta,  Spanish  General,  i.  57 
Ciudad  Rodrigo,  description  of,   i.  99 ; 

capture  of,  137 
Cumberland,  Duke  of,  ii.  175 
Currency,  metallic,  theory  of,  ii.  327 
Curtis,  Dr.  ii.  140 
Crystal  Palace,  See  Great  Exhibition,  ii. 


D. 


Dalbiao,  Colonel,  wife  of,  at  the  battle 

of  Salamanca,  i.  174 
Dalhousie,  Lord,  character  of,  i.  237 

Marquis  of,  ii.  250 

Dalrymple,  Colonel,  i.  11 

Sir  Hugh,  i.  43 

D'Angouleme,    Due,  joins   Wellington, 

i.  318 ;  endeavours  to  rally  the  people, 

ii.  3 
D'Artois,  Count,  ii.  3 
Davoust,   Marshal,   resolutely    defends 

Hamburgh,  i.  326 
Dawson,  Mr.,  ii.  142 
Denon,  keeper  of  the  Fine  Arts,  ii.  73 
Derby,  Earl  of,  letter  on  the  death  of 

tlie  Duke,  ii.  265  ;  Lord  Wai-den  of  the 

Cinque  Ports,  ii.  267 
Desaix,  General,  i.  176 


392 


INDEX. 


Dhoondia   Waugb,    treachery   of,    10  ; 

heads    a   band   of  desperadoes,    11  ; 

death  of,  1800,  i.  12 
Dickson,  Lieut.-Colonel,  at  Saa  Sebas- 
tian, i.  275 
Diez,  Juan  Martin,  i.  182 
D'Israeli,  speech  upon  the  Duke's   fu- 
neral, ii.  360 
Despatches  of  the  Duke,  i..  291 
Don  Carlos  de  Espana,  116;  wounded 

at  the  blockade  of  Pampeluna,  289  ; 

ii.  189 
Don  Miguel,  ii.  172 
D'Orleaus,     Duke    (afterwards     Louis 

Philippe),  ii.  3 
Dost  Mahomed,  ii.  204 
Douglas,  Colonel,  four  times  wounded, 

ii.  20 
Douro,  passage  of,  i.  53 

Marchioness  of,  ii.  97 

Dowton,  the  comedian,  ii.  164 
Dubreton,  surprise  of,  at  the  retreat  of 

WelHngton,  i.  188 
Duckworth,  Sir  Thomas,  commands  in 

expedition  against  Turkey,  i.  29 
Duckworth,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  falls  at 

Albuera,  i.  117 
Dudley,  Lord,  ii.    135  ;   account  of,  in 

Lord  Brougham's  "  Statesmen,"  ii.  114 

(note) 
Duel  between  the  Duke  of  Wellington 

and  Lord  Winchelsea,  ii.  148 
Dumourier,  letters  to,  i.  313 
Duncan,  Major,  i.  96 
D'Urban,  Count,  i.  177 
Duroc  killed  at  Bautzen,  i.  268 


E. 


Ebrington,  Lord,  proposes  to  stop  the 
supphes,  ii.  164 

Edinburgh,  statue  of  the  Duke  at,  ii. 
202  (note) 

El  Bodon,  aifan-  of,  i.  125 

Elba,  situation  of,  i.  360 ;  population  of, 
361 ;  improvements  in  by  Napoleon, 
361 

Eldon,  Lord,  ii.  86 

Ellenborough,  Lord,  Governor-General 
of  India,  ii.  219 

Elster,  the  river  in  which  Poniatowski 
was  drowned,  i.  306 

Emerton,  Rev.  Dr.,  sermon  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  Duke,  ii.  372 

England,  reception  of  the  news  of  the 
battle  of  Vittoria  in,  i.  246  ;  vast  re- 
sources of,  310 ;  royal  visitors  in,  343  ; 
defences  of,  letter  of  the  Duke  to  Sir 
John  F.  Burgoyne,  ii.  349 


Erskine,  Sir  "William,  i.  82 
Essling,  Prince  of  (Massena),  i.  75 
Europe,  proceedings  in  the  north  of,  L 

267 
Evans,  General  de  Lacy,  ii.  189 
Estremadura,  torrents  of,  i.  154 


Falmouth,  Earl  of,  ii.  148 

Fane,  General,  i.  75 

Fergusson,  Captain,  death  of,  at  Bada- 
joz,  i.  158 

Ferozeshah,  battle  of,  ii.  288 

Fitzgerald,  Mr.  Vesey,  ii.  137 

Fitzroy,  Lord,  raised  to  the  peerage,  i. 
271 

Fitzroy  Somerset,  Lord,  one  of  the 
Duke's  personal  staff,  ii.  12 

Fletcher,  Sir  W.,  at  St.  Sebastian,  i,  265 

Fort  Napoleon,  i.  164 

Fort  Ragusa,  i.  165 

Fort  Retiro,  at  Madrid,  i.  182 

Foy,  General,  i.  54 

France,  entry  into,  of  the  allied  army,  i. 
287  ;  under  the  Bourbons,  363  ; 
evacuation  of,  by  the  allied  armies,  ii. 
83  ;  revolution  in  1830,  156  ;  revolu- 
tion in  1848,  253 

Franceschi,  General,  i.  52 ;  taken  pris- 
oner, 74 

Frazer,  General,  retreats  before  Alex- 
andria, i.  30 

Frazer,  Major,  killed  at  the  storming  of 
San  Sebastian,  i.  265 

French,  change  opinions  in  favour  of  the 
Bourbons,  i.  317  ;  cavalry  attacks  at 
Waterloo,  ii.  31  ;  revolution,  250 

Fuentes  d'Onoro,  battle  of,  i.  103 

Frere,  British  minister,  withdrawn,  1809, 
i.  63. 


G. 


Gaeonne,  passage  of,  i.  321 

Gascoyne,  General,  ii.  160 

Gamarra  Major,  storming  of  the  village 
of,  i.  241 

Gawilghur,  assault  of,  by  Colonel  Ste- 
venson, i.  22 

Genappes,  village  of,  the  scene  of  much 
skirmishing,  ii.  24 

George  III.,  death  of,  ii.  86 

IV.,    crowned   (1821),    ii.    88 ; 

speech  of  (1829),  143 ;  death  of  (1830), 
155;  character  of,  156 

Glasgow,  statue  of  the  Duke  at,  ii.  228 

Goderich,  Lord,  ii.  117 


INDEX. 


393 


Gonzalvo  di  Cordova,  iL  294 

Gordon,  Alexander,  receives  a  mortal 
■wound,  ii.  34 ;  death  of,  ii.  36 

Gough,  Lord,  at  Barossa,  i.  98 

Goulbnrn,  Mr.  ii.  121 

Graham,  Major-Geaeral,  i.  94 

General,  laconic  order  of,  i.  96 

Lieutenant-General  Sir  Thomas, 

L  240 ;  Sir  Thomas,  232 ;  at  San  Se- 
bastian, 265 

Sir  James,  ii.  185 

Great  Exhibition,  opened  May  1st,  1851, 
il  255 

Grenoble,  people  of,  open  the  gates  to 
Napoleon,  ii.  2 

Grenville,  Lord,  on  the  subject  of  slavery, 
1.  355  ;  death  of,  ii.  174 

,  Mr.,  Secretary  to  the  Duke  of 

Wellington,  ii.  225 

Grey,  Earl,  some  account  of,  ii.  159; 
strictures  upon  by  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, ii.  161 

,  Lord,  resigns,  ii.  163  ;  ministry 
of,  recalled,  164 

Grouchy,  Marshal,  ii.  32 

Guerillas,  determination  of,  i.  '72 

Gm: wood's  Despatches,  ii.  341 


H. 

Haddington,  Earl  of,  iL  170 

Halkett,  Colonel,  i.  188 

,  General,  iL  33 

Hamilton,  Lieutenant-General,  i.  154 

Hansard,  Messrs.,  appeal  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  ii.  206 

Harcourt,  Colonel,  attacks  the  Rajah  of 
Berar,  L  20 

Hardenberg,  representative  of  the  King 
of  Prussia,  ii.  77 

Hardinge,  Lieut.-Colonel,  distinguishes 
himself  at  Albuera,  L  117 

Sir  Henry,  member  of  the  Gov- 
ernment (1828),  ii.  137  ;  attends  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  as  second  in  his 
duel  with  Lord  Winchelsea,  148 

Lord,    Commander-in-Chief,    ii. 

269 

Harris,  General,  at  Seringapatam,  i.  6 

Hastings,  Marquis  of,  proceeds  to  Os- 
tend,  i.  4 

Lord,  ii.  109 

Hay,  Colonel  Leith,  "  Narrative  of  the 
Peninsular  War,"  i.  76 

Haynau,  Marshal,  iL  272  (note) 

Helena,  Princess,  birth  of,  iL  233 

Herries,  Mr.,  Chancellor  of  the  Exche- 
quer, ii.  119 

Hervey,  ilajor,  L  55 


Highlanders  at  Quatre  Bras,  ii.  20  ;  de- 
cimation of,  ii.  21 

Hill,  General,  L  49  ;  crosses  the  Tao-us, 
L  79 

,   Lieutenant-General   Rowland,  L 

127 

,  Sir  Rowland,  on  the  Pyrenees,  the 

whist  party,  i.  284 

,  Lord,  character  of,  i.  338 ;  narrowly 

escapes  a  shot,  339 ;  commands  the 
right  wing  of  the  army  iu  the  Nether- 
lands, ii.  10  ;  Commander-in-Chief 
(1827),  115;  death  of,  218 

Hogg,  Sir  James  Weir,  speech  of,  iL  364 

Holland,  operations  in,  i.  325 

Hope,  Sir  John,  distinguishes  himself  at 
the  passageof  the  Nive,  i.  315 ;  wound- 
ed in  the  ankle,  315;  indifference  to 
personal  danger,  316  ;  taken  prisoner 
at  Bayonne,  333 

,  General   Sir  John,  succeeds   Sir 

Thomas  Graham,  L  283 

Hougoumont,  ii.  26 ;  chateau  of,  28  ;  at- 
tack upon,  29 

Houghton,  General,  death  of,  i.  116 

Howard,  General,  at  Arroyo  del  MoU- 
nos,  i.  129 ;  at  Almaraz,  165 

Hulke,  Mr.,  medical  attendant  to  the 
Duke,  iL  261 

Hume,  Mr.  Joseph,  ii.  163 

Dr.,  attends  the  Duke  at  Walmer 

Castle,  ii.  201 

Hunt,  Mr.,  character  of,  ii.  127  (note) 

Huskisson's,  Mr.,  correspondence  with 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  ii.  118  ;  resig- 
nation of,  129 

Hyde  Park  corner,  statue  of  the  Duke 
at,  iL  237 

Hyderabad,  protection  of,  L  1 7 


Jena,  the  bridge  of,  ii.  65 

JoinviUe,  Prince  de,  pamphlet  of,  iL  238 

Jomini,   a   Swiss,  well  known   for  his 

miUtary  writings,  L  303 
Jourdan,  Marshal,  i.  60, 178  ;  at  Vittoria, 

244 ;  loss  of  his  baton,  245  ;  mistake 

of,  246 
Junot,  occupies  Lisbon,  i.  37 
Duke  D'Abrantes,  at  the  battle  of 

Vimiero,  L  43 


K 


Kaffirs,  war  with,  ii.  289 
Kellerman,  General,  in  the  British  camp, 
144 


394 


INDEX. 


Kempt,  Major-General,  attacks  La  Pieu- 

riud,  i.  155 
General,  killed  at  the  battle  of 

the  Nivelle,  i.  297 
Kendall,  the  Duke's  valet,  ii.  261 
son  of,  interview  with  the  Duke, 

ii.  299  (note) 
Kielmaasegge,  Count,  ii.  256 
Kleber,  General,  i.  175 
Kossuth,  M.,  ii.  367 


L.\BEDOYERE,  Coloncl,  tried  and  executed, 
ii.  70 

La  Belle  Alliance,  ii.  29 

La  Haye  Sainte,  ii.  26 

La  Picurina,  capture  of,  i.  155 

L'Allemand,  General,  i.  168 

Lafayette,  ii.  45 

Lake,  Lord,  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  army  at  Hindostan,  i.  16 ;  de- 
stroys Scindah's  power  in  Hindostan, 
20 ;  death  of,  41 

Lamar  tine  on  the  defection  of  the  French 
troops,  ii.  2  ;  "  History  of  the  Restora- 
tion of  Monarchy,"  ii.  13  (note) 

Lansdowne,  Marquis  of,  i.  203  ;  ii. 
154 

Leipsic,  battle  of,  i.  305 

fie  Marchant,  Major-General,  falls  at 
Salamanca,  i.  171 

Ligny,  the  rivulet  of,  ii.  17  •,  battle  of 
ii.  20 

Liverpool,  Lord,  on  the  affair  of  Burgos, 
i.  202  ;  ii.  86  ;  struck  with  paralysis, 
104  ;  character  of,  104 ;  death  of, 
148 

Lobau,  Count,  ii.  33 

Londoners,  alarm  of,  ii.  243 

Londonderry,  Marquis  of,  ambassador  to 
Piussia,  ii.  188;  receives  the  order  of 
the  Garter,  268 

Long,  General,  i.  189 

Longford,  Lord,  i.  201 ;  ii.  145 

Louis  XVIII.,  proclaimed  in  1813,  i. 
299 ;  quits  Paris  for  Ghent,  ii.  3 ; 
joins  the  allied  army  at  Ghent,  il  43  ; 
takes  up  his  abode  at  Cambray,  43 ; 
enters  Paris,  68 

Louis  Philippe,  King  of  the  French 
(1830),  ii.  157 

Louvre,  spoliation  of,  ii.  73 

Lover,  Samuel,  "The  flag  is  half-mast 
high"  ^song),  ii.  265 

Lyndhurst,  Lord,  ii.  137 ;  ii.  163 ;  on  the 
Reform  Question,  ii.  165 — 169 

Lyons,  entry  into  h^  Napoleon,  ii.  3 


M. 


M'Arthur,  Dr.,  attends  the  Duke,  ii. 
261 

Macaulay,  the  Hon.  B.,  speech  at  Edin- 
burgh, ii.  242  (note) 

Macdonald,  Marshal,  heads  an  army 
against  Napoleon,  ii.  3 

Macintosh,  Major,  gallant  conduct  of,  L 
104  ;  speeches  of,  ii.  210 

M'Leod,  Colonel,  death  of,  at  Badajoz,  L 
158 

Macnaughten,  Mr.,  ii.  216 

Maclaine,  Captain,  bravery  of,  i.  95 

Mackinnon  killed  at  the  storming  of 
Ciudad  Rodrigo,  i.  144 

M'Kenzie,  death  of,  at  Talavera,  i.  64 

Macra,  Colonel,  killed,  ii.  20 

Madrid  filled  with  French  Guards,  i.  39 ; 
triumphal  entry  into,  1812,  179  ; 
royal  palace,  180 

Maguire,  Lieutenant,  leads  the  forlorn 
hope  at  San  Sebastian,  i.  274 ;  death 
of,  274 

Mahratta  Chieftains,  Scindiab,  Holkar, 
and  the  Peishwa,  at  issue,  i.  14 

Maitland,  General,  ii.  33 

Malcolm,  Admiral  Sir  Pulteney,  i.  44 

Malmesbury,  Lord,  ii,  117 

Mansfield,  Earl  of,  ii.  169 

March  Lord,  one  of  the  Duke's  personal 
staff,  ii.  12,  29 

Marlboro,  John  Duke  of,  i.  2 

Marmont,  IVIarshal,  i.  113,  163 ;  wounded 
at  Salamanca,  173  ;  character  of,  175  ; 
dismounts  the  cannon  to  pass  St.  Ber- 
nard, 176  ;  surprised  in  his  bivouac,  i. 
325 

Marochetti,  Baron,  ii.  223 

Massena  before  the  lines  of  Torres 
Vedras,  i.  78  ;  at  Santarem,  79  ;  re- 
treat, 81  ;  announces  to  the  King 
Napoleon's  arrival,  2 

Mauritius  a  rendezvous  for  plotters,  i.  13 

Maxwell,  Colonel,  at  Assay e,  i.  18 ;  death 
of,  19 

Melbourne,  Lord,  ii.  121  ;  resigns,  185  ; 
recalled  (1836),  188 ;  character  of,  193 ; 
eulogium  upon,  by  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, 193  (note);  resigns,  1841, 
209 

Metternich,  Prince,  negotiates  for  Aus- 
tria, i.  269 ;  Prime  Minister  of  Aus- 
tria, ii.  77 

Military  convention,  ii.  48 
mourning,  ii.  269 


Militia  Bill,  ii.  253 

Milton,  Lord,  refuses  to  pay  taxes,  ii 

164 
Mina,  a  Guerilla  chief,  i.  73,  221 


INDEX. 


su 


Mitchell,  Lieut-Coloael,  author  of  "  The 

Fall  of  Napoleon,"  ii.  22  (note) 
Monte   Orgullo,  i.  277 ;  surrender   of, 

277 
Montbrun,  General,  L  12-4 
Moore,  Sir  John,  i.  42  ;  in  Spain,  47 
Moore's   lively   lament    on    Corn    and 

Catholics,  ii.  116 
Moreau,   General,  character   of,   L  302 

(note) ;  death  of,  303 
Morillo,  General,  i.  130 
Mornington,  Earl  of,  father  of  the  Duke 

of  Wellington,  i.  2 ;  Goveruor-Gcneral 

of  India,  6 

Dowager  Lady,  385 

Mortier,  General,  humanity  of,  i.  67 
Moscow  in  flames  (1812),  i.  215 
Morning  Journal,  editor  of,  prosecuted 

for  Ubel,  ii.  152 
Muffling,  General,  ii.  43 
Murat  appointed  sole  Regent  of  Madrid, 

i.  39  ;  dispatched  to  attack  the  Allies 

in  Bohemia,  304 
Murray.    General   Sir   John,  i.  55  ;   at 

Castella,    217  ;    at   Tarragona,   247  ; 

court-martial  on,  250 
Sir    George,    member    of   the 

government  (1828),  ii.  137 
Murillo,  General,  wounded  at  Vittoria, 

i.  239 
Myers,  Sir  William,  death  of,  i.  117 


N. 


Nanolaus,  Bridge  of,  i.  240 

Napier  wounded  at  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  i. 
144 ;  acoouat  of  his  numerous  wounds, 
150;  Major-General,  Sir  Charles,  at- 
tacks the  Ameers  of  Scinde,  ii.  219 

Napoleon  Buonaparte,  in  Egypt,  i.  13; 
Emperor  of  the  French  (1804),  28 ; 
issues  a  decree  for  the  blockade  of  the 
British  Isles  (1806),  28 ;  establishes 
prize-courts,  29 ;  invades  Portugal, 
(1808),  35  ;  his  power  in  Europe,  36 ; 
puts  an  immense  force  in  motion  (Dec. 
1809),  70 ;  fort  named  after  Napoleon, 
165  ;  misunderstanding  with  the  Rus- 
sians at  Borodino  (1812),  213;  meet- 
ing at  Breslau,  215  ;  Moscow  in  flames, 
215  ;  movement  against  the  northern 
armies,  268 ;  afflicted  by  the  loss  of 
Duroc,  268  ;  the  Congress  at  Prague, 
269 ;  policy  of  (1813),  288  ;  commands 
in  person  at  Dresden,  303  ;  attacks 
Berlin,  304 ;  reaches  Leipsic,  305 ; 
battle  of  Leipsic,  305  ;  council  of  war 
by  a  bivouac  fire,  306 ;  halts  at  Er- 
furth,  306 ;  proceeds  to  Paris,   306 ; 


dissolves  the  Chamber,  308  ;  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Congress  at  Chatillon,  324 ; 
endeavours  to  retake  Soissons  by 
storm,  324  ;  retakes  Rheims,  325  ; 
operations  in  Holland,  325  ;  abdicates 
(April,  1814),  329  ;  at  Elba,  361 ;  im- 
provements at  Elba,  361  ;  returns  to 
France,  365 ;  lands  at  Cannes,  365  ; 
proclamations,  366 ;  resumes  the  gov- 
ernment of  France,  371 ;  defection  of 
the  French  troops,  ii.  1 ;  presents 
himself  to  the  5th  regiment,  2 ;  arrival 
at  Lyons,  3 ;  moves  on  to  Fontaine- 
bleau,  3 ;  reaches  Paris,  3 ;  patriotic 
associations,  4 ;  views  m  reference  to 
Belgium,  5  ;  forgets  the  treachery  of 
the  Marshals,  5  ;  quits  the  Palace  of 
the  Tuileries,  June  12,  1815,  13  ; 
proceeds  to  Avesnes,  13  ;  harangues 
the  troops,  13  ;  pushes  on  to  Fleurus, 
17  ;  exultation  of,  27  ;  at  Hougoumont, 
29  ;  battle  of  Waterloo,  32  ;  approach 
of  the  Prussians,  33  ;  the  final  charge, 
33  ;  retreat,  42  ;  abdication  of,  45  ; 
flies  to  Rochefort,  54;  sent  to  St. 
Helena,  55. 

Napoleon,  Louis,  elected  President,  ii. 
253  ;   coup  d'etat,  256 

National  Convention,  ii.  243 

National  distress,  ii.  153 

Navarino,  battle  of,  ii.  122 

Netherlands,  the  Duke  in  (1815),  ii.  330 

Ney,  Marshal,  i.  71 ;  beaten  with  very 
heavy  loss  by  Bernadotte,  304 ;  aban- 
dons the  cause  of  the  Bourbons,  ii.  3  ; 
in  despair  at  Quatre  Bras,  20;  at 
Frasne,  23 ;  discovers  the  retreat  of 
the  Allied  Army  to  Waterloo,  23 ; 
tries  to  rally  the  French  troops  at 
Waterloo,  34;  court  martial  of,  70; 
execution  of,  70 

Nive,  passage  of  the,  i.  314 

Nivelle,  battle  of,  i.  296 

Nollekens'  bust  of  Wellbgton,  ii.  97 


0. 


Oastlee,  Mr.  Richard,  interview  with  the 

Duke,  ii.  246  (note) 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  ii.  163  ;  attempts  to 

bring  about  a  repeal  of  the  Union, 

185 
O'Connor,  Mr.,  ii.  244 
Oporto,  battle  of,  i.  55 
Orange,   Prince   of,  commands  the  left 

wing  of  the  army  in  the  Netherlands, 

ii.  10 
Orders  and  honours  of  the  great  Duke, 

iL  307 


596 


INDEX. 


Oswald,  Majoi'-General,  i.  241 

Ottomaa  Porte,  the  affairs  of  Greece,  ii. 
99 

v?udinot,  General,  i.  177 

Oxford,  installation  of  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  ii.  175  ;  excite- 
ment at,  176,  177 


P. 


Paget,  General,  -wounded,  i.  55 

Sir  Edward,  i.  193  (note) 

Palmerston,  Lord,  ii.  121,  231 

Pampeluna,  blockade  of  (1813),  i.  289  ; 
dreadful  sufferings  of  the  besieged, 
289;  surrender  of,  291;  capitulation 
of,  294 

Paris,  capitulation  of  (1815),  iL  47  ;  the 
Allies  in,  51 ;  gaieties  of,  51 

Parhament,  dissolution  of  (1830),  ii.  156 ; 
dissolution  of  (1831),  160;  proroga- 
tion of,  October  (1831),  162 

Parhamentary  proceedings,  L  201 ;  re- 
form, 157 

Parnell,  Sir  Henry,  ii.  158 

Peacocke,  Major-General,  stationed  at 
Lisbon,  i.  229 

Peua,  General,  i.  95 

Peninsular  service,  i.  225 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  on  the  character  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  ii.  102;  defence  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  118 ;  resigns  the 
representation  of  Oxford,  147,  170 
(note) ;  again  in  power,  185  ;  addresses 
the  constituency  of  Tamworth,  186  ; 
in  a  minority,  1 87 ;  on  the  corn  laws, 
230 ;  resignation  of,  231 ;  death  of, 
251;  eulogium  on,  by  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  251 

Percival,  Mr.,  i.  202 

Peronne,  capture  of,  ii.  43 

Perponcher,  General,  at  Ligny,  ii.  18 

Phillimore,  Dr.,  ii.  179 

PhUlippon,  Governor  of  Badajoz,  i.  161 

Phcenix  Park,  Dublin,  ii.  63 

Picton,  General  Sir  Thomas,  at  Busaco, 
i.  77 ;  address  to  the  soldiers  at  the 
storming  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  143 ; 
wounded  at  Badajoz,  160  ;  marches 
with  his  brigade  from  the  Place 
Royale,  Brussels,  ii.  16  ;  his  division 
comes  to  the  rescue  near  Quatre  Bras, 
19  ;  death  of,  30  (note) 

Pictures  of  the  Duke,  ii.  262  (note') 

Pitt,  British  Minister  (1794),  i.  4. ' 

Poland,  seeks  to  cast  ofif  the  Russian 
yoke,  ii.  157 

Poniatowski  at  Leipsic,  i.  305  ;  perishes 
in  the  stream,  306 


Poison,  Mr.  Archer,  lines  on  the  Duke's 
death,  ii.  266 

Ponsonby,  Sir  William,  admirable  man- 
agement of  his  brigade,  ii.  24  ;  killed 
at  Waterloo,  31 

Portsmouth,  the  Allied  Sovereigns  at,  i. 
346 

Portugal,  invasion  of,  by  the  French 
(1808),  i.  35  ;  royal  family  of,  emigrate 
to  the  Brazils,  37 ;  a  prey  to  factions, 
ii.  171 ;  civil  war,  173 

Portuguese  army,  letter  on  the,  i.  376 

Powiss,  Captain,  mortally  wounded  at 
Picurina,  i.  155 

Prince  Regent,  the,  accords  the  prize- 
money,  ii.  81 

Prisoners,  English,  unavoidably  killed 
by  the  British  at  the  storming  of 
Monte  OrguUo,  i.  277 

Pyrenees,  position  of  Marshal  Soult,  L 
254  ;  battle  of,  257;  life  in,  amusing - 
picture  of,  285  ;  descent  from,  and 
entry  into  France,  287  ;  description 
of,  380 


Q. 


Quatre  Be  as  won  by  the  allies,  ii.  20 
a  junction  of  four  roads,  15  (note) 


R. 


Radetzky,  ii.  367 

Radical,  first  application  of  the  word, 
ii.  157  (note) 

Ragusa,  Duke  of,  at  Salamanca,  i.  170 

Ramsay,  Captain  Norman,  at  Fuentea 
d'Onoro,  i.  105 

Rancour,  Mademoiselle,  account  of  ex- 
traordinary proceedings  at  her  burial, 
i.  363  (note) 

Reform  in  parliament,  ii.  125 

Reform  Bill,  ii.  159  ;  carried  (1832),  170 

Reform  question,  ii.  159 

Reform  riots  at  Bristol,  Derby,  Notting- 
ham, and  elsewhere,  ii.  160 

Regent,  Prince,  i.  203  ;  letter  to  Wel- 
lington with  the  baton  of  Field  Mar- 
shal, 245 

Review,  Quarterly  (1838),  discusses  the 
question  of  the  battle  of  Toulouse,  i.  333 

Rey,  General,  ably  defends  San  Sebas- 
tian, i.  265 

Rheims,  capture  of,  by  General  St 
Priest,  i.  325 

Richelieu,  Due  de,  ii.  70 

Richmond,  Duke  of.  Lord  Lieutenant  of 
Ireland  (1809),  i.  27  ;  resigns,  ii.  185 


INDEX. 


397 


Richmond,  Duchess  of,  invites  the  offi- 
cers to  a  ball,  iL  1 5 

Ridge,  Colonel,  at  the  storming  of  Bada- 
joz,  i.  160;  his  death,  160 

Rifle  Brigade  keeps  watch  over  the 
Duke's  remains,  iL  265 

Ripon,  Lord,  resigns,  ii.  185 

Robinson,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer 
(1827),  iL  109 

Roden,  Lord,  iL  199 

Roman  Catholics,  claims  of,  iL  126  (note); 
emancipation,  137 

Rori9a,  battle  of,  L  41 

Rosebery,  Earl,  ii.  154 

Royal  Academy,  ii.  297 

Rush,  Mr.,  iL  293 

Russell's,  Lord  John,  plan  of  Parliament- 
ary Reform,  iL  159  ;  207 

Russia  breaks  with  Napoleon,  i.  213; 
French  invasion  of,  215  ;  Emperor 
of,  excites  the  jealousy  of  Austria, 
302 ;  Emperor  of,  signs  the  treaty 
at  Chaumont,  324 ;  embassy  to  (1827), 
ii.  97 


S. 


Salamanca,  a  town  in  the  kingdom  of 
Leon,  i.  166  ;  joy  of  the  citizens  upon 
the  entrance  of  the  British,  168  ;  cap- 
ture of  the  forts  of,  169 

SaUsbury,  ilarquis  of,  ii.  169 

Saltoun,  Lord,  at  Hougoumont,  ii.  29 

San  Sebastian,  description  of,  L  264; 
siege  of,  273 ;  the  breach,  275  ;  fright- 
ful excesses  of  the  British  troops, 
276 

Santa  Teresa,  convent  of,  L  276 

Santarem,  i.  78 

Sarrazin,  General,  i.  177 

Saunders's  "  News  Letter,"  iL  289 
(note) 

Saxony,  invasion  of,  L  304 

Scarlett,  Sir  James,  Attorney-General 
(1830),  ii.  152 

Scinde,  conquest  of,  iL  219 

Schwartzenberg,  Prince,  entrusted  with 
the  chief  command  of  the  allies,  L  303 ; 
at  the  battle  of  Leipsic,  305 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  on  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  ii.  341 

Seaton,  Lord,  ii.  206 

Sebastiani,  General,  i.  57 

Sheridan,  speeches  of,  ii.  210 

Sherbrook,  Lieutenant-General,  i.  63 

Siborne,  Captain,  author  of  "  The  His- 
tory of  the  War  in  France  and  Bel- 
gium," ii.  23  ;  errors  of,  331 

Sieges,  iL  69 


Slavery,  discussions  on,  i.  355  ;  abohtioa 
of,  opposed  by  the  Duke  of  WeUing- 
ton.  ii.  174 

Smith,  Sir  Charles,  at  St.  Sebastian,  I 
265 

Smith,  Sir  K,  defence  of,  by  the  Duke 
ii.  289 

Soignies,  forest  of,  ii.  27  (note) 

Soldiers,  French,  character  of,  ii.  326 

Soissons,  capitulation  of,  i.  324 

Sohgnac,  General,  i.  43 

Somerset,  Lord  Edward,  forces  the 
French  Cuirassiers  to  quit  the  field, 
iL  31 ;  loses  an  arm  at  Waterloo,  34 

Lord  Fitzroy,  aide-de-camp  to 

Wellington  (1812),  i.  208;  appointed 
Master- General  of  the  Ordnance,  ii. 
271 

Soult,  Marshal,  Duke  of  Dalmatia,  at 
Oporto,  L  56;  reaches  Orense,  56; 
advances  on  Banos,  68  ;  commands  at 
the  siege  of  Cadiz.  95 ;  at  Seville,  115  ; 
checked  by  Hill,  163  ;  laying  siege  to 
Madrid,  182;  re-appearance  of,  251 ; 
address  to  his  soldiers,  253 ;  endeav- 
ours to  render  assistance  at  the  siege 
of  San  Sebastian,  282  ;  before  Bayonne, 
299  ;  crosses  the  Adour,  326  ;  "Minis- 
ter of  War  imder  Louis  XVIII.,  ii.  2  ; 
dismissed,  3  ;  visit  to  England,  195  ; 
speech  of,  195  ;  anecdotes  of,  196 

Madame,  interview  with  Napo- 
leon, i.  151  (note) 

Spain,  duped  into  a_secret  treaty  with 
France,  i.  36  ;  abdication  of  the  King 
of,  39;  march  into  (1813)  233;  geo- 
graphy of,  235 ;  British  legion  in,  iL 
189 

Spanish  army,  letter  on  the,  i.  378 

Squares  formed  at  Waterloo,  iL  31 

Stael,  Madame  de,  iL  69 

Stanley,  Lord,  iL  185,  230 

Stanhope,  Lady  Hester,  ii.  80 ;  Lord,  iL 
153 

Stevenson,  Colonel,  i.  11 

St.  Jean,  Mont,  troops  on  bivouac  in  the 
fields  near,  iL  24 ;  25 

St.  Juan,  Gulf  of,  where  Napoleon  land- 
ed, iL  1 

St.  Paul's  Cathedi*al,  funeral  of  the  Duke, 
ii.  271  ;  ciypt  of,  278  ;  scene  in,  dur- 
ing the  funeral  service,  279 

Strathfieldsaye,  purchase  of,  ii.  63  (note) ; 
monument  at,  to  the  memory  of  "  Co- 
penhagen," 97 

Stewart,  Sir  Charles  (afterwards  Mar- 
quis Londonderry),  ambassador  to 
Berlin,  i.  268 

Sir  William,  anecdote  of,  i.  297 


(note) 


398 


INDEX. 


Stuart,  General,  at  Sedasser  (1799),  i.  7 
Suchet,    Marshal,   at   Castella,   i.    217; 
122;  destroys  the  defences  of  Tarra- 
gona, 266 ;  holds  possession  of  Cata- 
lonia, 267 
Surgical  operations,  i.  110 
Sutton,  Sir  Charles  Manners,  ii.  188 


Talavera,  battle  of,  60 

Talleyrand,  Prince,  i.  113;  character  of, 

ii.  69 
Tarifa,  attack  upon,  i.  135 
Tarragona,  failure  of  the  expedition  to, 

i.  251 
Test  and  Corporation  Acts,  ii.  121 
Tilson,  General,  i.  51 
"  Times,"  the,  tribute  to  the  Duke,  ii.  260 
Tippoo,  Sultan  of  Mysore,  i.  6 ;  retires 

to  Seringapatam,  7 
Torres  Vedras,  British  army  quartered 

there,  i.  44 ;  lines  of,  69 
Toulouse,  city  of,  operations  at,  i.  327  ; 

battle   of,    328  ;    Wellington    enters 

i.1814),  329  ;  battle  of,  claimed  by  the 

French,  333 
Tournay,  surrender  of,  i.  4 
Tower,  the  statue  of  the  Duke  'at,  ii.  304 
Trim,  column  at,  ii.  115 
Trincomalee,  a  harbour  on  the  coast  of 

Ceylon,  i.  13 
TuUeries,  vaults  of,  filled  with  gold,  i.  306 


U. 


UxBRiDGE,  Earl  of  (afterwards  Marquis 
of  Anglesey),  heads  the  cavalry,  ii. 
10  ;  sketch  of  his  life,  11  (note) 

Union  Brigade,  iL  30 


Valdermao,  i.  178 

Vandamme,  General,  defeated  at  Culm. 
i.  304 

Verona,  the  Congress  at,  ii.  89 

Victor,  Marshal,  i.  57 

Victoria,  Queen,  birth  of  (1819),  ii.  85; 
accession  of  (1837),  192  ;  declaration 
of  her  attachment  to  the  constitution, 
193;  coronation  of,  194;  marriage  of, 
204;  visit  of,  to  Strathfieldsaye,  224  ; 
letter  on  the  death  of  the  Duke,  263 

Vienna,  Congress  of,  i.  358  ;  Congress 
of,  news  of  Napoleon's  escape  from 
Elba.  368 


Villa  Muriel,  i.  188 

Vimiero,  battle  of,  i.  43 

Vittoria,  battle  of,  i.  239 ;  plunder  at^ 

243 
Vizille,  the  5th  Regiment  drawn  up  to 

oppose  Napoleon's  progress,  iL  1 


W. 

Walker,  Major-General,  L  239 
Walmer  Castle,  some  account  ol,  iL  150, 

260 

Ward,  Mr.  Henry  George,  proposes  a 
reduction  of  the  Irish  Church  Estab- 
lishment, ii.  185 

Washington  and  the  Duke  compared,  ii. 
293 

Waterloo,  battle  of,  ii.  32 ;  final  charge 
at,  ii.  33 

Bridge,  ii.  63 

Prize  Money,  ii.  81 

Banquet,  ii.  85 

Casualties  at  battle  of,  ii.  326 


Wattier,  General  i.  124 

Weeks,  Mr.  ii.  220 

Weimar,    Prince    of,    engages   Marshal 

Ney,  iL  18 
Wellesley,  Arthur,  see  WelUngton. 

Sir    Henry,   letter   to,   on   the 


Press  of  Great  Britain,  ii.  152 
Lord  Charles,  ii.  260 


Wellington,  Duke  of,  birth,  i.  2  ;  family, 
2  ;  ensign  (1787),  3  ;  Lieutenant 
Wellesley,  3  ;  Major  (1793),  4  ;  success 
at  Schyrdel,  5  ;  return  to  England,  5  ; 
sails  for  Lidia  (1796),  6 ;  conflict  at 
Seringapatam,  7  ;  struck  on  the  knee 
by  a  spent  ball,  8  ;  capture  of  Seringa- 
patam, 8  ;  defeats  Dhoondia  Waugh, 
12;  adopts  Dhoondia's  son,  12;  sails 
for  Bombay  (1801),  13;  superseded  in 
command,  13  ;  resumes  his  appoint- 
ment at  Mysore,  15  ;  gazetted  Major- 
General  (1802),  14  ;  Marquis  of  Wel- 
lesley, 15  ;  reaches  Poonah(1803),  16; 
assault  upon  Ahniednuggur,  16 ;  battle 
of  Assaye  (1803),  18  ;  liberality  to  the 
sick  at  Asseerghur  (note),  21 ;  defeat 
of  Sciudiah  (1803),  22  ;  presenta- 
tion of  a  sword  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Calcutta,  23 ;  order  of  the  Bath  con- 
ferred, 23  ;  embarks  for  England 
(1805),  24;  appointed  to  the  staff  as 
Commander  of  a  Brigade,  27  ;  Colonel 
of  the  33rd  Regiment,  27  ;  marriage, 
27 ;  Secretary  for  Ireland,  27  ;  bom- 
bardnieut  of  Copenhagen,  32  ;  vote  of 
thanks,  32 ;  resumes  his  duties  as 
Irish  secretary  (1808),  34;    invasion 


INDEX. 


399 


of  Portugal  by  the  French,  35  ;  arrival 
at  Corunaa,  40 ;  battle  of  Rorira,  41  ; 
battle  of  Vimiero,  43  ;  Convention  of 
Cintra,  44 ;  vote  of  thanks  for  gallant 
cnnduct  at  Vimiero,  47  ;  advises  Govern- 
ment not  to  abandon  the  Peninsula,  49  ; 
welcome  of  the  Portuguese  Marshal- 
General  of  the  armies  in  Portugal,  50 ; 
entrance  into  Coimbra,  51  ;  passage  of 
the  Douro,  53 ;  battle  of  Oporto,  55 ; 
annoyed  by  General  Cuesta,  59;  battle 
of  Talavera,  60  ;  amicable  enemies,  65  ; 
head-quarters  at  Badajoz,  68  ;  raised  to 
the  peerage  (1809),  68  ;  sufferings  of  the 
British  troops,  69  ;  army  withdrawn 
from  Spain,  70;  position  of  the  army 
in  Portugal,  71  ;  battle  of  Busaco,  77; 
Massena's  retreat,  79 ;  affairs  of  Re- 
dinha  and  Foz  d'Aronce,  83  ;  skirmish 
■with  Nej,  83  ;  lecture  to  the  Portuguese 
Government,  87 ;  despatches  to  the 
Earl  of  Liverjjool,  88 ;  state  of  the 
Spanish  army,  91 ;  letter  to  Marquis 
Wellesley,  91 ;  necessity  for  Portuguese 
exertion,  93 ;  affairs  in  the  soutli  of 
Spain,  94;  siege  of  Cadiz,  95  ;  battle  of 
Barossa,  97 ;  medal  struck  in  honour  of 
the  battle  of  Barossa,  98 ;  frontier  for- 
tresses 99 ;  proclamation  to  the  Por- 
tuguese, 100 ;  battle  of  Fuentes  d'Ouoro, 
103  ;  the  wounded  at  Fuentes,  106 ;  con- 
trast between  "WeUington  and  Napoleon, 
112;  head-quarters  at  Villa  Formosa, 
113;  battleof  Albuera,  117  :  examiniu^ 
the  trenches  before  Badajoz,  118  ;  posi- 
tion at  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  i  24 ;  affair  of 
El  Bodon,  125 ;  accepts  the  title  of  Gonde 
de  Vimiero,  127  ;  surprise  of  Arroyo  de 
Molinos,  129;  winter -quarters  in  Spain, 
133;  attack  at  Tarifa,  135;  capture  of 
Ciudad  Rodrigo,  137 ;  duty  in  the  trench- 
es, 139;  attends  the  funeral  of  General 
Craufurd,  145 ;  honours  aud  rewards, 
152  ;  capture  of  La  Picuriua,  155  ;  letter 
to  Don  Carlos  d'Espana,  155  (note); 
storming  Badajoz,  159  ;  sack  of  Badajoz, 
161 ;  capture  of  Abuaraz,  165  ;  resolves 
to  advance  into  Spain,  166;  march  to 
Salamanca,  167  ;  capture  of  the  forts  of 
Salamanca,  169;  battle  of  Salamanca, 
170 ;  wounds  in  high  places,  173  ;  wound- 
ed at  Salamanca,  173;  pursuit  of  the 
French,  177;  eni,ry  into  Madrid,  179; 
residence  at  the  palace,  181 ;  advance 
upon  Burgos,  183;  attack  on  Alba  de 
Tormes,  189  ;  retreat  from  Burgos.  193; 
order  regarding  discipline,  195  ;  feeling 
of  the  army,  197;  opinions  in  England 
on  the  affiiirs  of  Salamanca  and  Burgos, 
199 ;  parliamentary  proceedings,   201  ; 


grant  of  100,000/.,  205 ;  command  of 
the  Spanish  armies,  207 ;  remarks 
upon  the  Cortes.  209  (note) ;  pro- 
ceeds to  Lisbon  (1813),  210  ;  a  glance 
at  Napoleon's  campaign,  210;  appoint- 
ed Colonel  of  the  Royal  Regiment  of 
Horse  Guards,  211;  Russia  breaks 
with  Napoleon,  213;  operations  in 
the  north  of  Spain,  219  ;  old  soldiers, 
223;  Peninsular  service,  225;  pro- 
visioning the  aUied  armies  229  ;  bag- 
gage of  the  British  army,  231 ;  march 
into  Spain,  233;  "Adieu,  Portugal," 
233  ;  anecdote,  233  (notel ;  battle  of 
Vittoria,  239 ;  blunder  at  Vittoria, 
243  ;  baton  of  Marshal  Jourdan,  244 ; 
a  Field-Marshal,  245 ;  failure  at  Tar- 
ragona, 249 ;  passages  of  courtesy, 
255;  battle  of  the  Pyrenees.  257; 
anecdote  of,  262 ;  fortress  of  San  Se- 
bastian, 264 ;  proceedings  in  the  north 
of  Europe,  267  ;  news  of  the  Congress 
of  Prague,  269 ;  letter  to  Lord  Bath- 
urst,  270  ;  remonstrance  with  the 
Admiralty,  273  ;  frightful  excesses  of 
the  British  troops  after  the  storm- 
ing of  San  Sebastian,  276  ;  surrender 
of  Monte  Orgullo,  277  ;  defence  of 
charges,  278  ;  baffles  Soult  by  cross- 
ing the  Bidassoa,  283 ;  life  in  the  Py- 
renees, 286  ;  entry  into  France,  286; 
proclamation  issued,  287 ;  blockade 
and  surrender  of  Pampeluna,  289 ; 
battle  of  the  Nivelle,  296  ;  proclama- 
tion of  Louis  XVIIL,  299  ;  head-quar- 
ters at  St.  Jean  de  Luz  (1813),  299  ; 
letter  to  Earl  Bathurst,  302;  battle 
of  Dresden,  303 ;  battle  of  Leipsic, 
305  ;  thanks  of  Parliament  voted,  313; 
correspondence  with  General  Dumou- 
rier,  313;  passage  of  the  Nive,  315; 
battle  of  St.  Pierre,  316;  passage  of 
Gave  d'Obron,  316  ;  wounded  in  the 
thigh  by  a  spent  ball,  317;  remon- 
strance to  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  319  ; 
advance  to  Bordeaux,  321 ;  permission 
granted  by  the  Prince  Regent  to^7ear 
Austrian,  Russian,  and  Swedish  orders, 
326  ;  passage  of  the  Garonne.  327 ; 
operations  at  Toulouse,  327 ;  abdica- 
tion of  Napoleon,  and  suspension  of 
hostilities,  331 ;  created  a  Duke  (1814), 
335  ;  embassy  to  Paris,  339  ;  atldress 
to  the  King  of  Spain,  341 ;  takes  leave 
of  the  army  at  Bordeaux,  342  ;  arrival 
in  London,  347  ;  first  appearance  in 
Parliament,  347  ;  thanks  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  351  ;  the  Common  Coun- 
cil, 353 ;  entertained  by  tlie  Prince 
Regent,    354 ;    depai'ture   for    Paris, 


3c 


400 


INDEX. 


355;  in  favour  of  anti-slavery,  857; 
Congress  of  Vienna,  358;  ambassador  to 
Vienna,  860 ;  return  to  France  of  Na- 
poleon, 365  ;  places  himself  at  the  dis- 
posal of  Government,  372 ;  addresses 
Lord  Castlereagh  from  Vienna,  ii.  5 ; 
draws  up  a  memorandum  for  the  allied 
troops,  6 ;  establishes  his  head-quarters 
at  Brussels,  1815,  6;  letter  to  Prince 
Schwartzenberg,  7  (note) ;  awaits  Na- 
poleon's attack  (June,  1815),  18  ;  Duchess 
of  Richmond's  ball,  15 ;  imputation  of 
being  surprised  by  the  French,  16  ; 
beating  of  the  drums  at  midnight,  16  ; 
collecting  troops  in  the  Place  Royale, 
Brussels,  17  ;  joins  Blucher  on  the 
heights,  17 ;  takes  up  a  position  near 
Quatre  Bras,  18;  "Ninety-second,  you 
must  charge  those  fellows,"  20  ;  the  re- 
treat of  the  French  from  Quatre  Bras, 
22  ;  passes  the  night  upon  the  field  of 
battle,  Ligny,  22 ;  evil  tidings  of  Blii- 
cher,  23  ;  retreat  to  Waterloo,  23  ;  com- 
munication with  Blucher,  25 ;  the  eve 
of  "  Waterloo,"  25  ;  battle  of  Waterloo, 
33 ;  the  final  charge,  33  ;  retreat  of  the 
French,  34;  the  night  after  Waterloo, 
86  ;  pens  the  memorable  despatch,  37  ; 
proceeds  to  Brussels,  38  ;  sequel  to  the 
battle,  42  ;  abdication  of  Napoleon,  45  ; 
capitulation  of  Paris,  47 ;  quits  Paris 
for  Ilochefort,  47 ;  the  allies  in  Paris, 
50;  Napoleon  flies  to  Roehefort,  55; 
Napoleon  banished  to  St.  Helena,  65 ; 
Parliamentary  grant,  57 ;  receives  the 
thanks  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament, 
59  ;  thanks  of  the  Prince  Regent,  61 ; 
suggests  a  Waterloo  medal,  63 ;  titles 
and  honours,  64 ;  the  bridge  of  Jena,  65  ; 
execution  of  Marshal  Ney,  7 1 ;  spolia- 
tion of  the  Louvre,  73  ;  the  Duke  in 
Paris,  79  ;  Waterloo  "  prize-money," 
81 ;  anecdotes  of,  81  (note) ;  evacuation 
of  France,  83;  created  Field-Marshal  of 
Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  83  ;  return 
to  Apsley  House,  84;  Master-General 
of  the  Ordnance,  85 ;  present  at  the 
birth  of  Queen  Victoria,  85 ;  Governor 
of  Plymouth,  85 ;  Colonelin-Chief  of  the 
Rifle  Brigade,  86  ;  death  of  George  III., 
86 ;  coronation  of  George  IV. ;  the  Con- 
gress of  Verona,  89 ;  three  years  of 
idleness,  93  ;  pictures  at  Apsley  House, 
94 ;  embassy  to  Russia,  97  ;  Constable 
of  the  Tower,  100 ;  death  of  the  Duke 
of  York,  108 ;  Commander-in-Chief,  103 ; 
Colonel  of  the  Grenadier  Guards,  103; 
Catholic  claims,  105  ;  resigns  the  com- 
mand of  the  army,  105 ;  correspondence 
with  Canning,  107;  Ministry  (1827),  118; 


column  at  Trim,  115  ;  oorrespondence 
with  Mr.  Huskisson,  118  ;  Prime  Min 
ister  (1827),  119  resumes  the  office  of 
Commander-in-Chief,  120  ;  forms  a 
new  Ministry,  120  ;  Test  and  Corpora- 
tion Acts,  121 ;  battle  of  Navarino, 
122;  resignation  of  Mr,  Huskisson, 
127;  the  Military  Government,  137; 
Roman  Catholic  emancipation,  137  ; 
unpopularity  of,  144 ;  personal  hos- 
tiUties,  147  ;  duel  with  Lard  Winchel- 
sea,  148  ;  Lord  Warden  of  the  Cinque 
Ports,  149  ;  the  Duke  and  the  Press, 
152;  national  distress,  153;  speech 
on  the  Corn  Laws,  154;  death  of 
George  IV.,  156  ;  revolution  in  France 
(1830),  156  ;  Ministry  resigns  (1830), 
157 ;  question  of  Reform,  159  ;  Apsley 
House  attacked  by  the  mob,  160 ; 
opposes  Reform,  161  ;  Ministers  in  a 
minority,  162;  Lord  Grey  resigns, 
1 63 ;  London  in  a  state  of  ferment, 
163  ;  effigies  of,  164  ;  the  Grey  Minis- 
try restored,  165  ;  explanation  of, 
166  ;  opposes  the  Grey  Ministry,  171 ; 
visit  to  the  Tower,  insulted  by  the 
mob,  172;  on  the  civil  war  in  Portu- 
gal, 174;  opposes  the  Game  Laws, 
174;  aboUtion  of  slavery,  174;  Jews 
in  Parliament,  174 ;  Chancellorship 
of  Oxford,  175  ;  the  installation,  179  ; 
the  convocation,  183  ;  British  Legion 
in  Sixain,  189;  denounces  it,  189; 
death  of  William  IV.,  189  ;  eulogium 
on,  189;  guest  of  the  Queen,  194; 
coronation  of  Queen  Victoria,  194; 
Marshal  Soult  in  England,  195  ;  ban 
quet  at  Dover,  197  ;  the  Corn  Laws, 
199  ;  illness  of,  201 ;  statue  at  Edin- 
burgh, 202 ;  Queen  Victoria's  mar- 
riage, 204  ;  the  Affghanistan  expedi- 
tion, 205 ;  denounces  Socialism,  205 ; 
libels  in  Parliament,  207  ;  oratory  of, 
211;  moral  influence  of,  213;  Cabul 
catastrophe,  215;  resumes  the  com- 
mand of  the  army,  217 ;  attack  of  epi- 
lepsy, 220 ;  statue  at  the  Royal  Ex- 
change, 221 ;  visit  of  the  Queen  to 
Strathfieldsaye,  224 ;  specimens  of 
letters,  225  ;  accident  to,  227 ;  corn- 
law  debate,  288 ;  statue  of,  at  Hyde 
Park-corner,  287  ;  the  Chartists,  240; 
revolution  in  France,  242,  258 ;  de- 
fence of  London,  249  ;  death  of  Sir  R. 
Peel,  254 :  visits  the  Great  Exhibition, 
255  ;  Militia  Bill,  speech  on,  257  ;  ru- 
mour of  his  death,  259  ;  decease,  Sep- 
tember, 15,  1852,  the  Queen's  senti- 
ments on  the  death  of,  264  ;  "  The  flag 
is  half-mast  high,"  265  ;  lying  in  state 


INDEX 


401 


at  Walmer,  267 ;  military  mourning, 
269;  public  funeral,  271;  foreign  dele- 
gates, 272  ;  funeral  procession,  277 ; 
character  of,  281;  piety  of,  285;  sense 
of  justice,  287  ;  defence  of  Sir  H.  Smith, 
289;  Despatches  of,  291;  compared 
■with  Washington,  293 ;  habits  of,  295  ; 
passion  for  music,  297  ;  love  of  children, 
299  ;  interviewwith  the  son  of  his  valet, 
299  (note);  anecdotes  of,  301 ;  the  Duke 
and  the  Irish,  303 ;  final  tribute,  305 ; 
orders,  titles,  honours  of,  306;  birth- 
place of,  315  ;  nurse  of,  315  ;  as  a  general, 
320  ;  on  metallic  currency,  327 ;  in  the 
Netherlands,  1815,  330  ;  on  the  defences 
of  England,  349  ;  as  an  agriculturist  and 
landlord,  355  ;  estate  in  Belgium,  358 
as  an  example  to  Indian  officers,  364: 
opinion  of,  by  a  French  writer,  369 
estimate  of  the  character  of,  by  a  clergy- 
man, 372 ;  ancestry  of,  374 
Wellington,  Somerset,  some  account  of, 
ii.  31 

: —  College,  final  tribute  to  the 

Duke,  ii.  305 
Westmoreland,  Lord,  ambassador  at  the 

Court  of  Austria,  ii.  277 
Wetherall,  Sir  Charles,  Attorney-Gene- 
ral, dismissal  of,  ii.  147 ;  refuses  to  de- 
fend Mr.  Alexander,  152 
Wheatley,  Sir  Henry,  at  Barossa,  i.  98. 
Whitbread,  Mr.  cordially  approves  the 

grant,  ii.  57 
Wilber  force  on  the  question  of  slavery, 
L  855 


Wilkie,  painting  of  the  Chelsea  Pen- 
sioners, ii.  94  (note) ;  the  Greeuwich 
Pensioners,  95  (note) 

William  the  Fourth  ascends  the  throne, 
ii.  156;  declines  to  dine  with  the 
Lord  Aliiyor,  ii.  157 ;  death  of,  ii.  189 

Williamson,  Captain,  wounded  at  San 
Sebastian,  leading  the  forlorn  hope,  i. 
277 

Winehelsea,  Lord,  fights  a  duel  with  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  ii.  148;  Marquis 
of,  ii.  169 

Winterhalter,  picture  of,  ii.  252 

Wood,  Sir  George,  commands  the  ar- 
tillery, ii.  12 

Woodington,  Colonel,  subdues  Broach 
and  Chumpaneer,  &,c.  i.  20 

Worcester,  Marquis  of,  one  of  the 
Duke's  personal  staif,  ii.  12 

Wyatt,  Mr.  ii.  236 


Y. 


York,  Duke  of.  retreat  at  Mechlin,  i.  4 ; 
general  order  respecting  the  battle  of 
Talavera,  63 ;  embassy  to  St.  Peters- 
burgh,  iL  99  ;  death  of,  100  ;  character 
of,  101 

Young  as  Hamlet  at  Covent  Garden,  ii 
164 


ZiETHEN,  General,  at  Charleroi,  ii.  14 


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CAPITULATION  OF  THE  CITY  OF  MEXICO: 

Together  with  IMPARTIAL  BIOaRAPIIIES  of  all  the  prominent  actors  engaged  In 
these  wars,  among  which  will  be  found  William  Hull,  James  Winchester,  Zebulon  M. 
Pike,  Henry  Dearborn,  James  Wilkinson,  John  Armstrong,  George  Croghan,  Wm.  H. 
Harrison,  Richard  M.  Johnson,  Isaac  Shelby,  Jacob  Brown,  K.  W.  Kipley,  James  Miller, 
Nathan  Towson,  Thomas  S.  Jessup,  E.  P.  Gaines,  Peter  B.  Porter,  Alexander  Macomb, 
Samuel  Smith,  Andrew  Jackson,  etc.  Zachary  Taylor,  Samuel  Ringgold,  Charles  May, 
Wm.  0.  Butler,  Wm.  J.  Worth,  John  E.  Wool,  Stephen  W.  Kearny,  John  C.  Fremont, 
A.  W.  Doniphan,  Samuel  11.  Walker,  Winfield  Scott,  David  E.Twiggs,  Robert  Patterson, 
Persifer  F.  Smith,  James  Shields,  James  Duncan,  Bennet  Riley,  John  A.  Quitman, 
Joseph  Lane,  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  George  Cadwallader,  Wm.  S.  Uarney,  Franklin  Pierce, 
Roger  Jones,  etc.    And  is  illustrated  with 

TWO  HUNDRED  FINE  ENGRAVINGS. 

JAMES  B.  SMITH  &  CO.,  PubUshers, 

No.  146  Chestnut  Streel,  Philadelphia. 


BOOKS  TO  MAKE  HAPPY  HOMES. 

The  Lady  at  Home ;  or,  Leaves  from  the  Every-Day 
Book  of  an  American  Woman.  By  T.  S.  Arthur. 
16mo.,  cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

In  writing  this  book,  the  Author,  in  order  to  make  it  both  useful 
and  interesting  to  the  extent  designed,  has  assumed  the  cha- 
racter of  an  American  "Woman,  and  caused  her  to  relate  her  own 
experience,  involving  the  troubles,  wrong  doings,  errors,  and 
perplexities  incident  to  domestic  life.  Its  aim  is  to  lift  every 
true  woman  up,  by  teaching  her  rightly  to  look  down  upon  those 
who  have  been  Providentially  placed  below  her,  and  thus  lifting 
her  up,  to  elevate  them  also. 

Fanny  Dale ;  or,  A  Year  after  Marriage.  By  T.  S. 
Arthur.     16mo.,  cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

This  is  one  of  Mr.  Arthur's  best  and  most  deservedly  popular 
stories. 

The  Young  Music  Teacher:  and  other  Tales.  By 
T.  S.  Arthur.     16mo.,  cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

This  is  a  choice  collection  of  Mr.  Arthur's  domestic  stories — con- 
taining :  The  Young  Music  Teacher ;  The  Unhappy  Wife  ;  Life's 
First,  Best  Lesson ;  Ups  and  Downs ;  The  Gift  of  Beauty ;  A 
Leaf  from  the  Book  of  Human  Life  ;  The  Father's  Dream  ;  I'll 
see  about  it ;  The  Sum  of  Trifles  ;  or,  A  Penny  saved  is  a  Penny 
earned. 

Paul  and  Virginia.  Translated  from  the  French  of 
Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre.  16mo.,  with  Illustrations. 
A  new  and  neat  edition  of  this  very  interesting  story. 
Cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

Elizabeth;  or,  The  Exiles  of  Siberia:  a  Tale, 
founded  on  Facts.  From  the  French  of  Madam  Cottin. 
16mo.,  cloth,  gilt.     With  Plates.     Price  50  cents. 

The  incidents  that  form  this  story  are  founded  on  truth.  No  im- 
agination, however  fertile,  could  have  produced  actions  so  noble, 
or  sentiments  so  generous,  as  actuated  the  heroine  of  this  touch- 
ing little  work. 

Scenes  at  Home ;  or,  the  Adventures  of  a  Fire 

Screen.     By  Mrs.  Anna  Bache.     16mo.,  cloth,  gilt. 
With  Plates.     Price  50  cents. 
A  book  that  no  person  can  read  without  having  better  feelings 
towards  the  unfortunate. 

JAMES  B.  SMITH  &  CO.,  PubHshers, 

JVb.  14G  Chestmit  Street,  Philadelphia. 


USEFUL 

HISTORICAL  WORKS 

FOR  THE  YOUNG 


Lives  of  the  most  Eminent  Sovereigns  of  MO- 
DERN EUROPE.  By  Lord  Dover.  18mo.,  with 
Illustrations.     Cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

Anecdotes  of  the  American  Revolution.  With 
numerous  Illustrations.  18mo.,  eloth,  gilt.  Price 
50  cents. 

Beauties  of  American  History.  A  collection  of 
Historical  Incidents  peculiarly  fitted  to  inspire  in  the 
young  mind  the  love  of  country,  and  the  admiration 
of  what  is  great,  heroic,  and  noble,  in  the  human  char- 
acter ;  and  to  elevate  the  standard  of  public  virtue  in 
the  juvenile  breast.  18mo.,  cloth,  gilt.  With  Illus- 
trations.    Price  50  cents. 

Anecdotes  of  American  Indians.  Illustrating  their 
Eccentricities  of  Character.  Numerous  Engravings. 
ISmo.,  cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

The  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh:  with  some  account 
of  the  period  in  which  he  lived.  By  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Thomson.  ISmo.,  cloth,  gilt,  with  plates.  Price 
50  cents. 

The  Life  of  Baron  Frederick  Trenck:  containing 
his  Adventures,  and  cruel  and  excessive  Sufferings, 
during  an  Imprisonment  of  Ten  Years  in  the  Fortress 
of  Magdeburg.  ISmo.,  cloth,  gilt,  with  plates.  Price 
50  cents. 

JAMES  B.  SMITH  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

No.  140  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 


The  Ladies  Self-Instructor,  in  Millinery  and  Mantua 

Making—Embroidery  and  Applique — Canvas  Work,  Knit- 
ting, Netting  and  Crochet  work.  Illustrated  with  numerous  en- 
gravings, 12mo.,  cloth,  gilt,  63  cts. ;  Cloth  extra,  gilt  edges  $1. 

King  Arthur.     By  Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton,     Two 
vols,  in  one,  large  16mo.,  fine  edition.     Cloth,  gilt,  $1. 

The  Life  and  Adventures  of  Joseph  Andrews.  By 

Fielding,  a  new  edition.     Cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 

The  Castle  of  OtrantO.    By  Horace  Walpole.   New  and 

beautiful  edition,  18mo.,  with  plates.    Cloth,  gilt.    50  cents. 

The  Old  English  Baron.    By  Clara  Reeve.    New  and 
fine  edition,  18mo.,  cloth.     50  cents. 

The  Man  of  Feeling.     By  Henry  Mackenzie.     New 
edition,  18mo,,  cloth.     40  cents. 

Stories    of   the  American    Eevolution.     Square 

16mo.  Illustrated  with  numerous  plates.  Cloth,  gilt.  50 
cents. 

Scenes  in  Foreign  Lands ;  or,  A  View  of  some  of  the 

most  Remarkable  Wonders  of  Travel.  An  interesting  and 
instructive  book.  Numerous  engravings.  16mo.,  cloth,  gilt. 
50  cents, 

Cecil  and  his  Dog ;  or,  The  Little  Robinson  of  Paris.  A 
Tale  for  Youth.    8  engravings.    18mo.,  cloth,  gilt.    50  cents. 

Chemistry  made  Easy ;  for  the  Use  of  Agriculturists. 

By  J.  Topbam,  M.  A.     Printed  covers.     12^  cents. 

The  History  of  Pamela;  or,  Virtue  Rewarded.  18mo. 

Boards.     I'iJ  cents. 

Cobhett's  American  Gardener.  The  American  Gar- 
dener ;  or,  A  Treatise  on  the  Situation,  Soil,  Fencing,  and 
Laying  Out  of  Gardens ;  on  the  making  and  managing  of 
Hot  Beds  and  Green  Houses;  and  on  the  Propagation  and 
Cultivation  of  the  several  sorts  of  Vegetables,  Herbs,  Fruits, 
and  Flowers.  By  William  Cobbett.  One  volume,  18mo., 
cloth,  gilt.     50  cents. 

Health  made  Easy  for  the  People;  or,  Physical 

Training,  to  make  their  Lives,  in  this  world.  Long  and 
Happy.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  18mo.,  cloth. 
50  cents. 

JAMES  B.  SMITH  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

No.  146  Chestnut  Street,  Fhiladelphia. 


Miss  Lambert's  Needlework.     The  Hand-Book  of 

Needlework.  By  Miss  Lambert.  A  Hand-book  of  Needle- 
work in  all  its  Branches.  Considerably  enlarged  and  im- 
proved by  the  addition  of  Numerous  New  Keceipts,  by  Mrs. 
G-augain  and  Mrs.  Gore,  making  it  the  most  complete  and 
comprehensive  work  on  the  subject  ever  issued.  8vo.,  with 
numerous  Engravings.  Cloth,  gilt,  Price  $1.25.  Cloth, 
extra,  gilt  edges,  $1.75. 

Etiquette  for  Ladies.  A  Manual  of  the  most  ap- 
proved Rules  of  Conduct  in  polished  Society,  for  Married 
and  Unmarried  Ladies.  Compiled  from  the  latest  authori- 
ties, by  a  lady  of  New  York.  32mo.,  cloth,  gilt  edges. 
Price  25  cents. 

Plato :  his  Life,  Works,  Opinions  and  Influence. 

By  Enoch  Pond,  D.  D.  32mo.,  cloth,  gilt  edges.  Price 
25  cents. 

The  Temperance  Guide.     32mo.,  cloth,  gilt  edges. 

Price  25  cents. 

The  Rambles  of  a  Butterfly.     By  Mary  Belson. 

With  an  Introduction  by  Mrs.  Bache.  With  illustrations. 
18mo.,  cloth,  gilt.     Price  50  cents. 


The  Book  of  Nursery  Rhymes,  Tales  and  Fables. 

A  Gift  for  all  seasons.  8vo.,  cloth,  gilt.  Price  75  cents; 
do.  do.  cloth,  extra  gilt  edges,  $1.00. 

The  Nurse's  Rhyme  Book.    A  New  Collection  of 

Nursery  Rhymes,  Games,  Stories  and  Jingles.  By  Thomas 
Freeman.  8vo.,  cloth  gilt,  Price  75  cents;  do.  cloth  extra 
gilt  edges,  $1.00. 

B@»The  last  two  named  Books  are  the  most  elegantly  illustrated 
Works  ever  published  on  Nursery  subjects  in  this  Country.  No  ex- 
pense has  been  spared  in  their  production. 

JAMES  B.  SMITH  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

No.  146  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 


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